2004 IIHF Women's World Championship

Switzerland gets their first win
of the tournament
By Krista Nymark

Team Switzerland got its first win of the tournament tonight, as they out-muscled and out-scored Japan 4-0.
The teams played to a scoreless tie in a first period littered with scoring chances.

Just over five minutes into the period Japan's Masako Sato had Swiss netminder Florence Schelling beat only to hit the cross bar. Seconds later, Stefanie Marty of Switzerland went in alone but fired just wide of the Japanese net.

Despite the lack of scoring in the first, the 1,000 fans scattered throughout the Dartmouth Sportsplex continued to cheer for their respective teams. While the Swiss fans pounded on pots and pans, the Japanese instrument of choice was a drum. After more than a period and a half of waiting, the Swiss fans erupted at 12:56 of the second period, when Julia Marty threw a shot on net off the face-off, scoring the game's first goal.

The noise continued into the third period when just 24 seconds in Team Switzerland was awarded a penalty shot. Nicole Bullo stormed the net from centre ice, only to hit the cross bar. The missed shot did not put a damper on the Swiss. They continued to fire shots on the Japanese net, their fourth and final goal coming with just four seconds left in the game, when Sabrina Arnet banged one in off the post.

The top three players for each team were named at the end of the game. Goaltender Tomoko Fujimoto, along with Etsuko Wada and Hanae Kubo, took top honors for Team Japan while Nicole Bullo, Florence Schelling and Jeanette Marty rounded out the top three for Switzerland.

"It's very nice to be recognized. It's an honor to be named one of the top players on my team, but in the end the tournament has been a disapointment for us," said Switzerland's Jeanette Marty. "Hockey has been progressing in Switzerland, but every player needs to work harder. We do not have the funding that other teams do. We all have full time jobs and pay for tournaments ourselves."

Marty remains confident and optimistic despite the poor Swiss finish. "We have taken something away from this tournament. If we are going to compete with the top teams we need to play at their level. They have a lot of speed; everyone is faster and bigger and there is a lot of pressure in front of the net."

Two of Japan's players were taken to hospital after the game for treatment after suffering minor injuries during the game.