CANADA WINS 12-0 AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ON HISTORIC NIGHT IN SWISS WOMEN'S
HOCKEYHISTORY
WINTERTHUR, Switzerland _ The Swiss may have lost 12-0 to Canada to start the women's
worldhockey championship Saturday, but it felt like a win for them in one way.
Switzerland is hosting the women's tournament for the first time and is the first central
Europeancountry to do so.
They had a sellout crowd loudly supporting them and waving Swiss flags throughout the game, even when
thescore got out of hand. The Swiss women received a rousing standing ovation after the buzzer.
In a country where women's hockey has been lightly-regarded, it meant the world to captain Kathrin
Lehmannto feel the support and appreciation of her countrymen and countrywomen.
“It was just a tremendous big night for us,” said Lehmann. “We knew that the first time in Swiss history
anational (women's) game will be sold out. All the love we got from the spectators, we wanted to
giveback.
“I think the people will come back and that was our biggest goal during this tournament, to show
younggirls how much fun it is to play hockey and convince parents and clubs who also deny women's hockey.
Tonightwe made a big step and it was great that Canada was here so people could see what the world's best
playerscan show.”
The Canadian women felt, and could see in their opponents' faces, this was a monumental night in
Swisswomen's hockey no matter what the score.
“They were proud to be wearing their jerseys,” defender Tessa Bonhomme said. “You could definitely feel
alittle bit of adrenaline and a good energy in the rink.
“I'm glad they kept playing to the buzzer. We like to see they still had a fire lit under them and
werestill competing. We're proud of them for that.”
Cherie Piper paced Canada's attack with a hat trick. Bonhomme had a four-point night with a goal and
threeassists.
The rest of Canada's production came from eight other goalscorers: Jayna Hefford, Hayley Irwin,
HayleyWickenheiser, Meaghan Mikkelson, Gillian Apps, Rebecca Johnston, Marie-Philip Poulin and Jennifer
Wakefield.Megan Agosta had three assists.
Charline Labonte stopped 19 shots for the win. The Canadians have less than 24 hours before their nextgame
versus Kazakhstan on Sunday when Kim St. Pierre will start in net.
The five Canadian players who made their world championship debut all had at least one point. TaraWatchorn
had a pair of assists. Bobbi-Jo Slusar, Jocelyne Larocque and Natalie Spooner each had an assist andWakefield
scored her goal.
In an earlier Pool B game, Olympic bronze medallist Finland downed Kazakhstan 5-3. Pool A games
getunderway Sunday in Zurich with two-time defending world champion U.S. taking on Slovakia and Sweden
facingRussia.
When International Ice Hockey Federation president Jacques Rogges said following last year's
WinterOlympics that women's hockey had to become more competitive, it galvanized the International Ice
HockeyFederation to put together a four-year plan for the sport.
Developing a following of fans and young girls who want to try hockey is the foundation of success for
anyfemale sport.
The Swiss seeds may have been planted Saturday at Eishalle Deutweg, where almost 3,000 fans
wereentertained by what they watched. Tournament chairman Fredy Weisser was grinning ear to ear.
“When you see these fans here, when they actually watch the game, they give us a lot more credit and
itgives validity to the game,” Piper said. “They're working hard and we're working hard as well. People need
tocome out and actually see it.”
Switzerland is ranked fifth in the world and finished fifth at the Olympics. They lost 10-1 to
Canadaat the Games and that marked the first time they scored a goal versus Canada.
Canada gave Swiss goaltender Florence Schelling and Sophie Anthamatten a workout with 55 shots on
net.While the Swiss desperately wanted to score a goal for the home crowd, the goaltender tandem made
someentertaining saves.
Schelling plays college hockey for Northeastern in Boston and had the third-highest save percentage atlast
year's Winter Olympics. After allowing six goals, she was replaced by Sophie Anthamatten. The finalminutes
were chippy with extra stickwork as the Swiss didn't want to go down without a fight.
“The spectators saw that we fought to the end no matter what is on the scoreboard,” said Lehmann, who
notonly plays club hockey for MEK Munich, but is also a goalkeeper for FC Bayern's women's soccer team.
The Canadian team was surprised to see green pucks on the ice for their pre-game warmup. It is part of
theIIHF's anti-doping campaign and the green pucks were introduced at last year's men's world
championships.
Labonte was relieved to see the regulation black pucks flying at her during the game and not the
greendiscs.
“Oh my gosh, I hope they put those away. They were so hard to see,” she exclaimed.
But Bonhomme liked them so much, she took one.
“I stole one just to tweet about it later,” she said. “They felt different, but it was a neat surprise
andsomething we've never seen before.”
Canada's game wasn't perfect as they turned the puck over four times in the first period, but theycompensated
by scoring two of their three goals short-handed. The visitors also scored four power-playgoals.
Notes _ Canada is 4-0-0 versus Switzerland in world championship play . . . Piper scored
her38th, 39th and 40th career goals in her 106th game for Canada. |
