2004 IIHF Women's World Championship

Box Score		CAN	0	1	1	2	0
Compte		USA	0	0	0	0	0

Scoring/Buts : Penalties/Pénalités : 03.21 2 min USA 9. KILBOURNE, Andrea, Interference 17.51 2 min USA 8. WEILAND, Kerry, Boarding

Scoring/Buts : 24.17 0 - 1 EQ Canada WICKENHEISER, Hayley (GOYETTE, Danielle/BRISSON, Therese) Penalties/Pénalités : 33.49 2 min USA 6. VASICHEK, Julianne, Roughing 31.37 2 min USA 10. INSALACO, Kim, Tripping

Scoring/Buts : 41.37 0 - 2 EQ Canada 34. COLLINS, Delaney   Penalties/Pénalités : 44.22 2 min Canada 10. APPS, Gillian, Boarding 42.45 2 min USA 4. RUGGIERO, Angela, Body Checking 54.33 2 min Canada 34. COLLINS, Delaney Hooking 52.33 2 min Canada 7. PIPER, Cherie Hooking 56.00 2 min USA 20. KING, Katie Roughing 54.33 2 min Canada 34. COLLINS, Delaney Hooking

Canada: “We are the Champions”
 
Team Canada won its eighth straight World Championship in Halifax this evening. After an incredibly action-packed first two, the third proved to be even more intense than the previous periods.
 
The Americans came out on fire, obviously hungry for a goal. But it would be the Canadians who would dent the twine again, with Delaney Collins notching one within the first five minutes. Dana Antal carried it in and fed it to the front of the net. It looked like Dreyer had a handle on it, but Collins dug away and poked the puck in to put Canada up 2-0.
 
The Americans would not let up, however, and fought hard until the bitter end of the game. Their efforts almost paid off numerous times – Team USA created some quality chances throughout the period, but in the end it just wasn’t their game. A shot that looked like a goal wasn’t counted, and Canada maintained the shut-out.
 
A sell out crowd of 10,506 fans watched as the Canadians jumped over the bench and fell all over each other once the clock ran down. “We are the Champions” rang throughout the Metro Centre as Team Canada celebrated their victory in the 2004 IIHF World Women’s Hockey Championship.

Golden quest is a Canada-USA showdown
By Kristen Lipscombe
 
The day that hockey fans have been waiting for is fast approaching. The pinnacle moment of the 2004 IIHF World Women’s Hockey Championship in Halifax, Nova Scotia will come Tuesday night at the Metro Centre, when arguably the two best women’s hockey teams in the world face-off in a heated rivalry.
 
Canada and the United States have one more stop on the road to gold, but the only thing stopping them from the sweet taste of victory is each other. And undoubtedly, both teams are hungry.
 
Team Canada is craving its eighth straight World Championship title – they have claimed bragging rights since the event’s inauguration in 1990. The Americans, on the other hand, intend to push the Canadians right off their golden pedestal in Tuesday evening’s battle.
 
Team USA has already once shaken Canada’s pride in a major international showdown -  The Americans beat out the canucks 3-1 for the first women’s hockey Olympic gold at the Nagano Games in 1998.
 
The Canadians, however, came back in 2002 at the Salt Lake City Olympics to prove to the world once again what they are capable of on the ice. Jayna Hefford’s game winning goal has become a historical moment in hockey history -  to the delight of fans across the country, Canada skated over the USA to an impressive 3-2 victory for Olympic gold.
 
But in their last nine major international competition games against the United States since 2002 (Tour vs. USA, Salt Lake City Olympics, Four Nations Cup and Women’s World Championship), Canada has won only three of those contests. The statistics are stacked up against Canada’s golden girls.
 
“Tomorrow is a new day. It’s a new game,” said American blueliner Angela Ruggiero, who played in both women’s hockey appearances at the Olympics and five Women’s World Championships. “We always know that Canada shows up in their Championship game,” said Ruggiero.
 
“We’re looking for a tough game tomorrow, but we definitely have the boost,” she added, referring to the Americans’ 2003 Four Nations Cup victory in Skovde, Sweden last November.
 
“We’re trying to play a team game right now,” she added. “That’s the theme to our team - keeping it our game and (playing) really simple hockey.”
 
“We’re going to try and get on them early and not let them use the crowd as a momentum booster,” commented Ruggiero on the home town crowd that will be bearing the red and white and cheering on Canada through three periods.
 
“A gold medal game always comes down to heart and passion,” said Hefford, a dependable offensive force for Canada.
 
“Whatever team really wants it more – it’s the little things that tend to win those games (such as) special teams and goaltending,” she added. “So really it’s just coming out, wanting it more than they do, winning the little battles and sacrificing yourself for the better of the team.”
 
Canada lost a tough 3-1 battle to the United States on Saturday, while managing a 7-1 win over Sweden Sunday night, after falling behind 1-0 for a full period.
 
“I think it’s good that we face adversity in the tournament going into the gold medal game, because it’s not going to be easy,” said Hefford. “I think we’re at a good place right now. We had a rough game, we came back, and now we’re refocused on the gold medal game. We’re excited.”
 
Canada’s squad is healthy and ready to face their toughest competition in the world.

Team USA is dealing with injury and sickness, but the players are going into Tuesday’s game with a positive attitude.
 
Team USA forward Julie Chu came down with the flu and her prognosis is day-to-day. Krissy Wendell was injured in Monday night’s game against Sweden and it is unknown whether or not she will continue to play. Offensive force Shelley Looney tore her left MCL and ACL earlier in the tournament and will not play, while Cammi Granato is back on the ice after tearing her knee earlier this week.

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Canada up by one after exciting second period
By Kristen Lipscombe
 
Fans sat on the edge of their seats as the second period got underway. Action continued to waiver back-and-forth between these two evenly matched teams, but at 4:17 Canadian offensive powerhouse Hayley Wickenheiser fired a wrist shot off from just inside the blue line. The puck sailed over Dreyer’s shoulder and into the top right corner of the net to put Canada on the scoreboard. The crowd at the Metro Centre roared as the Canadians celebrated their first goal of the night.
 
When play started again, Team Canada veteran Cassie Campbell was all alone in the USA zone as an American defender skated hard back, but not before Campbell
let off a shot of her own. Much to the dismay of the fans, the shot went wide of the net and off the boards.
 
Team USA continued to pick up the pace and put pressure on the Canadian defenders. Forward Angela Ruggiero carried it around the Canadian net and put it on St. Pierre’s pads. She was able to pick to pick up her own rebound and let off another wrister, but St. Pierre was able to smother the shot this time.
 
Next it would be Team Canada with the chance to score. Cherie Piper snuck behind the American defence. Her teammates fed the puck up to her, but Piper fell twice in her attempt to put it on Dreyer’s net.
 
The Canadians earned a couple of power play opportunities, but the Americans were able to kill the time and hold off the competition.
 
At 16:56 it was Canadian forward Gillian Apps who was sent to the box for hooking. Team USA’s Cammi Granato managed to let off a quick shot on net, but the puck hit St. Pierre’s skate and she was able to cover up the rebound.

No score after intense
first period action
By Kristen Lipscombe
 
The Halifax Metro Centre has been transformed into a sea of red and white, as hockey fans have filled the arena to watch Team Canada take on Team USA in the gold medal game of the 2004 IIHF World Women’s Hockey Championship.
 
From the first drop of the puck, the first period was an intense see-saw affair. With chants of “Go Canada Go” filling the air, the Canadians came out skating hard and moving the puck around quickly. The United States fought equally as hard and put Team Canada to the test.
 
Canada created a number of ample scoring chances. At 7:25 Gillian Apps and Dana Antal went in strong on a two-on-one, but came up short as Apps got tied up and missed the pass from Antal and the chance to put it away.
 
The Canadians worked hard down low in the USA zone, but could not put it past starting goalie Pam Dreyer. An American forward broke loose with the puck and challenged Gillian Ferrari on a one-on-one, but Ferrari got physical and pushed the opposition off the puck.
 
Later in the first the Canadian net was left wide open when Kim St. Pierre fell on the puck, but the whistle wasn’t called right away and the Americans dug out the puck from underneath St. Pierre. The crowd watched in anticipation as the USA forward just barely missed, hitting the post before the whistle was finally called.
 
Cherie Piper snagged the puck and carried it down all alone, but Dreyer stoned the wrist shot and denied Canada’s chance to open the scoring.
 
The Canadians gained a power play opportunity at the end of the first off a boarding call against USA’s Kerry Weiland, but despite some strong shots on net and great offensive work, they couldn’t produce a goal.