2007 IIHF Women's World Championship

Matchup: Finland 0 vs. USA 4, 7:30 p.m., MTS Centre | IIHF Summary

USA CLINCHES FINALS BERTH WITH WIN OVER FINLAND

By Derek Jory

Team USA is back in the win column, and it’s headed back to the gold medal final at the IIHF World Women’s Championship for the tenth time as well.

“We’ve worked hard and earned the right to play in that game,” said USA Head Coach Mark Johnson. “Now we’ve just got to go out and do what we’ve done in the last two and a half weeks, and play at that same level, and compete.”

Rebounding from a heartbreaking 5-4 shootout loss to Team Canada Saturday night, the USA scored two first-period goals in its last Playoff Round game en route to a 4-0 thumping of Finland in front of 4,758 fans at the MTS Centre.

The Americans now lead Qualifying Group D with four points in two games (one for the shootout loss to Canada and three for the regulation-time win over Finland). If Canada beats Finland in regulation time or overtime on Monday, it advances to the gold medal game. The Finns must beat Canada in regulation time to make the gold medal game (since a Finnish overtime win would leave Finland with two points and Canada with three).

American captain Krissy Wendell and Molly Engstrom paced the attack with a goal and an assist apiece. Natalie Darwitz and Kristin King had the other American goals.

Finnish goalie Noora Raty saw her two-game shutout streak snapped as she faced 37 shots. Chanda Gunn, making her second start of the tournament for the USA, recorded her fifth career shutout in IIHF competition while stopping all 13 Finnish shots.

“When she was called upon, she did what we needed her to do,” said Johnson of his goaltender.

Territorially, the larger, stronger Americans often kept the Finns bottled up in their end, and the Finns generally focused on trying to generate neutral zone turnovers, with little success.

“I’m really proud of my team,” said Finnish Head Coach Hannu Saintula. “We tried to do many things pretty well, but that’s not enough when we play against the USA. We need our best day if we’re going to challenge them. This is not our best day.”

Natalie Darwitz opened the scoring for the Americans just before the halfway point of the first period, putting the puck in at the side of the net after Caitlin Cahow’s drive from the line deflected off Wendell’s stick in front.

Wendell was up to more tricks with less than two minutes to go in the opening period, as she dangled around a hapless defender before outwaiting Raty and then snapping a perfect shot into the left corner. The Americans led 2-0 after the first period, and the margin could have been wider if not for Raty.

Raty’s strong play continued into the second, as she kept Finland within striking distance for most of the period. A goaltender can only do so much, though, and with Finland allowing the Americans to take shots at will, a power play goal put Team USA up by three midway through the period. Jenny Potter and Kerry Weiland both picked up assists on Molly Engstrom’s second goal of the championship, a beautiful snap shot that fooled Raty.

This game was all but finished after two periods, but Team USA didn’t let up in the third, firing 14 shots on Raty and beating her just once. Kristin King rounded out the scoring with a rush out of the corner very similar to Wendell’s 2-0 goal, but she culminated it with a high backhander past Raty at 3:31 of the third period.

The USA once again used a balanced scoring attack to cripple their opponents, as four different Americans from three different lines scored. This has proven to be one of the USA’s most dangerous weapons, as 11 American players have scored at least one goal in the tournament.

“Coming into this tournament with the young players, you don’t know if it’s going to be a situation that adds depth,” said Johnson of his youth-laden roster. “We’re giving them the opportunity to play and some of them have been able to score some goals and make some plays.”

The Finns have little time to sulk over the loss, as they face Team Canada Monday night with a trip to the gold medal game on the line. Meanwhile, the USA has Monday off in preparation for the winner-takes-all matchup Tuesday night at the MTS Centre.

Regardless of whether they face the Canadians or the Finns, the Americans look poised and ready to make a fierce defence of their 2005 IIHF World Women’s Championship title.

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Finland: Coming off two days of rest, Team Finland will be looking to get rid of any cobwebs early on in their opening Playoff Round game against the Americans. The Finns, who currently sit fourth in the IIHF World Rankings, played well in their Preliminary Round tilts with Russia and Sweden. They used quick puck movement and superior goaltending to beat the Russians 4-0, with Mari Saarinen collecting two assists in that win. Noora Raty stopped 19 shots for Finland, and the 17-year-old Espoo Blues netminder looked just as sharp in the next game against Sweden. Raty backstopped her team to a thrilling 1-0 overtime win over Tre Kronor, stopping 21 shots along the way. Saija Sirvio scored the game’s lone goal. Thus far, five different players have bulged the twine for the Finns, and they hope that trend of balanced scoring continues against the USA. If history provides any indication, the Americans should come out on top. The last time these two teams met in World Championship action was at the 2005 tournament, with the Americans pummeling the Finns 8-1. Two confrontations at the 2006 Olympics yielded similar results, as the Finns lost to USA 7-3 in the Preliminary Round, and then 4-0 in the bronze medal showdown. Team Finland has never finished higher than third place at an IIHF World Women’s Championship or Olympics. But beating the Americans would put Finland into the finals versus Canada, so this is a huge game.

USA: Team USA’s drive to defend its World Championship title from 2005 hit a bit of a speed bump against the Canadians Saturday night. So the Americans will be looking for a solid effort against Finland. Despite skating hard, moving the puck well, and being up by two goals in the second period of their game against Canada, the Americans couldn’t hold on for the win, losing 5-4 in a shootout. Head Coach Mark Johnson was pleased with his team’s performance, but obviously not with the outcome. However, if the Americans can replicate the level of intensity they showed there to today’s game against the Finns, the USA could put this game away early on. Captain Krissy Wendell leads the Americans in scoring with three goals and six assists through three games, which is second only to Hayley Wickenheiser’s 12 points for Team Canada. Forwards Natalie Darwitz and Sarah Parsons have also been major factors on offence, combining for six goals and seven assists for Team USA. Twenty-one-year-old netminder Jessie Vetter got the call in goal against the Canadians, making her second start of the tournament, and she looked impressive, stopping 26 of 31 shots. Chanda Gunn will most likely be in net against the Finns, however, as Coach Johnson has said he is rotating goaltenders throughout the tournament. Regardless of whether it’s Gunn or Vetter, whoever starts shouldn’t expect to be tested with a ton of quality chances, unless the Finns really bring their best skating game.
Derek Jory