SCORE BOARD

CALGARY, Alta. – Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team and National Women’s Under-18 Team each completed their three-game series against the United States on Saturday, with the under-22 team wrapping up a three-game sweep with a 7-2 victory. The under-18 team fell 4-3 to the U.S., and came up short in each of their three games.

The under-22 side also topped the United States’ Women’s Under-22 Select Team 4-1 on Wednesday and 6-5 in a shootout battle Thursday. The under-18s dropped a 4-1 decision to the United States’ Women’s Under-18 Select Team on Wednesday and lost 3-2 in overtime Thursday.

On Saturday in Toronto, Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.) had a hat trick and added an assist to lead the offence as Canada wrapped up its second under-22 sweep of the Americans in three tries with a win at the MasterCard Centre. Laura Fortino (Hamilton, Ont.), Rebecca Johnston (Sudbury, Ont.), Jillian Saulnier (Halifax, N.S.) and Vicki Bendus (Wasaga Beach, Ont.) also scored for Canada, which has not lost in regulation time to the Americans since the 2004 series in Lake Placid, N.Y. and Burlington, Vt. Stefanie McKeough (Carlsbad, Ont.) added two assists in the win, while Geneviève Lacasse (Scarborough, Ont.) made 19 saves to pick up the win between the pipes.

On Saturday in Lake Placid, N.Y., goals from Katy Josephs (Cochrane, Alta.) and Cayley Mercer (Exeter, Ont.) gave Canada a 3-2 lead early in the third period, but the Americans would rebound to pull out the win, scoring the game-winner with just 36 seconds remaining. Emily Fulton (Stratford, Ont.) scored the other goal for Canada, who lost all three games for the first time in the four-year history of the series. Amanda Makela (Thunder Bay, Ont.) and Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que.) split time in the Canadian goal, combining to make 34 saves.

The 22-player rosters for Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team and Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team were chosen following a selection camp for both teams which ran from August 7-15 at the MasterCard Centre in Toronto.

Hockey Canada scouts and coaching staffs for both teams will continue to evaluate players when they return to their club teams for the 2010-11 season, in order to decide who will represent Canada at the 2011 IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship next spring in Sweden and which under-22 players will compete for their country at the 2011 MLP Cup in Switzerland next January.