FÜSSEN, Germany – Canada’s National Women’s Under-22/Development Team has earned the bronze medal at the 2012 Meco Cup, finishing third in the round-robin tournament with three wins and two overtime losses.

It’s just the second time in 10 years Canada has not won gold at the tournament, previously known as the Air Canada Cup and MLP Nations Cup.

Canada capped off the tournament Sunday with a 3-2 shootout loss to Finland. Sarah Davis (Paradise, N.L./University of Minnesota, WCHA) opened the scoring for the Canadians just 74 seconds into the game, but a pair of Finnish goals in the first period gave them the lead until Saige Pacholok (Edmonton, Alta./University of Wisconsin, WCHA) tied it for Canada seven minutes into the third. Amanda Mazzotta (London, Ont./Cornell University, ECAC) made 20 saves in regulation and overtime and stopped two of three Finns in the shootout, but the Canadians could not beat Finnish netminder Meeri Räsänen.

Canada and Finland finished tied for second with 11 points each, but the Finns claimed the silver medal thanks to their head-to-head victory.

Earlier in the tournament, the Canadians earned victories over Germany (4-1), Russia (6-0) and Switzerland (6-0), but a 3-2 overtime loss to Sweden on Saturday eliminated Canada from gold medal contention.

Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, Ont./Clarkson University, ECAC) finished as Canada’s top scorer in the tournament with six points (three goals, three assists) in five games, leaving her second in tournament scoring. Mazzotta finished with the top goals against average at 0.97 in three games and was named Top Goaltender.

Canada’s roster for the 2012 Meco Cup included two goaltenders, seven defencemen and 13 forwards. Roster selection was based on evaluations by Hockey Canada scouts and coaches. Evaluations were completed based on the performances of players at the 2011 National Women’s Under-22/Development Team training camp held in Rockland, Ont., in August, other past performances within Canada’s National Women’s Program, their provincial programs and with their respective club teams in leagues such as Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Canada’s National Women’s Under-22/Development Team will fly home on Monday, with all players and staff returning to their club teams throughout North America.

For more information on Canada’s National Women’s Under-22/Development Team, please visit www.HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_teamcanada.