CALGARY, Alta. – Canada’s National Women’s Team has won its 11th gold medal at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, earning a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the United States on Tuesday night.

Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.) got the winner 7:22 into overtime, after Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont.) and Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, Ont.) had scored 2:29 apart early in the second period to erase a two-goal deficit.

After Alex Carpenter scored twice for the U.S. in the first period, Jenner tucked in a power-play goal 4:13 into the second and Rattray tipped in a Jocelyne Larocque (Ste. Anne, Man.) shot at 6:42 to make it 2-2.

That would be it for scoring until Poulin took a perfect pass from Jenner and wired a shot off the crossbar and down, just across the goal line to give Canada its first world title since 2012.

“It’s hard to put into words,” Poulin said of winning gold. “The team showed up tonight, we stayed resilient, we stayed to our way, our game and it was amazing – a team effort all around. It wasn’t the start we wanted, down 2-0, but just focusing on what we’ve been doing all tournament was key. In the third period, we killed many penalties, we stuck together, didn’t panic and we took it over in overtime. Obviously, it’s an amazing feeling, since 2012 it’s been a long time coming and the last two years has been a lot of work. We did our work, came as a group and we did it.”

Following the tournament, Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que.) was named Most Valuable Player and Best Forward by the IIHF Directorate. Daoust led the tournament in scoring with 12 points (six goals, six assists). Daoust, Erin Ambrose (Keswick, Ont.) and Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont.) were named to the Media All-Star Team.

A full game summary and recap can be found at HockeyCanada.ca.

“We’ve tried to focus a lot this event, touching on making little adjustments about the opponent,” said Troy Ryan (Spryfield, N.S.). “With so much time off from international play, we thought the priority should be on our game and what makes us successful. We got a little bit in that first game against the U.S. and we just tried to build off that for this game.”

Canada was perfect through the preliminary round, finishing atop the Group A standings with wins over Finland, ROC, Switzerland and the United States, outscoring its opponents 20-5. Canada earned a trip to the gold medal game with a 7-0 quarterfinal shutout of Germany and a 4-0 semifinal win over Switzerland.

Canada has captured 11 gold medals at the IIHF Women’s World Championship (1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2012, 2021), in addition to eight silver (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) and one bronze (2019).

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or following along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

GAME STATS: CANADA 3, UNITED STATES 2 (OT)

CALGARY, Alta. – Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.) scored a dramatic overtime winner 7:22 into the extra period, giving Canada’s National Women’s Team a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the United States on Tuesday night for its 11th gold medal at the IIHF Women’s World Championship.

The Canadians claimed the world title for the first time since 2012, when Caroline Ouellette scored the extra-time goal to give Canada the win over the U.S. It also marks the first time Canada has gone unbeaten at a women’s worlds since 2007 in Winnipeg.

With the teams going end-to-end in three-on-three overtime, Poulin took a perfect pass from Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont.) and wired a shot over the glove of American netminder Nicole Hensley.

THE GOLDEN GOAL! 🥇#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @pou29 pic.twitter.com/tL3mbdYzLJ

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) September 1, 2021

The puck pinged off the under side of the cross bar and came down just across the goal line, but was in and out so fast that it was initially waved off by the referee. As play continued into the Canadian end, IIHF video review confirmed the shot was in and the horn sounded to end another memorable chapter of the Canada-U.S. rivalry.

Early on it looked as if the Americans would crash the party in Calgary and leave with a sixth-straight gold.

Alex Carpenter got the all-important first goal midway through the first period, knocking her own rebound through the legs of Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que.), and she added a second less than three minutes later, finding a loose puck off a scramble in front and firing it past the Canadian netminder.

But Canada came out with the jump to open the second, equalizing before the period was seven minutes old.

Jenner was first on a Canadian power play at 4:13, showing off her quick hands to tuck a shot around Hensley.

Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, Ont.) tied it 2:29 later, getting her stick on a blast from Jocelyne Larocque (Ste. Anne, Man.) and tipping it down and through the five-hole of the American goaltender.

What. A. Tip. 🏒#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @ratt26 pic.twitter.com/s2N1X0m27x

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) September 1, 2021

After back-to-back Canadian power plays came up empty, the penalty kill went to work; the Americans enjoyed three-and-a-half power plays in the third period alone, but the Canadians, led by Poulin and Jenner up front, kept the game tied.

Desbiens did her part as well, making a couple of point-blank stops as part of her 23-save performance.

It was no surprise the gold medal game needed overtime; it marked the fifth time in the last seven finals between the teams that an extra period was necessary to crown a world champion.

Poulin joins an exclusive list of golden goal scorers for Canada at women’s worlds – Nancy Drolet did it in 1997 and 2000, and Caroline Ouellette was the hero when Canada won its most recent gold in 2012.

Follow the game, Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que.) earned Most Valuable Player and Top Forward honours, as well as a place on the Media All-Star Team, where she was joined by Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont.) and Erin Ambrose (Keswick, Ont.).

The 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship comes to a close Tuesday in Calgary, as does a rollercoaster ride that has lasted more than 18 months; the tournament – originally scheduled for Halifax, N.S., was cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then again in April of this year with cases rising in Nova Scotia.

Fans watching on TSN see the action on the ice, but the action behind the scenes – especially this year in a bubble environment – is a major part of welcoming the world to what is one of the major events on the international hockey calendar.

“This has been an unbelievable journey, persevering through a continuing global pandemic and a pair of cancellations to host a women’s worlds that we are so proud of,” said Dean McIntosh, vice-president of events and properties for Hockey Canada. “This tournament is about so much more than the 12 days of hockey at WinSport Arena; it is about the efforts of event staff, players, coaches, officials and volunteers who should be so proud of what they have accomplished.”

So what exactly goes into – and comes out of – hosting the women’s worlds, in the summer, with four months notice, after two cancellations? Let’s take a look at the numbers:

0: Paid attendance for the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all 31 tournament games were played without fans, although a very limited number of family and friends were allowed in the building.

12: Points for tournament leader Mélodie Daoust, just the fourth double-digit performance by a Canadian since 2007 (Hayley Wickenheiser put up 10 points in 2012, Marie-Philip Poulin had 12 en route to MVP honours in 2013, and Natalie Spooner totalled 10 in 2019).

22: Officials who worked the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship, representing seven countries – Canada (7), United States (7), Finland (2), Russia (2), Sweden (2), Austria (1), Switzerland (1)

37: Media availabilities done through Zoom from Aug. 16, the first day teams were out of quarantine, through the semifinals. This includes IIHF press conferences with both teams after each game, and availabilities done by Canada’s National Women’s Team prior to games, after practices and on off-days.

47: Staff in the bubble for TSN and RDS to broadcast every preliminary-round and playoff-round game at women’s worlds for the first-time ever. This includes everyone from play-by-play announcers Rod Black and Kenzie Lalonde to production runners, camera operators and fibre-optic technicians.

131: Goals scored through the semifinals, by 74 different players. The highest single-game total came in the United States’ 10-2 win over Japan in the quarterfinals, while the lowest were a pair of 1-0 games – Japan’s victory over Denmark in the preliminary round, and Finland’s 1-0 triumph over the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals

207: Accredited media representing all 10 competing nations. Not surprisingly, Canadian media comprised the largest delegation – 70 media from 41 different media outlets.

242: Players who dressed for at least one game. Denmark, Germany and ROC were the only teams that had all of their rostered players see game action.

279: Scrapes during TV timeouts by the volunteer ice crew. At the first whistle after the six-minute, 10-minute and 14-minute marks of each period, a team of eight skaters cleared snow in front of both nets and around the edge of the rink.

509: Individuals who were permanently inside the bubble from the arrival of teams on Aug. 10. That does not include WinSport Arena and hotel staff who worked inside the bubble, but were not permanent inhabitants.

528: Hours spent in the bubble by the top six teams; players and staff arrived to begin quarantine on Aug. 10, were on the ice for their first practices on Aug. 16, skated in pre-tournament play on Aug. 18 and dropped the puck to open the tournament on Aug. 20.

737: Accreditations issued, which includes all players, team staff, officials, volunteers, Hockey Canada staff, International Ice Hockey Federation staff and venue staff at WinSport Arena.

753: Social media posts related to the women’s worlds sent across all Hockey Canada platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) from Aug. 20-30. The posts – in English and French – earned 16,364,321 impressions and 474,672 engagements.

1,037: Days between Halifax and Truro, N.S., being awarded the 2020 IIHF Women’s World Championship (Oct. 30, 2018) and the gold medal game between Canada and the United States in Calgary (Aug. 31, 2021). The tournament was first cancelled March 7, 2020, and then again on April 21, 2021.

1,686: Minutes of hockey played through the end of the semifinals. Only one game has gone beyond 60 minutes – Switzerland’s come-from-behind 3-2 win over ROC in the quarterfinals.

3,808: COVID-19 tests performed on players, team staff, Hockey Canada staff, International Ice Hockey Federation staff, TSN and volunteers from the start of the pre-screening period on Aug. 1 through Aug. 29.

6,134: Towels used by teams and officials during the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship. To comply with COVID-19 protocols, each towel was used only once and then laundered.

6,156: Volunteer hours worked to help the tournament run behind the scenes. The volunteer group included 60 individuals; of those, 30 were inside the bubble as part of the transportation, team services and off-ice officials groups. At a typical women’s worlds in Canada, the volunteer team would total more than 300.

12,518: Litres of water consumed by players and officials during the women’s worlds – that works out to just over 31 litres per player/official over the duration of the tournament.

16,044: Cups of Tim Hortons coffee consumed inside the bubble since Aug. 16.

24,780: Photos taken by Hockey Canada Images photographer Matthew Murnaghan. They included on-ice action, Team Canada headshots, behind-the-scenes exclusives and partner activations.

1,034,905: Page views at HockeyCanada.ca from Aug. 20-30. Traffic to IIHF Women’s World Championship pages totalled 733,923 views, or 70.9% of all web traffic.

1,488,670: Dollar total for the 50/50 draws for all six Team Canada game days through the end of the semifinals, with half the proceeds ($744,335) going to the Hockey Alberta Foundation to support women’s hockey initiatives in the province.

GAME NOTES: Canada vs. United States (August 31)

TV: TSN | TSN Direct

It has been 519 days since the 2020 IIHF Women’s World Championship was supposed to begin in Halifax, N.S., and the long journey has finally reached the end. Canada’s National Women’s Team faces the United States on Tuesday night in the gold medal game at the 2021 women’s worlds.

LAST GAME

Mélodie Daoust led the way again for Canada in its semifinal, scoring twice in a 4-0 win over Switzerland. Renata Fast and Rebecca Johnston opened and closed for the scoring for the Canadians, who peppered the Swiss goal with 65 shots. Ann-Renée Desbiens earned her first shutout of the tournament with 10 saves.

The Americans got second-period goals from Alex Carpenter and Abbey Murphy to send them to a 3-0 victory over Finland in their semifinal. Kendall Coyne Schofield added a goal late to finish the scoring for U.S., which is into the gold medal game for the 20th time in as many women’s worlds.

LAST MEETING

The rivals closed out the preliminary round on Thursday night, with the Canadians jumping out to a two-goal lead in the first period and a five-goal advantage by the 11-minute mark of the second en route to a 5-1 win that ended the Americans’ 29-game winning streak at women’s worlds. Jamie Lee Rattray scored two goals, Brianne Jenner set up three and Ann-Renee Desbiens made 22 saves to help Canada finish the preliminary round perfect for the first time since 2013.

WHAT TO WATCH

This Canadian team is deep. Very deep. While Daoust, Natalie Spooner and Brianne Jenner have led the way (the trio has combined for 29 points in six games), everyone is contributing; 18 of the 22 skaters have at least a point and 14 different players have scored goals. The hero can come from any line or any blue-line pairing, and that can only be a positive with a gold medal on the line.

The Americans are no slouches in the depth department, either; all 21 of the skaters that have been in the U.S. lineup have appeared on the scoresheet, and 13 have goals. Hilary Knight, Lee Stecklein and Grace Zumwinkle lead the way with six points apiece, and another three (Kendall Coyne Schofield, Brianna Decker and Megan Keller) have five.

And how a general ‘watch this’ – the best women’s hockey players in the world are back on the big stage, facing off for the 154th time in their storied rivalry with a world title up for grabs. It doesn’t get any better than this.

A LOOK BACK

This is the 19th time the Canadians and Americans have met for gold at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, with Canada holding a 10-8 advantage. The U.S. has won the last five world titles, with Canada’s most recent gold coming via a 5-4 overtime victory in 2012.

History tells us this will likely go down to the wire; four of the last six gold medal games between these teams have needed extra time (in 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017), the 2013 final was a one-goal affair and it was 5-5 after two periods in 2015.

All-time record: Canada leads 84-67-1 (17-16 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 419
United States goals: 376

GAME STATS: CANADA 4, SWITZERLAND 0

CALGARY, Alta. – Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que.) scored two more goals to send Canada’s National Women’s Team into the gold medal game at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship after a 4-0 semifinal win over Switzerland on Monday night.

The Canadians will face their rivals from the United States in the final on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT).

Daoust scored in each of the first two periods for her fourth-consecutive multi-point effort. Her 12 points (six goals, six assists) are three clear of linemate Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont.) for the tournament scoring lead, and are the most by a Canadian at a women’s worlds since Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.) recorded 12 in 2013.

Renata Fast (Burlington, Ont.) and Rebecca Johnston (Sudbury, Ont.) had the other goals for the Canadians, who are back in the gold medal game after missing out in 2019 when they were upset by Finland in the semifinals.

There would be no repeat in 2021, as Canada took control early. Fast opened the scoring just 5:14 in, jumping in off the blue line and burying a pretty setup from Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont.)

Nice pass, eh? 🇨🇦#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @RenataFast | @briannejenner pic.twitter.com/XXH07h7wqz

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 30, 2021

Fast was in on the second goal as well just 98 seconds later, letting go a wrist shot from the point that Daoust redirected through Andrea Brändli to make it 2-0.

Brändli was busy in the first period, stopping 18 of the 20 shots she faced as the Canadians outshot the Swiss 20-2.

Canada’s power play went to work early in the second period, getting a little puck luck to stretch its lead to three. Poulin threw a centring pass into the slot that deflected off the skate of Daoust and went up and over Brändli for her second of the game.

The Swiss netminder took over from there, stopping almost everything she faced the rest of the way; Brändli finished with 61 saves in all, including 21 of the 22 shots sent her way in the third period.

Johnston added a little more insurance with three minutes to go, wiring a shot just inside the far post for a power-play goal.

Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que.) was perfect at the other end, making 10 saves for her first shutout of the tournament.

Following the game, Canada’s top three players of the tournament, as selected by the coaches, were named – Daoust, Fast and Spooner.

GAME NOTES: Canada vs. Switzerland (August 30)

TV: TSN | TSN Direct

Canada’s National Women’s Team is through to the semifinals at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship, set for a date with Switzerland with a spot in the gold medal game on the line.

The Canadians are looking to get back to the final for the 19th time after missing out in 2019, while the Swiss are into the last four for just the third time – they finished fourth in 2008 and won bronze (their lone medal) in 2012.

LAST GAME

Canada dominated Germany in its quarterfinal on Saturday night, finishing with a massive 52-3 edge in shots on goal in a 7-0 win. Natalie Spooner scored twice and added an assist, Mélodie Daoust recorded a goal and two helpers and Sarah Fillier had one of each as that line contributed four goals and eight points. Emerance Maschmeyer earned her second shutout in as many starts with three stops.

Switzerland shocked ROC in the first quarterfinal Saturday, erasing a two-goal deficit in the final 11 minutes of regulation time and getting the overtime winner from Laura Zimmermann 5:29 into the extra period to earn a 3-2 victory. Saskia Maurer was terrific in the Swiss goal, turning aside all 28 shots she faced after taking over for Andrea Brändli just nine minutes in.

LAST MEETING

The teams met Tuesday night in preliminary-round play, with the Canadians earning a 5-0 win. Spooner led the charge with a pair of goals and Daoust had three more points as Canada blew open a scoreless game with four unanswered goals in the second period. Maschmeyer needed to make just 12 saves to record the shutout in her tournament debut while her teammates peppered Brändli and Maurer with 63 shots.

WHAT TO WATCH

How good has Daoust been? The Valleyfield, Que., product has been on the scoresheet in all five games, and her 10 points lead all skaters in Calgary. She is also a tournament-best +12, and is doing it all while averaging just 14:20 of ice time per game, third-lowest among the 10 Canadian forwards who have played in all five games. Her line with Spooner and Fillier has produced 24 points, becoming arguably the best trio in the tournament.

For the Swiss, it’s all about momentum. Coming off an emotional comeback against the Russians, Switzerland will need a massive encore performance if they hope to spring what would be one of the biggest upsets in women’s hockey history. Maurer will play a big role – she has posted a .955 save percentage across four games, including two perfect performances in relief of Brändli.

A LOOK BACK

This is about as one-sided as it gets. Canada and Switzerland have met 12 times since 1997, with the Canadians winning all 12 games and allowing just two – that’s right, TWO – goals against. At the IIHF Women’s World Championship, it’s a complete whitewash; the Canadians have won all seven meetings and posted a shutout in each and every one of them.

Some of the highlights? Marie-Philip Poulin posted the sixth and most recent four-goal game in Team Canada history in a 13-0 win at the 2013 women’s worlds in Ottawa (and added an assist for good measure), and Jayna Hefford put up five points of her own in a 10-0 victory in 1999.

All-time record: Canada leads 12-0
Canada goals: 105
Switzerland goals: 2

GAME STATS: CANADA 7, GERMANY 0

CALGARY, Alta. – Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont.) scored a pair of goals as part of a three-point performance as Canada’s National Women’s Team booked its place in the semifinals at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship with a 7-0 win over Germany in its Saturday quarterfinal.

The victory sends Canada into a semifinal showdown with Switzerland or the Czech Republic on Monday (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT).

Ashton Bell (Deloraine, Man.), Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.) and Sarah Fillier (Georgetown, Ont.) added a goal and an assist apiece, and Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que.) finished with a goal and two helpers to pad her lead atop the tournament scoring race.

Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont.) had the other goal for the Canadians, who allowed just three shots on goal.

Emerance Maschmeyer (Bruderheim, Alta.) earned her second shutout in as many starts.

Just as it did in its prelim finale against the United States on Thursday night, Canada came flying out of the gate, taking a two-goal lead before the game had reached the four-minute mark.

Bell was first just 89 seconds in, jumping in off the blue line and tapping in a gorgeous feed from Daoust for her first goal with Canada’s National Women’s Team.

That pass, though. 😍#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @Abell17Bell | @melodaoust15 pic.twitter.com/iVJ7DewOZu

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 28, 2021

Spooner made it 2-0 only 1:25 later, knocking in her own rebound after rifling a wrist shot off the post, and Jenner beat Franziska Albl on another second-chance opportunity late in the first period to send the Canadians to the dressing up by three.

The second period was played almost exclusively in the German end, as Canada held its European opposition without a shot in the frame. It’s the 10th time in tournament history the Canadians have achieved the feat.

Spooner got her second of the game eight minutes into the middle stanza, wiring a shot past the glove of Albl from the top of the face-off circle.

There's that shot again! 🚨#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @natspooner5 pic.twitter.com/jE2iPdN0BB

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 29, 2021

Poulin put her name on the scoresheet after missing Thursday’s game, hammering a one-timer past Albl off a pretty pass from Victoria Bach (Milton, Ont.) to make it a five-goal game after 40 minutes.

The captain played a role in the sixth goal, playing give-and-go on the power play before Daoust slammed a shot through Jennifer Harss, who replaced Albl to begin the third period.

The goal was the first with the man advantage for the Canadians in the tournament; they were 0-for-14 coming into the game.

Fillier capped the scoring with 6:26 left, cleaning up a loose puck at the side of the German net.

Final shots on goal favoured the Canadians, 52-3. It’s the second-fewest shots ever allowed by Canada at the women’s worlds; it gave up just two in a 13-0 win over Kazakhstan in 2005.

There have been two constants in Claire Thompson’s life: hockey and school, one always coming to the forefront when the time is right.

In high school, hockey was the focus; school was secondary. But the summer after graduation, that reality flipped. In August 2015, Thompson earned an invite to Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team selection camp, but ultimately wasn’t picked for a three-game series against the United States. So she packed her bags, headed for Princeton University and put her focus on school.

“Not that I lost hope, but I figured my style of play wasn’t what the national team was looking for,” Thompson remembers of her reaction that summer. “So I definitely just kind of focused my energy not into proving them wrong…but trying to become a better player for my college team.”

At Princeton, Thompson flourished under Tigers head coach Cara Morey, a Team Canada alumna who worked as a coach with Canada’s National Women’s Program throughout the 2010s.

“She always did have something really special about the way she played,” Morey says of her former captain. “It wasn’t like this was do-or-die for Claire, she just wanted to become the best player and the best person she could.

“And while she worked on that, Hockey Canada noticed.”

Morey says Thompson is a gifted offensive defenceman who can see the ice well, but needed to learn how and when to take risks.

“We would have an agreement…that if she came up with a high-risk move through the middle [and gave up a turnover], she just had to get the puck back before they scored,” Morey laughs.

“She always encouraged me to just play the game how I wanted to play it,” Thompson says. “But also learning to balance trying to make a play or set someone else up for success versus the safe play is something that I definitely grew into across my four years [at Princeton].”

In four years as a Tiger, Thompson played in 129 games, recording 31 goals and 56 assists. She was named Ivy League First All-Star Team and won the Ivy League championship in her junior year, and helped the team qualify for the NCAA tournament (which was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic) in her senior year. But as impressive as her hockey statistics were, Thompson’s schooling was even moreso.

She was recognized annually for her academic success by the American Hockey Coaches Association as an All-American Scholar. Majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology with a focus on theoretical ecology, Thompson thought she was heading for a career in research and academia. But an invitation to Canada’s National Women’s Development Team in the summer of 2019 once again changed her focus.

“It was honestly kind of shocking and a bit nerve-wracking,” explains Thompson, who had moved to Washington, D.C., that summer to research her senior thesis, and was not at her family’s home in Toronto where she would typically train. “So for a bit I was thinking, oh my goodness this is finally my chance to get back into it and I am not in the city I want to be in!

“But I just went out and played the way that I had played to get myself there and well, I guess it worked out.”

Morey was also at the camp, assisting with the development squad, proud to be watching her all-star blue-liner get another chance with Team Canada. But having Morey there would prove to be helpful in more ways than one, as she was able to give the coaching staff some insight into Thompson.

While players typically napped or were together during free time, Thompson was often sitting on her own, studying.

“I was explaining, ‘Let Claire read her science, let her study, because…studying calms her down and gets her ready,’” Morey says. “And she had the best camp of her life and…by the end…they finally understood that part of her pre-game sometimes is opening up an organic chemistry textbook.”

Thompson would make the development team that summer and play in a three-game series against the U.S., recording a goal and an assist. That fall, she was invited to play with Canada’s National Women’s Team in a two-game series against the Americans and by March 2020 was named to the national team for the IIHF Women’s World Championship (which was also cancelled due to COVID-19).

There’s @clairethomps98 with the 🍎 as 🇨🇦 makes it 3-0! https://t.co/xTeZCB9TvJ

— Princeton Hockey (@PWIH) August 22, 2021

The humble 23-year-old credits many others with her meteoric rise to the senior level: her minor hockey coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, family and Morey, but it is her collegiate coach who turns the tables back on Thompson, saying she has earned her spot and deserves to be there.

“It is funny that the way the outside world might perceive her story as coming out of nowhere, but obviously we thought she was incredible when we recruited her,” Morey says. “I was proud of her even before she made (Team Canada), but then to see it all come to fruition three years later and to get the chance that she wanted, I’m so proud of her.”

“Sometimes when I step back and look at it, I kind of laugh,” Thompson says of her journey to Team Canada. “Freshman, sophomore or junior year ‘Claire’ would have never expected this.

“I got really into my academics and was really excited by a lot of the stuff I was learning in my independent research…and then now that I’m back to hockey and so excited about that.

“They really do run in parallel.”

GAME NOTES: Canada vs. Germany (August 28)

TV: TSN | TSN Direct

With a perfect preliminary round in the rearview mirror, it’s on to the playoff round at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship for Canada’s National Women’s Team. Up first? A quarterfinal date with Germany.

LAST GAME

Canada capped off the prelims with a convincing 5-1 win over the United States on Thursday night, ending its rivals’ 29-game winning streak at the tournament and going unbeaten in the round robin for the first time since 2013. Jamie Lee Rattray paced the offence with two goals, Brianne Jenner set up three and Melodie Daoust added a goal and an assist in the win. The Canadians led 5-0 midway through the second period as it earned its largest margin of victory against the U.S. since Oct. 25, 2017.

Germany stumbled in its prelim finale, dropping a narrow 2-1 decision to Japan on Thursday. Kerstin Spielberger scored in the first period and the Germans held the Japanese to just three shots into the early minutes of the second, but Japan got two in the final eight minutes of the middle frame to leave the Europeans third in Group B.

LAST MEETING

The teams met at this same stage at the last women’s worlds, in 2019. Canada got a pair of goals from Blayre Turnbull and pepped German goaltender Jennifer Harss with 66 shots in a 5-0 quarterfinal win. Emerance Maschmeyer needed to make just nine saves for the shutout.

WHAT TO WATCH

The Canadians are riding a wave of momentum after their big win over the Americans to close out the preliminary round. They got contributions from up and down the lineup in the prelims, with 13 different players supplying the 20 goals and 17 picking up at least a point. If there was one pain point, it was the power play – Canada joined Switzerland as the only teams not to record a goal with the man advantage in the opening round, going 0-for-14 in four games.

Germany saw its offence dry up after opening with wins over Hungary and Denmark, scoring a single goal across losses to the Czech Republic and Japan. On the bright side? Veteran goaltender Jennifer Harss owns the tournament’s best save percentage (.952) in her three starts, and the Germans have been perfect on the penalty kill, going 12-for-12 in the prelims.

A LOOK BACK

Quite simply, Canada has owned the head-to-head history, winning all seven meetings with Germany and averaging more than 10 goals a game while allowing a grand total of zero.

The list includes a game against West Germany at the 1990 women’s worlds, where Laura Schuler and Susana Yuen scored four goals apiece in a 17-0 win, and an 8-0 win at the 2007 tournament in Winnipeg that included the only women’s worlds hat trick in the Hall of Fame career of Hayley Wickenheiser.

All-time record: Canada leads 7-0
Canada goals: 71
Germany goals: 0

GAME STATS: CANADA 5, UNITED STATES 1

CALGARY, Alta. – Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, Ont.) scored twice in three minutes early in the second period, leading Canada’s National Women’s Team to a 5-1 win over the United States in the preliminary-round finale Thursday night at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

The victory puts Canada atop Group A with an unblemished 4-0 record and sets up a quarterfinal against Japan or Germany on Saturday night (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT).

It was the first win for the Canadians against their cross-border rivals at women’s worlds since 2013, and ended the Americans’ 29-game winning streak, the second-longest in tournament history.

Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que.) and Renata Fast (Burlington, Ont.) scored first-period goals, the first of the tournament for Canada in the opening frame.

Sarah Nurse (Hamilton, Ont.) added the fifth goal midway through the second period as the Canadians opened up a 5-0 lead less than 31 minutes in.

After going 0-for-46 on shots in the first period against the Finns, Russians and Swiss, Canada finally broke through for an early goal when Daoust charged to the net and slammed a loose puck through U.S. goaltender Alex Cavallini just past the seven-minute mark.

Just like that! 🇨🇦#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @melodaoust15 pic.twitter.com/M4uv7uOhOz

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 26, 2021

Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont.) earned the primary assist to become just the 14th player in National Women’s Team history to record 100 career points.

Fast made it 2-0 at 13:50, chipping a shot over a sprawling Cavallini, off a U.S. defender and in.

The Canadians were in total control early; Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que.) didn’t face her first shot on goal until the 12:27 mark of the first period.

The offensive onslaught continued in the second, with Rattray leading the charge. She jumped on a Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont.) rebound 4:18 into the middle frame, and tucked in a wraparound minutes after that to push the lead to 4-0 and chase Cavallini, who gave way to Nicole Hensley after allowing four goals on 20 shots.

Nurse added the final tally with a shorthanded effort, rifling a wrist shot over the glove of Hensley that was in and out so fast it needed a video review to confirm.

🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯#WomensWorlds | #OurGameIsBack | @nursey16 pic.twitter.com/oi10zKVS4B

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 26, 2021

The Americans pushed in the third period, outshooting Canada 11-4, and got one back when Lee Stecklein guided a wrist shot through traffic and past Desbiens early in the final stanza, but that would be it for offence.

Final shots favoured the Canadians 27-23.