GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. SWITZERLAND (FEB. 13)
TV: CBC |
Stream: CBC.ca
Canada’s Women’s Olympic Team
enters its Olympic semifinal against Switzerland leading the tournament in
goals for (44 in five games), goals against (just five), power play (a 50%
success rate) and penalty kill (92.6%), and it has already beaten the Swiss
once. Needless to say, momentum is on their side.
LAST GAME
Canada last laced up against Sweden in the quarterfinals on Friday morning,
getting a full team effort (points from 16 different skaters) in an
11-0 win. Brianne Jenner and Sarah Fillier stayed neck-and-neck atop the
goal-scoring race, netting a hat trick each to give them eight apiece in
the tournament. Marie-Philip Poulin (in her 150th game) and Sarah Nurse
each posted four assists, and Claire Thompson’s three assist performance
gave her a new Olympic record for points by a defenceman in a single
tournament (nine and counting).
The Swiss booked their spot in the semifinals
with a 4-2 win over ROC
on Saturday. Alina Muller was the hero, scoring the game-winner with 2:27
left – just 30 seconds after the Russians had tied the game – and adding an
empty-netter to clinch it.
LAST MEETING
It was all Canada in the Olympic opener on Feb. 3. Two-goal games from
Fillier, Laura Stacey, Natalie Spooner and Blayre Turnbull
helped Canada to a 12-1 win. Spooner and Thompson finished with five points apiece for the Canadians,
who tied their all-time Olympic high with 70 shots on goal (previously done
Feb. 16, 2002 vs. Sweden).
WHAT TO WATCH
In her second Olympic appearance, Sarah Nurse has made every second count
in Beijing. Returning from a lower-body injury that cost her almost two
months of centralization, the Hamilton, Ont., native has racked up 12
points in five games (4-8—12),
including a hat trick against Finland
and the four-assist effort against the Swedes. Nurse has found a home on
the left side of Canada’s top line alongside Poulin and Jenner; the trio
has combined for 22 points across three games since Nurse joined against
ROC in the prelims.
For Switzerland, all eyes are on Müller. In her third Olympics despite
being just 23 years old, the Swiss star has been involved in eight of her
team’s 10 goals in the tournament, scoring three times and setting up five
others to leave her tied for seventh in scoring with Canada’s Jamie Lee
Rattray. Müller has 21 points across her three Games, including the
game-winning goal in Switzerland’s historic bronze medal game victory
in 2014, when she became the youngest player ever to win an Olympic medal.
A LOOK BACK
While the Swiss women’s program has made huge strides, including Olympic
bronze in 2014, Canada continues to own the head-to-head history, winning
all 14 meetings.
At the Olympics, the Canadians have posted a quartet of wins, including the
triumph 10 days ago – Hayley Wickenheiser and Cherie Piper had a goal and
two assists each in a
10-1 win in 2010, Johnston scored once and added two helpers in a
5-0 prelim win in 2014, and Natalie Spooner netted a pair in a three-goal first period as part of
a
3-1 semifinal win in Sochi.
All-time record: Canada leads 14-0
Canada goals: 121
Switzerland goals: 3
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LARGE:
GAME PREVIEW: CANADA VS. SWITZERLAND
One win away from a spot in a seventh-straight gold medal game, Canada’s
Women’s Olympic Team takes its top-ranked offence into a semifinal showdown
with Switzerland.
Related Links:
2022 Olympic Winter Games (Women)
Canada vs. Switzerland
MEDIUM:
Preview: Canada vs. Switzerland
One win from the gold medal game, Canada takes its top-ranked offence into
a semifinal showdown with Switzerland.
SMALL:
Preview: CAN-SUI
Canada takes its top-ranked offence into a semifinal against the Swiss.
BADGE:
Preview: Canada vs. Switzerland
One win from the gold medal game, Canada takes its top-ranked offence into
a semifinal against the Swiss.