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Women’s Olympic Preview: Canada vs. ROC

Sunday, February 6 | 11:10 p.m. ET | Beijing, China | Preliminary Round

February 6, 2022
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GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. ROC (FEB. 6)

TV: CBC | Stream: CBC.ca

With its offence firing on all cylinders, Canada’s Women’s Olympic Team continues preliminary-round action Sunday night (Monday afternoon in Beijing) with a matchup against ROC.

LAST GAME

Canada continued to score seemingly at will, getting hat tricks from Sarah Nurse and Brianne Jenner in an 11-1 win over Finland on Friday night. Natalie Spooner added four assists and 16 different Canadians recorded points. It was the second-straight double-digit effort for Canada, the first time that has happened since a three-game run in the prelims of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

The Russians dropped a 5-0 decision to the Americans on Saturday morning and were outshot 62-12 in the loss. Maria Sorokina kept things close with 34 saves through the first 40 minutes, but the U.S. pulled away with three goals in less than five minutes early in the third period.

LAST MEETING

A balanced Canadian offence was on display when the teams met in the preliminary round at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship last August. Five players scored and 13 recorded points as Canada downed the Russians 5-1. The game was scoreless until Sarah Fillier, Ella Shelton and Erin Ambrose scored 6:19 apart in the second period to send Canada to the win.

WHAT TO WATCH

Natalie Spooner is on pace to go where no woman has gone before at the Olympic Winter Games. The Scarborough, Ont., product followed up a five-point performance in the tournament opener with four assists in the win over the Finns, giving her a tournament-leading seven helpers and nine points in two games. That puts her just five assists back of the Olympic record (Hayley Wickenheiser had 12 in 2006) and more than halfway to Wickenheiser’s record of 17 points (also set in 2006) with a whole lot of hockey left to be played.

ROC has been depleted by COVID-19 early in the tournament. Captain Olga Sosina, who is at her fourth Olympics, remains in isolation and has yet to play a game. But that has given young players a chance to step up; Polina Bolgareva, just a few days shy of her 23rd birthday, netted a hat trick in a tournament-opening win over Switzerland, and 17-year-old Daria Gredzen stopped all 14 shots she faced after replacing Sorokina against the U.S.

A LOOK BACK

Canada has dominated the head-to-head history, winning all 25 games and averaging eight goals a game. At the Olympics, the Canadians have been absolutely perfect, not allowing as much as a goal in four meetings. That includes a pair of matchups in 2018 – Rebecca Johnston scored twice and Ann-Renee Desbiens made 18 saves in a 5-0 prelim win, and Jennifer Wakefield tallied a pair of goals and Shannon Szabados made 14 stops in a 5-0 semifinal victory.

Amongst the current Canadian roster, Rebecca Johnston leads the way with 24 points (9-15—24) in 13 career games against the Russians, with Natalie Spooner (12-6—18 in 12 games) and Marie-Philip Poulin (7-11—18) following close behind.

All-time record: Canada leads 25-0
Canada goals: 200
ROC goals: 15

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

[email protected] 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

[email protected]

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

[email protected]

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