TURIN, ITALY – Canada’s Women’s Olympic centralized hockey team defeated USA 7-0 in the final of the Torino Ice Pre-Olympic Tournament in Turin, Italy on Saturday evening. Saturday also marked the final day of Hockey Canada Week in Canada (Nov. 5-12th), a recognition of all hockey participants from coast to coast.

Canada took a commanding 5-0 lead in the first period and never looked back. Canada’s Hayley Wickenheiser and Katie Weatherston each scored a pair of power play goals in the opening period as Canada took advantage of three five-on-three power play opportunities.

Jayna Hefford added a goal in the second period, and Cassie Campbell scored in the third to give Canada a 7-0 victory over the USA. The shutout win on Saturday marked the third consecutive time that Canada has held the USA off the score sheet.

Canadian goalie Kim St-Pierre registered her second consecutive shut-out, making 16 saves for the win.

“The coaching staff is very pleased with the teams performance, but we need to continue to work hard and play a full sixty minutes,” said Canadian head coach Melody Davidson. “It was nice to see our team’s hard work being rewarded, but we still have a long way to go before the Olympics.”

Canada placed three players on the Torino Ice Tournament all-star team, including Caroline Ouellette, who also received MVP honours. Ouellette, who has been playing as a forward all season, received the recognition as the tournament’s best player as a defenceman.

TOURNAMENT ALL-STAR TEAM
Goaltender – Kim St-Pierre CANADA
Defence/Forward – Caroline Ouellette CANADA
Defence – Molly Engstrom USA
Forward – Hayley Wickenheiser CANADA
Forward – Kavolina Rantamaki FINLAND
Forward – Nannu Jansson – SWEDEN
MVP – Caroline Ouellette - CANADA

Canada’s National Women’s Team will travel back home on Sunday, November 13th arriving in Calgary, AB on flight AC845 at 4:10pm (Mountain Time) and will resume training on Tuesday, November 15th.

Canada will play seven more pre-olympic international games in North America prior to the Winter Olympics, including three games against Sweden in Alberta on December 10th, 11th, and 13th. The final pre-Olympic game in Canada will be at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, MB versus USA on January 1 (Tickets available at all ticketmaster outlets).

In preparation for the 2006 Winter Olympics, Canada has played 22 games to date, with an overall record of 15-6-1, including 13-0 versus international teams.