2017-18 National Women's Team

BALANCED OFFENCE HELPS CANADA TO PRE-4 NATIONS WIN

JEMMA YOUNG

TAMPA, Fla. – Five different players scored goals and nine recorded at least a point as Canada’s National Women’s Team earned a 5-1 pre-tournament win over Finland on Sunday ahead of the 2017 4 Nations Cup.

The Finns opened the scoring off the stick of Susanna Tapani at 5:30, but that would be the lone puck to beat the Canadian goaltending tandem of Geneviève Lacasse (Kingston, Ont./Calgary, CWHL) and Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que./University of Wisconsin, WCHA), who combined for 15 saves.

Laura Stacey (Kleinburg, Ont./Markham, CWHL) got that back for Canada with less than five minutes to go in the opening frame, chipping a feed pass from Sarah Nurse (Hamilton, Ont./University of Wisconsin, WCHA) past Finnish netminder Noora Räty – a goal that was confirmed after a quick officials meeting.

It took all of 35 seconds of the second period for Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont./Toronto, CWHL) to give the Canadians the lead for good, and Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont./Calgary, CWHL) pushed the lead to two with an unassisted effort just past the seven-minute mark.

Haley Irwin (Thunder Bay, Ont./Calgary, CWHL) converted on a Canadian power play at 11:24 to send the red-and-white to the second intermission up by three.

Brigette Lacquette (Mallard, Man./Calgary, CWHL) finished the scoring in the third period off a set-up from Jennifer Wakefield (Pickering, Ont./Linköping HC, SWE).

Wakefield was the lone Canadian with multiple points, finishing with two assists.

Lacasse got the start and stopped eight of the nine shots she faced before giving way just past the midway mark of the second period to Desbiens, who was perfect on eight chances the rest of the way,

Canada opens the 2017 4 Nations Cup on Tuesday when it faces off against Sweden at Florida Hospital Center Ice (3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT).