Icy determination pays off
Canada fulfills its gold medal expectations
TURIN -- Ah, what could have been.
Instead of the grudge match everyone was expecting, the gold medal crowd at the Palasport Olimpico was treated to an unsurprising performance from Canada, a 4-1 sweeping-aside of underdog Sweden that allowed the Canadians to claim their second straight women's hockey gold. There was, really, no drama, and there was a vague sense of loss.
If a US-Canada final would have been tradition, then Sweden-Canada was lacking.
''For us it's like gold or nothing," said Hayley Wickenheiser, the tournament MVP, who broke her hand in the team's second practice in Turin. ''There's only one medal to be won in this tournament. That's the way that we felt. I think it's the pressure we put on ourselves, but it's also the expectations of Canadians. I hope that they'll be proud.
''We definitely were gunning to face the US, preparing as we were, but Sweden created the hugest upset in women's hockey. It's fabulous for women's hockey in the world. They just didn't have enough gas tonight to keep up with us."
With 3:15 gone in the first period, Swedish goalie Kim Martin allowed a soft score by Gillian Apps, and it didn't get much better after that. At the 10:27 mark of the second period it was 4-0 and the result was, essentially, academic. Caroline Ouellette, Cherie Piper, and Jayna Hefford had tallies for the Canadians, though Martin did stop 22 of the 26 shots she faced. In the third period, Gunilla Andersson scored for the Swedes, preventing the Canadians and goalie Charline Labonte from notching another shutout.
Though Canada, clearly the best team in the tournament, took heat early for running up the score on such teams as Italy (16-0) and Russia (12-0), and even Sweden (8-1 in pool play), it demonstrated it was not about to be beaten this year.
''For us, we just played our most perfect game," Labonte said. ''I remember the very last minute, my knees dropped. I was like, 'Whoa, this is going to happen.'
''I think it's probably the best team Canada women's hockey's ever had."
