Swiss goalie stands tall, but Canada eventually finds holes

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A hot goaltender can take the wind out of a hockey team’s sails, but throw enough rubber her way and eventually, the cracks will be revealed.

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On Tuesday at WinSport Arena, Team Canada tormented valiant Swiss netminder Andrea Braendli, eventually making their shots count in a 5-0 victory at the IIHF women’s world hockey championship.

Canada’s record is now a perfect 3-0, while Switzerland fell to 0-3.

Canada lost the services of captain Marie-Philip Poulin early in the third period when she blocked a high shot during a Swiss 5-on-3 power play. She did not return and was said to be doing well after the game, with no additional details.

The shot differential was – as it has been often this tournament – one-sided, with Canada collecting a whopping 63 to Switzerland’s 12. Goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer earned the shutout.

“What we liked about tonight’s game the types of goals we scored were playoff-type goals, a lot of net front, jamming away, those are the types of goals we’re going to have to score moving forward,” said head coach Troy Ryan.

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“We’ve become a lot more comfortable, everything from PK, power play to five-on-five, we’re getting better every game,” suggested Natalie Spooner, who scored twice.

As the game wore on, Canada put more and more pressure on the Swiss, creating turnovers at all areas of the ice.

It was on the penalty kill that Canada struck first. Catching the Swiss napping, Blayre Turnbull took the puck down the right side and streaked in front of Braendli, who made the initial save, but the rebound was slotted in by the trailing Emily Clark at 5:04 of the second period.

“We had great goaltending again and that’s what we needed,” said Swiss captain Lara Stalder. “I think they got a little nervous when it was 0-0 still. If we could score on that power play, when they scored shorthanded, I think it’s maybe a different game. We had chances. After that we kind of lost it for a couple of minutes.”

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A pair of quick ones proved a dagger to the Swiss heart. Jaime Bourbonnais’ shot along the ice close in beat Braendli at 9:38; 17 seconds later Spooner tipped in a point shot and all of a sudden it was 3-0.

“I think they’ve been harping on me for a while here, holding that net front,” said Spooner, who added another in the third. “I think when I do it I find success. At this level, goalies are so good that if they see the shot, they’re going to make the first save.”

Braendli was yanked after Spooner’s second goal, replaced by Saskia Maurer.

“We’ve known for years that Andrea has a lot of talent,” said Swiss head coach Colin Muller, addressing his two fine goalies. “Her game at Ohio State proved that last year. Saskia has been phenomenal for the last two years for us. I always say we have 1A and 1B; both of them are right there.”

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The Canadians kept pace with Team USA, which also ran its record to 3-0 with a 6-0 upending of the Russian Olympic Committee team. The two powerhouses will lock horns in a round-robin match on Thursday.

In the U.S. win, veteran Hilary Knight scored at 3:17 of the second period, giving her 45 career world championship goals, eclipsing the tournament record held by fellow legendary countrywoman Cammi Granato.

“It’s just fun to open the door,” said U.S. head coach Joel Johnson, “and let her do what she does. I’ve known Hilary for a long time, I’ve coached against her at the college level, I’ve coached for her at the national team level and seen her play for a long time. For those who’ve gotten to know Hilary as a person and as a leader … it’s fun to be around because she does things the right way. She plays an honest hockey game and she deserves all the accolades she’s getting because there’s just nobody that’s been more consistent for as long a period of time in the women’s game than Hilary.”

The U.S., which outshot ROC 55-11, also had markers from Britta Curl, Lee Stecklein, Kelly Pannek, Abbey Murphy and Jesse Compher.

The late game featured Group B opponents Hungary and Japan. Akane Shiga, Rul Ukita, Haruna Yoneyama and Hanae Kubo scored to give the Japanese their second win in three games, 4-1. Fanni Gasparics replied for winless Hungary (0-3).