USA Women's Hockey

HAMEENLINNA, Finland – Despite a 33-save effort by U.S. netminder Molly Schaus(Natick, Mass.), the U.S. Women's National Team was edged by Canada, 2-1, in the qualifying round of the 2009 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championship here tonight at the Patria Arena.

Both the U.S. and Canada had already advanced to the gold-medal game, which will take place on Sunday (April 12) at 7 p.m. (12 p.m. EDT). Team USA holds a 3-0-0-1 record, while Canada is 4-0-0-0.

After a scoreless first frame, Canada went up 2-0 in the second and Team USA made it 2-1 late in the third, but was unable to add a tying goal. The U.S. killed off 9-of-10 Canadian power plays, including a 5-on-3 opportunity.

"We took a few too many penalties," said Team USA Head Coach Mark Johnson, who is also the head women's ice hockey coach at the University of Wisconsin. "When we did have opportunities on the power play, we didn't capitalize. Overall, it was a friendly match and we were able to get our feet wet and see what we are up against. Now we will make some adjustments and play again for a world championship on Sunday."

In a tightly contested first period, the score remained 0-0 after 20 minutes. Team USA's best opportunity came just after the halfway point when it appeared that Meghan Duggan(Danvers, Mass.) scored as she went down in front of the Canadian net, but Charline Labonte got her glove on the puck just before it crossed the goal line.

Using a carried-over power play at the start of the second frame, Canada took a 1-0 lead. Jayna Hefford came from behind the U.S. net and sent a quick feed to Jennifer Botterill in the right faceoff circle. Botterill put a low wrister just inside the right post as Schaus slid across the crease at :26. The Canadians then doubled their lead at the 9:05 mark when Caroline Ouellette put a shot just over Schaus' glove-side shoulder from the bottom of the slot.

In the third period, the United States cut its deficit in half at 18:02 when Jocelyne Lamoureux (Grand Forks, N.D.) found her twin sister, Monique Lamoureux (Grand Forks, N.D.), who put a shot just under the cross bar from in front of the net for a 2-1 score. Schaus was pulled in favor of an extra attacker with 48 seconds left in regulation, however Team USA was not able to score, as the game ended 2-1 in favor of Canada.

Schaus made 33 saves in net for the United States, while Labonte stopped 22 for Canada.

NOTES: Team USA was 0-for-7 with the man advantage, while holding Canada to just one goal on 10 power-play opportunities ... Kacey Bellamy (Westfield, Mass.) was named U.S. Player of the Game, while Gigi Marvin (Warroad, Minn.) was selected as the most skilled U.S. player ... Coverage of the 2009 IIHF World Women's Championship can be found on USAHockey.com, as well as on the U.S. Women's National Team's Facebookpage and on USA Hockey's Twitter page. Team USA has won two gold medals and nine silvers in the 11 previous IIHF World Women’s Championships. The U.S. has won two of the last three world championships (2005, 2008) … Mark Johnson will serve as the head coach for Team USA through the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. Joining Johnson on the coaching staff as assistant coaches at the 2009 IIHF World Women's Championship are Dave Flint, head women’s ice hockey coach at Northeastern University, and Jodi McKenna, head women’s ice hockey coach at Wesleyan University.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

USA 0 0 1 -- 1
CAN 0 2 0 -- 2

First Period - Scoring: None. Penalties: USA, Ruggiero (interference), 6:18; CAN, Apps (interference), 12:11; USA, Resor (tripping), 15:34; USA, Dugan (body checking), 19:34.

Second Period - Scoring: 1, CAN, Botterill (Hefford), :26 (pp); 2, CAN, Ouellette (Hefford), 9:05. Penalties: USA, Stack (holding), 1:12; CAN, Ouellette (tripping), 5:23; USA, Ruggiero (boarding), 10:16; CAN, Agosta (holding), 14:14; CAN, Ferrari (tripping), 15:37; USA, J.Lamoureux (holding), 18:18.

Third Period - Scoring: . Penalties: CAN, Botterill (interference), 1:06; USA, M.Lamoureux (interference), 2:21; USA, M.Lamoureux (high-sticking), 5:00; USA, Engstrom (body checking), 6:05; CAN, Sostorics (holding), 10:13; CAN, Mikkelson (tripping), 11:23; USA, Bellamy (tripping), 15:30.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
USA 6 6 11 23
CAN 10 17 8 35
         
Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Schaus, 59:22 10-10 17-15 8-8 35-33
CAN, Labonte, 59:58 6-6 6-6 11-10 23-22

Power Play: USA 0-7; CAN 1-10
Penalties: USA 10-20; CAN 7-14
Officials: Referee-Nicole Hertrich (GER); Linesmen-Anna Majapuro (FIN), Alice Stanley (GBR)