(Calgary) Melody Doust scored twice to lead Canada to a 4-0 victory over Switzerland on Monday in the Women’s World Hockey Championship semi-finals.
Canada will face, on Tuesday, its swords in the final match with the Americans, the defending champion in the tournament. The United States beat Finland 3-0 earlier today.
Canada returns to the final after losing to the Finns in the semi-finals of the 2019 tournament, eventually taking home a bronze medal. This was the first time in the tournament’s history that a maple leaf representative did not reach the final.
The Americans are looking for a sixth straight title and ninth in the last 10 women’s hockey world championships. The Canadians have not won since 2012.
Renata Fast scored one goal and one assist for Canada, who are unbeaten since the start of the tournament. Rebecca Johnston also hit the mark while Mary Philip Pauline collected assists.
Ann-Renée Desbiens was perfect in front of 10 shots. And Andrea Brindley saw more rubber in front of the Swiss goal, as she saved 61 of her 65 shots.
The 2020 Women’s World Hockey Championship has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 tournament was postponed to August and moved to Calgary after withdrawing from Nova Scotia.
Daust dominates the list of top scorers in the tournament with six goals and six assists, ahead of her colleague Natalie Spooner (four goals and five assists).
Canada easily beat the United States 5-1 in the preliminary round to win Group A with a score of 4-0. In the quarter-finals, the Canadians beat the Germans 7-0.
The Swiss finished at the bottom of Group A with a 0-4 record. However, they beat Russia 3-2 in overtime on Saturday.
Switzerland spent most of the match defending themselves in their area. She was eliminated 5-0 by Canada in the preliminary round.
The Swiss reached the magical arenas for the third time in the tournament’s history. They won a bronze medal in 2012 and took fourth place in 2018.
Finland will meet Switzerland for the bronze medal, while Russia will face Japan in a duel for fifth place.
At the start of the day, Alex Carpenter, Abby Murphy, Kendall Quinn Schofield, and the latter in an empty net, were the top scorer for the US national team.
Photo by Jeff McIntosh, The Canadian Press
The Americans celebrate their victory over Finland and their qualification to the Women’s World Hockey Final.
Nicole Hensley saved 14 balls. Annie Kesala faced 33 shots.
Carpenter parried Lee Stecklen’s shot midway through the second half. Less than five minutes later, Murphy moved the ropes with a low shot.
Finland did not shoot on target in a five-on-three match at the start of the first half. At the end of the engagement, a bullet from Susanna Tabani hit the post.