The national team won the third game in as many games at the Women’s World Hockey Championship, beating Switzerland 5-0 on Tuesday night at WinSport in Calgary. However, this victory could prove costly to Troy Ryan’s forces who lost the services of Mary Philip Boleyn in the third period.
The Canadians got off to a good start and had several good chances to score in the first twenty. But Swiss goalkeeper Andrea Brindley was stubborn in front of her net, stopping the 21 shots directed at her to keep the equalizer.
Things broke out in the second half for the Maple Leaf representatives, who scored four goals. In a penalty kick, Emily Clarke earned a throwback from teammate Blair Turnbull to score her first goal of the tournament and give her team a lead that never looked back.
Jaime Bourbonni and Natalie Spooner followed with two goals in 17 seconds to widen the gap to 3-0. Melody Doust, who previously had an assist in Spooner’s goal, added more before the end of the period by converting a point behind Brindley, helpless against the Canadian attack.
The dominance continued once play resumed, with Spooner scoring his second goal of the match with help from Ella Shelton and Melody Doust after just a minute of play.
Saskia Maurer then took charge at Brindley and blocked all 17 shots she faced.
Composing a assist earlier in the game, Mary Philip Boleyn left the match midway through the third inning. The Canada captain sustained a chest injury during a double penalty kick and retired to the locker room in pain. His health will be reassessed over the next few hours.
The goalkeeper started in Canada’s first two matches, and Kipker Anne Rene Despenses was disqualified from that match. Albertan Emerance Maschmeyer was perfect on 12 shots.
The Canadians face their biggest challenge in the tournament on Thursday. They will then face the Americans, who have also been undefeated since the start of the competition, in a duel where the first place in the first group will be at stake.