Team Canada celebrates a goal against Switzerland in the preliminary round of Olympic women’s hockey on Saturday.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
It had been eight years since any team not named the United States had managed to shut out Canada’s women’s hockey team for a full period at the Olympics.
But as they kicked off their quest for a gold medal in Milan Saturday night, Canada ended the first period of their opening game scoreless and a bit confused. Despite outshooting the Swiss 17-2, they had nothing to show for it.
The Canadians could be forgiven for getting a late start though. It’s how the Olympics has gone for them so far.
Canada defeated Switzerland 4-0 Saturday to begin their tournament. But they were supposed to have started on Thursday against Finland, before stomach flu ripped through the Finnish dressing room and forced that game to be delayed a week.
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Hitting the ice for the first time, Canada came out shooting. But a combination of nerves, rust and a goalpost or two kept them off the scoresheet.
It wasn’t until veteran Natalie Spooner, playing in her fourth Olympics, opened the scoring midway through the second period, when a Marie-Philip Poulin one-timer bounced off the Swiss goalie and then off Spooner’s leg, that Canada broke the stalemate.
A few minutes into the third period, a point shot from blueliner Renata Fast missed short-side and banked off the boards to a wide open Sarah Fillier, who put Canada up 2-0.
Julia Gosling later tipped an Erin Ambrose point shot to put Canada up 3-0. All of the first three goals came on the power play.
Daryl Watts then scored near the end of the game to make it 4-0.
Canadian head coach Troy Ryan chalked up the first period to nerves.
“It just looked really antsy and just a little bit panicky,” he said after the game. “I think it’s somewhat expected in a first game of the Olympics. Obviously if that continues to happen, it’s probably going to be a little bit more nerve-wracking.”
Canada is used to rolling over their initial opponents. Coming into Saturday’s game, they were a perfect 7-0 in Olympic openers and had outscored the other team 76-1 in those games.
They certainly didn’t lack chances against the Swiss. By the end of the game, Canada had outshot them 55-6.
“Switzerland played a good defensive game,” Canada’s Fast said. “Their goaltender played amazing, and we had to stay patient and stick to our game plan and play as a team, and I think we did that.”
In a short tournament like the Olympics, Fast said the team must make adjustments to improve on Saturday’s performance.
“The team that can adapt, can adjust throughout the event and get better every game, is usually the most successful,” Fast said. “So I think that’s what we’re looking to do is just get better every game.”
The win was a moment forward Jennifer Gardiner had been waiting for her whole life. The 24-year-old is one of seven Olympic rookies on Team Canada, which is icing a mix of veterans, including Spooner and Poulin, and first-timers such as Gardiner, Gosling and Watts.
Gardiner said the delayed start to these Games for Canada was an unexpected bit of adversity, but it made her that much more excited to step on Olympic ice for the first time, two days after it was originally supposed to happen.
“Obviously things happen and we have to be adaptable. That’s kind of something our team has talked about,” Gardiner said before the game.
“I’m just so excited. I feel like any time you get to throw on the Maple Leaf jersey, it’s the greatest honour of all time.”
For Spooner, scoring the deciding goal was a moment to savour. After winning gold in Beijing in 2022, the 35-year-old became a mom and battled back from a career-threatening knee injury.
“It’s been a long road to get here,” Spooner said of the knee injury.
“There’s definitely days where I doubted. Obviously there’s days when you’re in pain and you’re working hard to come back and you think, wow, can I really do this? Can I get back to where I was? Is it going to be good enough?”
Spooner has taken on a utility role in Milan. Ryan inserted her into the lineup as an extra forward, shuffling her through lines and using her in front of the net on the power play, which is where she scored the winner.
“You’ve just got to make the best of whatever time you’re given,” Spooner said. “Hopefully it’s enough and it’s able to have an impact – whether it’s a goal or not, it’s moving the team in the right direction.”
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