Canadian women's blue-liners have opponents seeing red at Beijing 2022
CBC
It's a common adage that the best defence is a good offence. Canada's women's hockey team appears to have taken that to heart.
The Canadians defeated Switzerland 10-3 to advance to the gold-medal game, with three of their five first-period goals scored by defenders.
"They certainly are playing with a confidence level that's fun to watch," two-time Olympic champion Carla MacLeod said of the young blue line. "You can see their movement in the zone, you can see that they're free to jump in, they're reading the play."
It took just over seven minutes for Claire Thompson to open the scoring, and after that the goals kept coming. Swiss netminder Andrea Brändli was relieved by Saskia Maurer after the fourth tally, but though the outcome was never really in question, Switzerland didn't go down without a fight.
Lara Stalder got one back on a power play in the dying minutes of the first period, and Alina Müller brought the score to 5-2 early in the second. The Canadians managed to restore their advantage before Stalder netted another power-play marker midway through the frame.
It was captain Marie-Philip Poulin who regained control for Canada, replying to each Swiss second-period goal within minutes to stymie the comeback before momentum could swing.
"There's been a lot said about Poulin and who she is as a leader and as a player, and it shines," MacLeod said. "She's such a competitor and she understands what's at stake here, and she understands the magnitude and the importance of this game ― nevermind the next."
Once the score became out of reach, the Swiss approached the match with an eye toward winning bronze.
WATCH | Canada beat Swiss to advance to Olympic gold-medal final:
"After the second period we said that this is for the next game," Müller acknowledged. "We need to get the confidence for the next game and build a good habit in the [defensive] zone."
As Canada seeks to reclaim the Olympic title, it too has plenty to build on.
"We want to generate a ton of offence, but we know we have to clean things up defensively," said Sarah Nurse, who registered four assists, vaulting to the top of the points race.
The semifinal marked the first time all tournament that Canada allowed more than three goals against, with Stalder and Müller demonstrating why both are considered among the best in the world. MacLeod figures some resistance may not be a bad thing at this stage.
WATCH | Full game, Canada vs. Switzerland:
