Any signs that Sweden or Finland had narrowed the gap with the U.S. and Canada were few and far between on Wednesday. The U.S. topped Finland 8-1 and Canada beat Sweden 10-0 to each clinch first place in their respective pools. Dartmouth junior Gillian Apps was the Player of the Game for Canada and recent Harvard graduate Angela Ruggiero was the Player of the Game for the U.S. Every Player of the Game Award for the U.S. and Canada has gone to a current college player thus far, except for Ruggiero who is only one year removed.
U.S. 8, Finland 1
Ruggiero assisted on the first U.S. goal and scored the second on the power play to give the U.S. a 2-0 advantage that Finland could not overcome. The U.S. added three in each of the last two periods for the comfortable victory.
Minnesota junior Krissy Wendell scored two shorthanded goals in the second period and added two assists to lead the U.S. in scoring. She was also the collegiate leader with seven shorthanded goals this season. Ruggiero added another assist in the second period to bring her game total to a goal and two assists.
Chanda Gunn (Northeastern ’04) stopped all 10 shots she faced in the first two periods. Megan Van Beusekom (Princeton ’04) allowed one goal on two shots in the third period. The U.S. outshot Finland 47-12.
Canada 10, Sweden 0
Canada burned Sweden with four power play goals, including two in the first period. Apps led Canada with three goals and an assist, including two goals in the final period. Jennifer Botterill (Harvard ’03), MVP of the last two World Championships, assisted on the first two Canadian goals and later added a goal and an assist to finish with four points herself.
Vicky Sunohara (Northeastern ’89), with a goal and two assists, was the only other Canadian with a three-point day. Wisconsin senior Carla MacLeod scored the second Canadian goal and assisted on the third to become one of six Canadians with a two-point game. Harvard freshman Sarah Vaillancourt had a single assist and remained the tournament’s leading scorer.
