Even Team Canada, undefeated through 37 all-time World Championship games, failed to shut down Krissy Wendell and Natalie Darwitz.
The two U.S. Olympians, who figured on all but one of the Gophers’ 11 goals in winning their Frozen Four title, figured on all three goals in Team USA’s 3-1 win over Team Canada in front 8,505 at the Halifax Metro Centre Saturday afternoon.
All of the games’ goals were scored by players with U.S. college experience. The lone Canadian goal was scored by two-time Patty Kazmaier winner Jennifer Botterill, a 2003 Harvard alum.
The U.S. win snapped Canada’s perfect mark at World Championships, but only Tuesday night’s expected rematch will decide the gold medal, conditional on both teams beating Sweden within the next two days.
The game’s first three goals all came on the power play. Wendell scored the first American goal 7:08 into the first period when she put in a rebound from the right side when the Canadian penalty kill fell apart.
Botterill tied the game 1-1 at 9:08 when on an odd-man rush, she pulled back to the right side and scored at a seemingly impossible angle when she sniped the puck in the opposite high corner.
Darwitz put the U.S. ahead 2-1 at 13:02 when she scored from the left faceoff circle while teammate Julie Chu of Harvard screened the net, although the goal was credited to Tricia Dunn. The U.S. held a 14-5 shot advantage at the first intermission.
“They came out strong in the first period and took it to us,” said Canada forward Cherie Piper, a Dartmouth sophomore. “We just weren’t prepared to play in the first period. We already realize that and we’re taking steps to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Darwitz gave the U.S. a critical insurance goal when she scored on a quick strike in front of the net at 4:25 of the second period. Kim St. Pierre, whose stellar goaltending lifted Canada to gold in the 2001 World Championships and 2002 Olympics, was mortal on this day, allowing three goals on 24 shots.
Kelly Stephens, who was Darwitz and Wendell’s linemate at Minnesota and in the first game of this World Championship, was juggled of their line this game due to injuries to U.S. veterans Cammi Granato and Shelley Looney. Dunn showed synergy with Darwitz and Wendell, nonetheless.
“I was happy we were able to rally off those two players who were not with us, who were certainly with us spiritually and psychologically,” said U.S. coach Ben Smith.
From the Darwitz goal, the U.S. defense and goaltending took over. Discounted as inexperienced by many, the U.S. defense held its own and prevented any Canadian from igniting the crowd as Botterill had in the first period.
Pam Dreyer (Brown ’03) stopped 26 of 27 shots in the victory, including a pair of breakaways from Hayley Wickenheiser. Among the six defensemen in front of her, all but Angela Ruggiero were playing in their first World Championship. But the five World Championship rookies had been well-tested through their college hockey and U.S. development experience, and they were good enough to get the job done.
Ruggiero has been playing at the top of her game, which is no surprise given the excitement of her past week, in which she has experienced the high of reaching the NCAA final with Harvard and winning the Kazmaier, the low of losing the NCAA final to Minnesota, and then another high of beating Canada for the first time in World Championship play.
“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster for sure,” Ruggiero said. “My emotions are all over the place. Hopefully it ends on a good note — start out here, come down, and finish up high.”
