The Ottawa Citizen
==================


CANADIAN WOMEN WIN OLYMPIC PRIMER
Canada 1, U.S. 0
By Nahlah Ayed, Citizen correspondent
October 28, 1996


URL: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/online/1996/oct28/spo/spo1/spo1.html


[CP photo -- Canadian forward Nancy Deschamps celebrates the lone goal
of the Three Nation's Cup final with teammates France St. Louis and
Therese Brisson.  Danielle Dubi recorded the shutout.]

Under the gaze of hundreds of young girls clad in red and white
jerseys and waving maple leaf flags, Canadian hockey players skated
off the ice with big smiles after winning the latest battle between
hockey titans with the United States.

It wasn't the World Cup, where the Canadian men lost in the final to
the U.S. last month, but Sunday's 1-0 win in the championship game
of the Three Nation's Cup was sweet nontheless.

A crowd numbering at least 4,200 at the Civic Centre cheered Canada
to victory and witnessed the team's first step toward the 1998
Olympic Games in Japan, where women's hockey will make its Olympic
debut.

Canada appeared to have recovered from problems encountered earlier
in the weeklong tournament, errors that cost them a 2-1 loss in a
round-robin game against the U.S. on Thursday.

"We did a much better job of jumping to support each other," said
Shannon Miller, Canada's jubilant head coach. "We decided to show up
and play relaxed and just enjoy the game."

After two scoreless periods, in which the U.S. held a 15-9 shots
advantage, Canada remained cool.

In the third period, Canada turned on the heat. Forward Nancy
Deschamps of Hawksbury scored the game's lone goal six minutes into
the final period.

"We had some great scoring opportunities, so we just kept telling
them to keep on pressing and that eventually one has got to go in,"
Miller said.

The game was fast-paced and aggressive, as demonstrated by the six
penalties Canada was assessed, including two for roughing and one
for body-checking.

Canadian goalie Danielle Dubi, only 20, wowed the crowd with her
27-save performance. U.S. goalie Erin Whitten faced 20 shots.

"I just treated each period as a separate game, which helped me
concentrate," Dubi said. "I could do my job because all the shots
came from the outside."

Miller said the Canadian team accomplished its main goal for the
tournament, which was to check out the U.S. and Finland, expected to
be major competitors at the Olympic Games.

Most of Canada's players will be invited to a training camp in
January for the world championships to be held in Kitchener at the
end of April.

That competition serves as a qualifying event for the Olympics.

-----------------------------------------

Copyright (c) 1996 The Ottawa Citizen