Canoe Sports
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CANADIAN WOMEN WIN FIRST THREE NATIONS CUP
October 27, 1996

URL: http://www.canoe.ca/Hockey/oct27_3nations.html


OTTAWA (CP) -- Nancy Deschamps broke a scoreless tie at 11:30 of the
third period to give Canada a 1-0 win over the United States in the
final of the inaugural Three Nations Cup women's hockey tournament
Sunday afternoon.

Deschamps, of Montreal, had all sorts of time to lift a fat rebound
over fallen Team U.S.A. goaltender Erin Whitten and keep Canada's
international supremacy string alive, for the females, anyway.

The American men, of course, beat Canada in the inaugural World Cup
of Hockey in September.

The Canadian women's team, with players drawn from Fredericton to
Wilcox, Sask., to Vancouver, has not lost a major international
tournament in the six years such events have been staged.

But the United States, Canada's main competitor, is getting closer,
as witnessed by Sunday's entertaining rough-and-tumble final for a
crowd of about 3,000 at the Civic Centre.

The Americans, aided by two Canadian penalties in the final 70
seconds of regulation time, pulled Whitten for a 6-one-3 player
advantage but couldn't beat Danielle Dube in the Canadian net.

The U.S. outshot Canada 27-20 but it was a highly misleading
statistic.

Whitten was outstanding for the U.S., her only marginal miscue the
rebound that resulted in Deschamp's decisive goal.

Canada and the United States split games in the double round-robin,
with the Americans earning a 2-1 decision in overtime Thursday night
in Smith Falls, Ont., for just their second victory ever over Canadian
women in international play.

Finland was the other team in the tournament, which was staged as a
tuneup for next spring's world women's championship in Kitchener, Ont.

Women's hockey becomes a full medal sport at the 1998 Olympics in
Nagano, Japan and Sunday's game was a likely preview of the Olympic
finale.

Whitten, of Glens Falls, N.Y., was the difference in the first 40
minutes.

Canada was somehow credited with just five first-period shots;
Whitten made five spectacular saves, including stopping Hayley
Wickenheiser of Calgary four times.

SUMMARY:

First Period
No scoring.
Penalties -- O'Leary USA (bodychecking) 6:15, Benoit Cda (roughing)
             11:57, Brisson Cda (roughing) 18:39.

Second Period
No scoring.
Penalty -- Deschamps Cda (slashing) 17:49.

Third Period
1. Canada, Deschamps (Drolet, St. Louis) 11:30
Penalties -- Dunn USA (tripping) 2:19, Sunohara Cda (high-sticking)
             14:31, Wickenheiser Cda (bodychecking) 18:50, 
             Heaney Cda (delay of game) 19:42.

Shots on goal by
  @T3:United States 2 13 12--27
  @T3:Canada 5 4 11--20
Power plays (goals-chances) -- United States: 0-6; Canada: 0-2.
Goal (shots-saves) -- United States: Erin Whitten; Canada: Danielle Dube.
Attendance -- 4,200.

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