URL:http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/970402/933059.html The Ottawa Citizen Online Sports Page Wednesday 2 April 1997 CANADA'S WOMEN CRUSH RUSSIAN HOCKEY TEAM Martin Cleary The Ottawa Citizen Kitchener-Waterloo Record / Team Canada's Vicky Sunohara scores a goal against Russian goalie Irina Gashennikova in Canada's second easy victory at the world championships in Kitchener, Ont. Canada 9, Russia 1 KITCHENER -- When these two countries play hockey, shivers travel down your spine, your heart shifts into overdrive, and you only use the edge of your seat. Canada versus Russia. Nothing more needs to be said given the classic confrontations between Canada and teams from the former Soviet Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Russia over the past five decades. But that's men's hockey. This is women's hockey here at this week's fourth world championships. Riding the backs of the men's rivalry for all the hype it was worth, the first meeting between Canadian and Russian women was an embarrassment to the storied hockey tradition. But it was hard to expect otherwise. Canada and Russia are at the opposite ends of the women's hockey spectrum and it showed last night before 6,003 high-energy, proud and singing fans at the Memorial Auditorium. For the second straight day, the three-time world champions shot down another feeble opponent last night blasting Russia 9-1. Canada outplayed Switzerland 6-0 Monday. Canada had another fine day at the shooting gallery testing Russian goalie Irina Gashennikova with 56 shots. By contrast, Canadian goalie Lesley Reddon faced only seven shots. Nine players shared the scoring for Canada, which included four power-play goals -- Jayna Hefford, Vicky Sunohara, Luce Letendre, Stacy Wilson, Laura Schuler, Hayley Wickenheiser, Karen Nystrom, Danielle Goyette, and France St. Louis. Defenceman Maria Misropian scored a power-play goal for Russia. There are no games scheduled today, but the two-pool round-robin tournament for the eight countries is slated to end Thursday. Canada will face China, which also is undefeated in two games after beating Switzerland 11-3 in Mississauga. The semifinals are Saturday afternoon and the medal games are Sunday. In other games, Finland stunned the United States with a 3-3 tie in Brantford to leave both teams deadlocked for first in their pool with one win and one tie each. Sweden scored once in the final two minutes to earn a 2-2 tie with Norway. The magnetic draw of Canada-Russia hockey attracted the TSN cameras, a bus load from Seneca College in Toronto, and a capacity crowd featuring a large and noisy youth element. But, as expected, there was no drama or intensity. Canadian women have been playing hockey since 1891 and have been the world leaders for the past decade. In Russia, young girls who dared to be different have only experimented with the sport over the past two decades. It wasn't until four years ago, a year before Canada won its third world title, that the Russian sport committee started the first Russian women's team. Canadian head coach Shannon Miller told her team yesterday morning to respect the Russians. "They skate well and pass well,'' Miller said. "They won't backdown or be intimidated. They're a team to be reckoned with." The Russians can't skate at the elite level, showing no breakaway speed when they were offered chances. You can pass on the Russian passing, which was far from the magic of their male peers. The Russians were a wreck rather than a team to be reckoned with. In another part of the arena, Russia's big defenceman Ekaterina Pashkevich, who is based in Boston, talked about the dominance of Canada. But she said the Russians would fight. Instead of fight, there was only fear. "Four years ago, a lot of people were surprised how many women wanted to play hockey,'' said Pashkevich, who has played hockey for 21 of her 24 years. "Some were afraid to play before because they'd be looked at as weirdos." Pashkevich, who played for her high school team, knows the feeling. "People looked at me like: 'She's so unusual.' My mom and dad didn't think I should wear hockey pants. They thought I should go play with my dolls." Her parents' attitude has changed, but the Russian sports committee may soon be altering its approach. The Russians are playing for their lives in this championship. Their goal is to place in the top five to qualify for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. If they don't, the national women's program appears doomed. "A lot of people say it will be over,'' Pashkevich said. "There's about a one-per-cent chance we'll survive. The economy is not great, and people don't want to spend money if we're not going anywhere." Tomorrow's games Norway vs. Finland: 4 p.m. (at Kitchener) United States vs. Sweden: 7 p.m. (at London) Switzerland vs. Russia: 7 p.m. (at North York) China vs. Canada: 7:30 p.m. (at Kitchener) -------------------------------- Copyright 1997 The Ottawa Citizen