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Dupuis leads Canada to 7-1 rout of China
  
Victors pay physical price for their win in feisty game;
accuse opponents of excessive stickwork
 
Friday, April 4, 1997
By Beverley Smith
Sport Reporter

They call Lori Dupuis the silent hero.

Last night, at the women's world hockey championship, she was not so
silent. The 24-year-old forward from Cornwall, Ont., scored two goals
and contributed to two others in Canada's 7-1 romp over China.

The team was also led by Cassie Campbell, 23, of Brampton, Ont., who
scored two goals and assisted on one. Campbell was named Canada's most
valuable player of the game.

Dupuis, part of a powerful line with veteran Angela James of North
York, Ont., and the talented Hayley Wickenheiser of Calgary, usually
plays the silent role. "She is a player who has talent," said coach
Shannon Miller. "She sets up plays, and she creates time and space for
the others. Without her the line wouldn't be as successful."

Dupuis is a rookie on the world team, although she has been part of
gold-medal Canadian teams at Pacific Rim championships and at the
Three Nations Cup last fall.

Last night's game was intriguing because both Canada and China had
qualified for the Olympic Games next year with earlier wins this week.
Both teams had been undefeated so far this week. But Canada expected
some rough play from the stick-wielding Chinese, and they got it.

Miller said some Canadian players came off the ice with some sore
limbs. "I would appreciate [if the referees] would have called more
slashing, and let more of the body-holding calls go," she said.

Campbell said before the game, she put her wristguards on, to protect
herself from the Chinese players' common use of sticks. "It's fine
with me if they wanted to play with bodychecks, but not when it's the
sticks," she said.

Although the Chinese were called often for bodychecking, elbowing,
holding--and only once for slashing--Canada created its share of
rough-housing incidents. Campbell scored her first goal in the first
period while the team was short-handed. Then the team scored a couple
of goals on power plays.

The Canadians were held to only one goal in the second period when,
according to Miller, the Chinese resorted to their usual tactics of
clogging up the path to the net.

Canadians also had to get past the brilliant netminding of Guo Hong,
who was surprisingly pulled from her duties after she let in two early
goals within a minute in the first period.

After she was pulled, the Canadian team rallied, dumping goals in with
regularity.

The Canadian goal scoring also slowed down in the second period when
Guo was reinstated. The Canadians outshot the Chinese 42-13.

China's lone goal came from Guo Wei, who stepped off the bench in the
third period, just happened to pick up the puck after a couple of
steps, and then circled before she dumped it in the Canadian net.

The Chinese complained of ice that was so soft there was water on it.
The Chinese adjusted their strategy after the first period and played
better, according to coach Ahang Ahinan.

Canada now faces Finland in the semi-finals tomorrow, and Miller said
she is looking forward to it. "They're going to give us a heck of a
hockey game," she said of the Finns, who typically win the bronze
medal in world events. Canada played Finland in an exhibition game in
Barrie, Ont., last week, and defeated them 5-1, but Miller said the
Finns were not at their best.

She expects to see a different team in the semi-finals. "They can
skate really really well," she said. "They're the most talented team
I've seen representing Finland."

Yesterday, Finland defeated Norway 10-0, outshooting them 61-5.

The United States defeated Sweden 10-0, thereby winning its pool and
eliminating the chance that it would meet Canada in the semi-finals.

Canada and the United States are rated the two top teams in women's
hockey.

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