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The Record

IT'S CRUNCH TIME FOR TEAM CANADA AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
                                    
By Christine Rivet Record staff
Her reputation is otherwise, but Shannon Miller has been almost
understated here, choosing to give her team room to grow.Although on
Friday, Canada's head coach showed up with fire in her eye and plenty
of air in her lungs.

"Get the $*%@& puck deep in there," Miller, a Calgary police officer,
shouted to her players at Kitchener's Dom Cardillo Arena.

Now that the cops have shown up, the party is definitely over.

"This is it. It's down to crunch time now," said Canadian defenceman
Cassie Campbell, whose ears were still ringing after stepping off the
ice.

The undefeated Canucks meet Finland during today's sudden-death
semifinal action at the Women's World Hockey Championship. Game time
at the Cardillo Arena is 1 p.m. The U.S. meets China in the other
semi, a 5 p.m. start.

Unchallenged through three games at this tournament, the Canadians are
hungry to taste competition, any competition.

"We haven't played our best hockey yet. That's for sure," said
Campbell's defensive partner, Geraldine Heaney of Weston.

In fact, "it's been kind of boring," was Heaney's take on Canada's
first three games at the world tournament.

If you are a defenceman, it would be nice to play defence once in a
while. But Canada's competition -- Switzerland, Russia and China --
were confined almost exclusively to their own end.

How much so? Well, Canadian goalies Lesley Reddon and Danielle Dube
have faced only 25 shots in three games.

So effortless have the Canadians played here, a hint of bravado has
crept into their dressing room.

"As a defenceman, when you practise against the best forwards in the
world (the Canadians), and you do well against them, you are probably
in pretty good shape," said Heaney.

Even the Americans' round-robin scare -- a 3-3 tie with these same
Finns -- couldn't rattle Campbell. Canada clobbered the Finns 5-1 in
exhibition action a week ago.

"We are not the Americans," said the University of Guelph nutrition
student. "We feel we are a lot stronger than them."

That may be so, but the Yanks are glad they laid their egg early at
this tournament.

"We like to think of ourselves as a strong passing team," recalled
American forward Gretchen Ulion of

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