URL:http://www.canoe.ca/HockeyWomen/apr6_chi_fin.html

Sunday, April 6, 1997

FINLAND CAPTURES WOMEN'S BRONZE
                                    
 KITCHENER, Ontario (AP) -- Tiina Paananen fired a slapshot through
the tight-checking Chinese defense Sunday to start Finland to its 3-0
victory and a fourth bronze medal at the Women's World Ice Hockey
Championship.
 In the tournament's closing game, Canada, seeking its fourth gold
medal, played the United States, the perpetual silver medalist.
 China, which also lost to Finland in 1994, replaced Guo Hong in goal
with backup Huo Lina after Guo's shaky performance in Saturday's 6-0
loss to the United States.
 Huo, backed by a strong defense, turned back 27 shots before Paananen
scored from several feet inside the blue line on a power play at 13:27
of the third period.
 Karoliina Raantamaki and Riikka Nieminen each added a goal in the
game's final five minutes as Finland's own aggressive defense held the
Chinese to only 10 shots on goaltender Liisa-Maria Sneck in the game.
Huo had 29 saves.
 Finland also defeated China in the teams' four exhibition games this
year.
 In Sunday's first game, Sweden earned the fifth and final berth for
the 1998 Olympics by defeating Russia 3-1. Switzerland defeated Norway
1-0 in the seeding game with a third-period goal by Kathrin Lehmann.
 Russia's Svetlana Trefilova scored 1:10 into the first period when
Swedish goalie Lotta Gothesson bobbled the puck. But the tired and
demoralized Russians -- threatened with loss of government support if
it failed to make the Olympics -- took 10 minutes of penalties in the
period and never did recapture their energy.
 Russian assistant coach Yuri Balashov said Gothesson gave up a number
of additional scoring chances, but his players, the more experienced
of whom were doubled-shifted in the third period, failed to act on
them.
 Even a penalty shot by captain Zhanna Schelchkova midway through the
second period lacked fire, while the increasingly energetic Swedes got
two goals from Camilla Kempe -- the second short-handed -- and one
from Gunilla Andersson.
 Canada, the U.S., Finland and China won Olympic berths in preliminary
play and, with Sweden, will be joined in Nagano by Japan, the host
country. It will be the first Olympics to include women's ice hockey.

SLAM! 

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