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Monday, April 7, 1997

DROLET LIFTS CANADA TO TOP OF WORLDS
                                    
 KITCHENER, Ontario (AP) -- Lying on the ice in pain about four
minutes earlier, Nancy Drolet got up and put Canada back on top of the
world of women's hockey Sunday night.
 Drolet's third goal of the game 12:59 into a riveting overtime period
lifted Canada to a 4-3 victory over the United States in a dramatic
gold medal game at the fourth Women's World Ice Hockey Championship.
 "I hurt my neck earlier in the tournament and I took a second to
check to see if everything was OK," Drolet said of the incident that
forced her to be helped from the ice surface. "I got on my feet and I
knew I was OK."
 She was OK enough to score the winning goal from a scramble around
American goalie Erin Whitten.
 "It was m turn today, but it could have been a lot of other people,"
said Drolet, who was named player of the game for Canada.
 On the winning play, Hayley Wickenheiser took a pass from Cassie
Campbell and rushed around the U.S. defense, cutting in with a
backhand shot that Whitten stopped, but couldn't control.
 Drolet pounced on the rebound from a scramble in front of the net.
 "The team gave everything it had," said Whitten. "A couple of bad
bounces can turn a game around, a couple of poor calls.
 "But we don't have any one to blame; we can't even blame ourselves.
We played a strong game. You can't take that away from us."
 When the game ended, the Canadian players stormed off the bench,
flung their gloves and sticks in the air and began hugging at center
ice. Several Canadians draped flags over themselves during the medals
ceremony as the fans gave them a rousing ovation.
 After receiving their gold medals, Canadian players stood at the blue
line with their arms around each other's shoulders and sang "O
Canada."
 Canada has won 20 straight games and four gold medals in world
championship play. In each final, it's beaten the United States, but
the margin is narrowing.
 Canada won 5-2 in Ottawa in 1990, 8-0 in Tampere, Finland in 1992 and
6-3 in Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1994.
 However, those who expect the Canadians to waltz to a gold medal at
the Nagano Olympics next year should think again.
 "We had a tough semifinal against Finland and this was a battle the
whole way. People may have expected us to win, but the commitment,
energy and heart of the players on this team was the only reason we
came out on top," said captain Stacy Wilson.
 Drolet scored Canada's first goal on a power play with 24 seconds
left in the first period, shoveling home Wilson's backhand pass. The
U.S. team tied in the second when Alana Blahoski swatted the puck
through goalie Lesley Reddon's pads and it dribbled slowly over the
line.
 Canada made it 2-1 two minutes later when Angela James' slap shot
bounced off a U.S. player and into the net. Team USA tied it again
when Stephanie O'Sullivan scooped a fluttering puck out of a goalmouth
scramble on a power play.
 Drolet opened the third by batting in a rebound over Whitten's
shoulder for a 3-2 lead. Less than three minutes later, the score was
tied again by U.S. forward Katie King.
 Whitten turned back 19 shots in regulation and eight in overtime,
while Reddon had 24 saves.
 Finland defeated China 3-0 for the bronze medal, while 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.
 Canada, the United States, Finland, China and Sweden will join host
country Japan in Nagano next winter at the first Olympic women's ice
hockey games.
 Finland earned the bronze -- its fourth since the first Worlds in
1990 -- when Tiina Paananen fired a slap shot through the
tight-checking Chinese defense at 13:37 of the third period.
 "They put so much energy forward to break our claim that we had no
time or space at all," coach Rauno Korpi said.

SLAM! 

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