Monday, April 10, 2000

Down and out Team Canada wins gold in OT

Alan Adams
National Post

CANADA 3 UNITED STATES 2

MISSISSAUGA - There is nothing like the sound of a winners' dressing room,
especially when a team that's down and looks out like Canada did last night
rallied to win a sixth straight women's world hockey championship.

The air was filled with well-deserved ear-piercing screams after the
Canadians, losing 2-0 after two periods and being badly outplayed, beat
their bitter rivals, the United States, 3-2 in overtime on Nancy Drolet's
goal at 6:50.

Drolet came out of the corner and walked into a slap shot that goalie Sara
DeCosta got a piece of, but the puck went end-over-end and landed across the
goal line to send the 4,890 at the Hershey Centre into chants of "Canada,
Canada, Canada."

Jayna Hefford scored twice in the third period for the Canadians, who ran
their winning streak to 30 consecutive victories at the women's world
championships, dating back to 1990.

Until the Canadian rally, it was looking like the American strategy to crank
up their defensive game was going to pay huge dividends.

It seemed that anytime anyone in the familiar red Canadian jersey had the
puck, someone with the Stars and Stripes stitched to their uniform was on
them.

But in the second intermission, the Canadians found what was missing in the
game and they took it to the Americans.

Hefford electrified the crowd when she went end to end with the puck and
snapped a 10-foot wrist shot past DeCosta at 6:54 to slice the deficit in
half. Hefford then showed she has a nose for the net when she slipped a
rebound into the American net, tying it at two.

The Americans didn't have much in the way of scoring chances after that, and
the Canadians kept coming on.

There wasn't much action in the first period and through the first minutes
of play, there was only one shot counted by both teams.

The Americans zeroed in on Hayley Wickenheiser, the talented forward who was
hampered by a sore right shoulder. Usually Wickenheiser is a force on the
ice, but between the American checkers and her bum shoulder, she was a
non-factor.

The Americans owned the second period when they scored both goals and shut
down the Canadian offence, limiting their opponents to a measly three shots
while they peppered Sami Jo Small with 15 at the other end.

The American goals came from turnovers by a pair of veteran members of the
Canadian team.

Geraldine Heany was trying to make her way out of her end when the puck
slipped off her stick and was picked up by Krissy Wendell, who made a
beeline to the Canadian goal. Small made the first save, but there was
nothing she could do when Tricia Dunn snapped the rebound low to the glove
hand at 3:55.

Vicky Sunohara helped the Yankees pull ahead 2-0 about eight minutes later.
Sunohara, usually dependable, she chipped a pass right to Sue Merz and her
shot was tipped by Karen Bye high over a sprawling Small.

In the bronze medal game, Finland beat Sweden 6-1.

(c) 2000 National Post