SPOONER’S OT GOAL SENDS CANADA TO GOLD MEDAL GAME

RAVENSBURG, Germany – Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont./Ohio State University, WCHA) scored 4:59 into overtime, giving Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team a 4-3 victory over Sweden on Friday and sending it to the gold medal game at the 2010 MLP Cup.

The win gives Canada a measure of revenge – it was the Swedes who ended Canada’s six-year run as tournament champions in 2009 with a 2-1 win in the gold medal game.

Early on it looked as if the Canadians would romp to their third victory in as many tries in Ravensburg, taking a 3-0 first period lead and outshooting the Swedes 24-2 in the opening frame.

The Mercyhurst connection gave Canada an early lead, as Bailey Bram (Ste. Anne, Man./Mercyhurst College, CHA) scored twice in the game’s first eight minutes, both coming off set-ups from Vicki Bendus (Wasaga Beach, Ont./Mercyhurst College, CHA). Brianne Jenner made it 3-0 off a scramble in front of the Swedish goal, sending Canada to the intermission with a seemingly insurmountable lead.

But the second period belonged to the Swedes, with Gunilla Andersson and Emma Nordin scoring goals on shots from the point to cut the Canadian lead to one after 40 minutes.

The Swedish momentum continued into the third period, but they could not solve Canadian netminder Christina Kessler (Mississauga, Ont./Harvard University, ECAC) until the dying seconds, when they converted on a 6-on-3 to send the game into overtime.

Canada, however, would not be denied its eighth trip to the gold medal game in as many years, as a diving Spooner knocked the rebound of an Annie Guay (Rouyn-Noranda, Que./Montreal, CWHL) shot past Swedish goaltender Sara Grahn.

The win moves Canada into a gold medal showdown with the winner of Friday’s late semifinal between Switzerland and Russia. The gold medal game faces off at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT on Saturday.

Goals/Buts :
04:43 CAN Bailey Bram (Vicki Bendus, Jocelyne Larocque) PP/AN
07:47 CAN Bailey Bram (Vicki Bendus, Jesse Scanzano)
11:15 CAN Brianne Jenner (Ann-Sophie Bettez)

Penalties/Pénalités :
04:32 SWE Eliasson (Charging/Assaut)
05:26 CAN Jocelyne Larocque (Holding/Retenir)
09:13 SWE Katarina Timglas (Slashing/Coup de bâton)
14:19 SWE Andersson (Hooking/Accrocher)
15:12 SWE Nevalainen (Delay of Game/Retarder le match)

Goals/Buts :
04:44 SWE Gunilla Andersson (Isabelle Jordansson, Katarina Timglas)
11:06 SWE Emma Nordin (Maria Rooth, Isabelle Jordansson) PP/AN

Penalties/Pénalités :
07:44 SWE Katarina Timglas (Hooking/Accrocher)
10:21 CAN Emmanuelle Blais (Slashing/Coup de bâton)
12:33 SWE Holst (Interference/Obstruction)
17:15 CAN Catherine White (Roughing/Rudesse)
17:15 CAN Andersson (Roughing/Rudesse)
19:15 CAN Natalie Spooner (Holding/Retenir)

Goals/Buts :
19:49 SWE Isabelle Jordansson (Emma Nordin) PP/AN

Penalties/Pénalités :
01:14 CAN Jocelyne Larocque (Hooking/Accrocher)
04:12 SWE Andersson (Interference/Obstruction)
07:06 SWE Katarina Timglas (Slashing/Coup de bâton)
12:35 SWE Östberg (Slashing/Coup de bâton)
17:05 SWE Uden Johansson (Tripping/Faire trébucher)
18:32 CAN Jesse Scanzano (Tripping/Faire trébucher)
19:31 CAN Vicki Bendus (Slashing/Coup de bâton)

Goals/Buts :
04:59 CAN Natalie Spooner (Annie Guay, Lauriane Rougeau)

Penalties/Pénalités :
None/Aucune