CANADA ERASES THREE-GOAL DEFICIT, BUT DROPS U18 SERIES FINALE

JASON LA ROSE

CALGARY, Alta. – Sophie Shirley (Saskatoon, Sask./Okanagan Hockey Academy, CSSHL) and Daryl Watts (Toronto, Ont./Mississauga, PWHL) finished with a goal and an assist each, but Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team came up one goal short in a 5-4 loss to the United States on Sunday.

After winning the opener of the three-game series Thursday, the Canadians dropped the final two contests.

Amy Potomak (Aldergrove, B.C./Pacific, JWHL) added two assists for Canada, which fell behind 3-0 less than 10 minutes into the first period before pulling even early in the second.

“I thought once we got back into it we kind of let them dictate the pace and control the play for a little bit,” Canadian head coach Troy Ryan said. “I think we just have to fine tune our habits; some of the details of our game just weren’t there, and they have to be at an event like this.”

The Americans carried the momentum from their win Friday into the early stages of Sunday; Delaney Drake got the scoring started for the U.S. with a power-play goal just 7:35 in, Emily Oden took advantage of a turnover 43 seconds after that, and Grace Zunwinkle beat Canadian goaltender Edith D’Astous-Moreau (Laval, Que./Nepean, PWHL) with a quick shot from the slot at 9:29 for a three-goal American advantage.

Emma Maltais (Burlington, Ont./Oakville, PWHL) finished off a pretty passing play on the power play to get the Canadian comeback started late in the opening frame, hammering a one-timer up and over U.S. netminder Lindsay Reed.

Shirley made it a one-goal game five minutes into the second after a long stretch of sustained pressure from herself, Potomak and Watts, and Canadian captain Ashton Bell (Deloraine, Man./Westman, MFMHL) jumped on a neutral-zone turnover to score an unassisted marker to tie the game at 7:24.

“We played together a little bit last year and it’s something that’s kind of grown in the last year,” Shirley said of playing with Potomak and Watts. “We really enjoy being beside each other and we've really grown as friends as well, so it’s really nice.”

But it would be a short-lived tie; Natalie Buchbinder found a loose puck in the crease and knocked it past D’Astous-Moreau to restore the American lead just 1:24 after the Bell goal.

Maureen Murphy added the eventual game-winner before the end of the second period, sending the U.S. to the second intermission with a 5-3 lead.

The Canadians made it interesting in the first minute of the third period when Watts poked a rebound past Alex Gulstene – who replaced Reed midway through the second – but that would as close as they would get.

The U.S. dominated on the shot clock, doubling up Canada 42-21.

Players will come together next in late December in preparation for the 2017 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship, which begins Jan. 7 in Prerov and Zlin, Czech Republic. The Americans are the two-time defending gold medallists, having beat Canada in overtime in each of the last two years.