2004 IIHF Women's World Championship

Canada downs Sweden
By Matthew Wuest

It was a scary start for Canada, but a perfect finish. Sweden jumped out to a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes on Sunday night at the Halifax Metro Centre and started the second period with more than five-straight minutes on the power play. But with a little hard work and patience, Canada weathered the storm and earned a 7-1 victory in front of 5,816 boisterous fans.

It was veteran leadership that turned things around for Canada.
"I had jitters in my stomach (during the first intermission) because I wasn't used to this, and I was scared," said 22-year-old Gina Kingsbury. "But I looked around the room and saw leaders being calm and confident, and I said, 'This team will pull through.' "

Indeed it did. Jayna Hefford, who gave an inspiring performance all night long, drew Canada even at 6:08 of the second. But it was Kingsbury's tally at 11:27 that was the turning point, as her innocent-looking shot from just inside the blue line eluded the glove of Swedish goaltender Kim Martin and gave Canada the lead.

"I didn't think I scored," said Kingsbury. "I was celebrating, but I thought Botterill got the rebound or something. Then I looked at the video. But I don't care how pretty it is. I'll take it."

Canada didn't look back, scoring seven unanswered goals for the win. Gillian Apps and Caroline Ouellette also tallied in the second, while Hefford, Cherie Piper and Jennifer Botterill finished out the scoring in the third.

Martin, just 18, was phenomenal in goal for Sweden, making 48 saves in the loss. "Kim is still really young, and she's the kind of goalie that can win you a game," said Ouellette. "We knew that we really needed to get a lot of shots
because she's the one that can steal games."

Swedish head coach Peter Elander said it was Sweden's youth and physical immaturity on the blue line that was the biggest factor in the loss.

"We have to be much better protecting our goaltender against a strong club like Canada," said Elander. "We were too weak around the net."

It was a costly loss for Sweden, as player of the game Gunilla Andersson left the ice on a stretcher with just 33.5 seconds remaining.

Botterill had a goal and three assists in the victory to add to her tournament-leading total of 12 points in just four games. Hefford picked up two goals and an assist, while Ouellette added a goal and two helpers.

Sami Jo Small earned the victory in goal for Canada. Canada automatically qualifies for the gold medal game with the victory, where they'll face either the U.S. or Sweden. Sweden must beat U.S. by five or more goals in
Monday night's 8 p.m. contest to earn a berth in the gold medal game.

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Despite being down 1-0 to Sweden after the first period, Canada fought back to earn a 7-1 victory on Sunday night at the Halifax Metro Centre.
Jennifer Botterill had a goal and three assists in the victory, while Jayna Hefford had a pair of goals and an assist.

Caroline Ouellette picked up a goal and two helpers. Swedish goaltender Kim Martin was phenomenal in the loss, making 48 saves. Sami Jo Small earned the victory in goal for Canada with 12 stops. Attendance was 5,816.

Despite spending the first 5:28 of the second period killing penalties, Canada weathered the storm and scored four unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead heading into the final 20 minutes.

Jayna Hefford drew Canada even on the team's 16th shot of the game, walking out from behind the net to squeeze a quick shot through Martin's pads at 6:08.

Gina Kingsbury gave Canada the lead at 11:27, eluding Martin's glove with a relatively innocent shot from just inside the blue line. Gillian Apps, who converted on a breakaway at 15:25, and Caroline Ouellette, who banged home a rebound with just one second remaining in the period, put Canada up 4-1. Hefford has been all over the ice for Canada with a number of terrific offensive chances, while Martin has stopped 28 of 32 shots.

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Backed by the stellar goaltending of 18-year-old Kim Martin, Sweden stunned Canada with the opening goal of Sunday's game and headed into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.

Jenni Asserholt, who had just exited the penalty box, got behind the Canadian defence and took a pass from Elin Holmlov. The 15-year-old defenceman walked in on a breakaway and beat Sami Jo Small blocker-side to give Sweden a 1-0 lead.

It was all Martin after that, as she stopped all 15 shots and kept Canada's potent attack at bay with a number of key saves on point-blank opportunities.

Press Conference Video

Team Canada Game Notes