2014-15 National Women's Development Team

BACH SCORES TWICE AGAIN, CANADA BOOKS SPOT IN NATIONS CUP FINAL

JASON LA ROSE

FÜSSEN, Germany – Victoria Bach (Milton, Ont./Boston University, HE) scored two goals for the second time in as many days, and Canada’s National Women’s Development Team advanced to the gold medal game at the 2015 Nations Cup with a 5-1 win over Russia on Sunday.

Canada, which finished atop Group B with a perfect 2-0 record, will face Sweden in the final on Tuesday (1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT), looking for its second consecutive gold medal at the tournament.

Sarah Nurse (Hamilton, Ont./University of Wisconsin, WCHA) added a goal and an assist, and Meghan Dufault (Winnipeg, Man./University of North Dakota, WCHA) had two helpers.

Rebecca Kohler (St. Thomas, Ont./University of North Dakota, WCHA) and Sarah Lefort (Ormstown, Que./Boston University, HE) scored the other Canadian goals.

Just as they did in their tournament-opening win over Finland on Saturday, Canada struck quickly against the Russians; Bach converted the Canadians’ first power play chance for a 1-0 lead at 6:10.

Russia responded off the stick of Galina Skiba at 13:31, but Nurse split the Russian defence and went five-hole on goaltender Julia Leskina just 1:24 later to give the Canadians the lead for good.

That would be it for scoring until the late stages of the third period thanks to Leskina and a Canadian power play that scored just once on six opportunities in the opening 40 minutes.

The Russians pushed in the third period, getting eight of their 13 shots and their only two power plays in the final frame, but Canadian netminder Erica Howe (Orleans, Ont./Brampton, CWHL) kept it a one-goal game until Bach buried a cross-ice feed from Dufault to make it a two-goal game with 6:46 to go.

Kohler banged in a Kelly Terry (Whitby, Ont./Toronto, CWHL) rebound at 16:55 and Lefort found the empty net with 54 seconds to go, rounding out the scoring.

Canada finished with a 28-13 advantage in shots on goal.