Canadian women finish strong

MILAN — Now that’s how you wash away the sour taste of a tough loss.

The Canadian women’s hockey team bounced back from a stinker against the United States by skating away with a convincing 5-0 win over Finland Thursday afternoon to close out pool play at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

“We showed our identity today and really the team that we want to be and how we want to play, which is hard to play against, good stick details, physical and I love how everybody contributed,” goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens told reporters in the mixed zone inside the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.

Desbiens, making her third start of the tournament, stopped all 17 shots she faced.

Canada finished the round-robin portion of the event with victories over Switzerland (4-0), Czechia (5-1) and Finland — and one ugly defeat against their top rival Team USA on Tuesday night, the American shutting out Canada 5-0.

That has prompted plenty of questions about whether the team has what it takes to compete with their neighbours to the south, who certainly appear younger, faster and more skilled.

And while a final answer will have to wait until what seems to be an inevitable gold medal showdown next weekend, Canada at least took care of the business in a game that was supposed to be played a week earlier, only to be delayed because the Finnish squad was reeling from a stomach flu outbreak.

Emily Clark led the way offensively with a pair of goals while Jenn Gardiner, Daryl Watts and Kristin O’Neill netted the three other markers.

“I think we played with a fire under us,” said Desbiens.

Ste. Anne’s Jocelyne Larocque, who is one of the team’s alternate captains, is a big part of the blue line and played 18 solid minutes in what is her fourth Olympics. Fellow defender Kati Tabin of Winnipeg, who is skating in her first, was used in a more sheltered, limited role, playing 10:56.

“It’s always difficult to lose and even harder when you’re at the Olympics, but again it’s a stepping stone to where we want to go,” said O’Neill.

“We showed our identity today and really the team that we want to be and how we want to play.”

“Every single time we step on the ice is a learning opportunity. Our coaches are really good at diving deep into the play no matter if we win or lose. We learned a lot from last game and a lot from today that we can take moving forward.”

Canada is now 8-0 all-time against Finland at the Olympics, outscoring them 45-7. They finished second in Group A, which sets up a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday (9:40 a.m. CT) against Germany , which finished second in Group B.

The other round-of-eight matchups are United States (first in Group A) versus Italy (third in Group B) and Sweden (first in Group B) versus Czechia (third in Group A), which will be played on Friday. Finland (fourth in Group A) versus Switzerland (fifth in Group A) goes Saturday.

The four winners advance to the semifinals slated for Feb. 16, with the puck dropping on the bronze and gold medal games Feb. 19. Japan and France were the other two teams in the tournament, and both were eliminated after finishing fourth and fifth in Group B, respectively.

Might Canada have captain Marie-Philip Poulin back for the elimination round? She missed a second straight game on Thursday after suffering a lower-body injury on Monday against Czechia.

Head coach Troy Ryan is hopeful.

“She skated (Thursday) morning just with the goalie, the goalie coach and our medical team. I didn’t watch, but she seemed positive and optimistic,” said Ryan

“It doesn’t mean she is going to play in the quarterfinals, but it’s trending in the right direction. My guess is she will be back at some point, but right now it’s to be determined.”

“We learned a lot from last game and a lot from today that we can take moving forward.”

Canada sure could have used her against Team USA, as the team looked completely outclassed and overwhelmed.

“She is keen to get back. I’ve been in this situation a few times with (Poulin) with previous injuries. I know she was very upset and devastated in that game when she got hurt,” said Ryan.

“It’s just the unknown that goes through your head. But as she settled in, got medical treatment and now has a different perspective on it, she is looking forward to getting back if she can.”

Canada has played in the final of all seven Olympics, with two silvers and five golds, including Beijing 2022. But the U.S. has really come on strong in recent years, including sweeping Canada in a four-game exhibition series earlier this winter which started raising alarm bells.

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