ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ

By Earl Zukerman

RAVENSBURG, GERMANY – ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ rearguard Catherine Ward of Mt. Royal, Que., converted a pass from Martlet teammate Ann-Sophie Bettez as Canada’s national women’s under-22 team opened defence of its MLP Nations Cup title with a 3-0 win over Finland on Friday at the Eissporthalle in Ravensburg, Germany.

Canada’s top line of Meghan Agosta (Ruthven, ON/Mercyhurst College, CHA), Rebecca Johnston (Sudbury, ON/Cornell University, ECAC) and Haley Irwin (Thunder Bay, ON/University of Minnesota-Duluth, WCHA) combined for six points as the Canadians won for the 20th time in 21 games all-time at the tournament – it was known as the Air Canada Cup for the first six years of its existence, and Canada took home the top prize every time.

After a scoreless first period, the Canadians finally struck almost 14 minutes into the middle frame when Agosta beat Finnish netminder Anna-Kaisa Piironen, with help from Johnston and Irwin.

Catherine Ward (Montreal, QC/ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ University, CIS) scored early in the second period to double the lead and Agosta rounded out the scoring late in the game, again set up by Johnston and Irwin.

Liz Knox (Stouffville, ON/Wilfrid Laurier University, CIS) picked up the shutout between the pipes for Canada, turning aside all 16 shots she faced. The Canadians outshot the Finns 25-16 overall.

Canada wraps up a short round robin when it faces Russia on Sunday (10 a.m. EST).

SCORING SUMMARY

MLP Nations Cup @ Ravensburg, GER
Fri. Jan. 2, 2009 @ Ravensburg Arena

FIRST PERIOD:
Scoring:
(none)

Penalties:
CAN Laura Fridfinnson (Holding), 8:20
CAN Courtney Birchard (Hooking), 9:44
FIN Minnamari Tuominen (Tripping), 13:13
FIN Vilma Tarvainen (Tripping), 18:56

SECOND PERIOD:
Scoring:
1. CAN Meghan Agosta (Rebecca Johnston, Haley Irwin), 13:28

Penalties:
CAN Mallory Deluce (Hooking), 3:32
CAN Lauriane Rougeau (Interference), 6:43

THIRD PERIOD:
Scoring:
2. CAN Catherine Ward (Ann-Sophie Bettez), 4:57
3. CAN Meghan Agosta (Rebecca Johnston, Haley Irwin), 16:50

Penalties:
CAN Lauriane Rougeau (Interference), 6:31
FIN Saija Sirviö (Interference), 13:40


Goaltenders
CAN Liz Knox
FIN Anna-Kaisa Piiroinen

SHOTS BY PERIOD:
CAN 9 8 8 -- 25
FIN 4 6 6 -- 16

SCORE BY PERIOD:
CAN 0 1 2 -- 3
FIN 0 0 0 -- 0

Attendance 600