(Beijing) Ann-Renée Desbiens was ambivalent about her contribution to Canada’s 4-2 victory over the United States in the women’s hockey tournament at the Olympic Games.
Posted at 5:28
The Canadian goaltender made 51 saves, more than the combined shots she faced in her first two starts in Beijing.
“It’s great, yes and no, acknowledged the 27-year-old player from La Malbaie. I personally enjoy it, but from a team perspective, it’s not the kind of game you want to have too often.
“It just showed that we can improve things, improve in the medal round. Personally, it’s fun, but I’d rather not have to. »
Dominated 53-27 in the shoot column, Canada nonetheless held off the defending champions to finish the preliminary round atop Group A with a 4-0 record.
Marie-Philip Poulin scored on Canada’s first penalty shot in Olympic women’s hockey history. Brianne Jenner, with two, and Jamie Lee Rattray completed.
Dani Cameranesi and Alex Carpenter replied for USA (3-1). Maddie Rooney stopped 23 of 27 shots aimed at her in the loss.
Canada will now face the third-place team from Group B in the quarter-finals of the tournament. These will take place on February 11 and 12.
The game was played in front of 591 spectators, including Canada’s curling teams, at the Wukesong Sports Centre.
Quick game
Canada had outscored their opponents 29-3 in the first three games of the round robin. The United States had prevailed 18-2.
The great North American rivals offer fast hockey when they face each other and it was the case again in this duel. The Canadians used two penalties in the third period to seal their victory.
American defender Cayla Barnes batted Poulin on a breakaway late in the second period. The Canada captain beat Rooney with a low shot on her penalty shot, giving her squad a 4-2 lead.
“You have one of the best players in the world taking a penalty shot, so it’s very exciting,” Desbiens said. She’s always on top day in and day out and, when it counts, that’s when she’s at her best. We saw it again today. »
The United States bottled up the Canadians in their own end for most of the first 20 minutes, but they still took a 1-0 lead thanks to Jenner’s power play goal.
Canadian head coach Troy Ryan didn’t appreciate his team giving up 53 shots — and more including a lot of blocked shots.
“I think we gave up so many shots because of our puck possession time,” he said. It wasn’t necessarily the pressure they exerted.
“We didn’t play our best game. It’s great to have won, but we have to go back to the drawing board and look at what areas of our game we can improve, especially our puck management. We will have to tighten our game a bit and make some adjustments. »
The United States briefly led 2-1 in the second period during a six-minute streak where both teams totaled four goals.
“It’s not shots on goal that win hockey games, it’s goals,” said American coach Joel Johnson. We need to find a way to use the time spent in the offensive zone to generate better quality chances.
“Defensively, we can’t give up four goals. It’s very, very rare to allow four goals and win a hockey game. »
The officiating team struggled without a referee for most of the second period when Canadian Cianna Lieffers required treatment for a cut to her face. She came back to finish the match.