Quebec goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens was never threatened by Switzerland’s attacks in Canada’s first game at the Women’s Ice Hockey World Championship.
The local favorite’s goal only had to make 12 saves in this opening game of the preliminary round. Nine of her saves came in the first half, then the Swiss limited herself to three shots in 40 minutes.
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As the meeting progressed, Canadian dominance was felt more and more. Marie-Philip Poulin and his gang shot at the opposing net no fewer than 25 times in the third period. Despite everything, the Canadian captain was dropped from the scorer list.
Natalie Spooner, Sarah Nurse, Rebecca Johnston and Sarah Fillier scored the goals against goalkeeper Andrea Brandli. Spooner played her first match since becoming a mother after giving birth to a boy on December 6th. She used a turnover to score in the slot where she and her teammates did the most damage.
Canada meets the Czech Republic on Friday and then Japan the following day. The maple leaf will end the preliminary round with a duel against its big American competitors. The Canadians are the two-time defending champions of the event, having triumphed in Denmark last year and Calgary the year before.