Canadian women blank U.S. in Olympic hockey final

VANCOUVER – The cardboard signs spread amid a cowbell-ringing, flag-waving, red-clad crowd told you everything about who ruled the women’s ice hockey universe.

“Hockey is Canada’s game,” the signs read.

In a puck-crazy country where people live for their national pastime, Canada retained its throne with a third straight Olympic title, riding momentum from a blistering first period Thursday for a 2-0 win over the U.S. in the gold-medal game of the Vancouver Games.

Marie-Philip Poulin scored both of Canada’s goals in the first, and that provided plenty of support for Shannon Szabados, who made 28 saves and stood strong through a pair of 5-on-3 advantages by the overpowered, hot-tempered, special teams-challenged Americans.

An 18-year-old known as the Sidney Crosby of the women’s game, Poulin struck twice in a 3-minute span, first with a one-timer from the left circle against Jessie Vetter, then with a wrist shot from the right circle after a faceoff caused by Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej’s penalty for hooking. Vetter entered with a 6-6 record against Canada.

Nothing rattled Szabados, who made a glove save on a shot by Molly Engstrom from the right circle during a 40-second 5-on-3 in the first and twice batted away Angela Ruggiero shots from the point during a 98-second 5-on-3 in the second. The U.S. prevented Canada from scoring on any of its five power plays, but the U.S. was 0-for-6 with the extra man.

“I wish the Olympics were like a Stanley Cup playoff, where you get to see them a few more times,” Ruggiero said. “You get one shot at it – that’s the beauty of the Olympics. It’s who shows up. We put our best foot forward, but we just didn’t come out on top.”

There were more than enough chances for the Americans – a Monique Lamoureux shot in the first that forced Szabados to make a sprawling glove save, along with a Caitlin Cahow shot on the power play that Szabados snagged. They should have paid Canadian taxes for living in the slot, where Lamoureux nearly redirected a puck off her skate in the third.

The frustration for the Americans, in the gold-medal game for the third time in four tries, showed in the second, when Ruggiero was whistled for interference for crushing Gillian Apps between the circles. She argued with Norwegian referee Aina Hove before trudging to the penalty box, muttering to herself and shaking her head in disgust.

Like most of her teammates, Ruggiero stood in tears when the final buzzer sounded, not letting herself watch a dogpile of red and white behind the Canadian goal. Golden Coke cans were distributed to 16,805 fans, as players danced with a Canadian flag emblazoned with a golden maple leaf and Wayne Gretzky and Michael J. Fox cheered from a suite.

“Some of those saves (Szabados) made, I had my arms in the air,” Cahow said, “and she just came up with the puck. … They played a hard-fought game, and they earned it.”

Vetter didn’t pin the blame on herself.

“My big thing always is to give my team an opportunity to win the game,” she said, “and I think we had a chance. … They were clean shots. Poulin was just able to get the quick release and take advantage of her opportunities.”

Ranked No. 2 in the world, Canada had claimed the previous two Olympic titles –  a 4-1 win over Sweden in 2006, when the top-ranked U.S. took bronze, and a 3-1 win vs. the U.S. in 2002. The Americans beat Canada 3-1 in the first women’s competition in 1998.

Since 2006, the U.S. has won two of three world championships, including back-to-back titles with victories over Canada, while Canada has topped the U.S. in two of three title games at the Four Nations Cup. Canada finished with a 16-7 edge the past four years – it was 8-3 this season, as Canada won Four Nations and the U.S. took the Canada Cup.

It might have been the final games for four-time Olympians Ruggiero and Jenny Potter. Same goes for three-time Olympians Julie Chu and Natalie Darwitz. Potter and Chu have combined for 378 career points, and Ruggiero and Darwitz have played a combined 455 games. Cahow and Engstrom, both two-time Olympians, are expected to return.

The future looks bright for the Americans, who had 15 Olympic newcomers – five with six-plus points in Vancouver, including Hilary Knight, Kelli Stack, Karen Thatcher and Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux, the twin sisters of Air Force forward Jacques Lamoureux. At 20, Knight was the youngest player on a 21-person team with an average age of 23.7.

“We train every day for four years to win a gold medal, and when you come up short of your goal, it’s obviously an emotional time,” Stack said, trying to hold back tears. “We’re happy with silver, but it’s not what we came here for. In the end, it hurts.”

“We always go for the gold medal,” Knight added. “It didn’t meet our expectations.”

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