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Canada claims women's hockey gold
By
QMI AGENCY
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  Canada's Caroline Ouellette celebrates her winning goal in sudden death overtime action to take the gold medal game between Canada and the USA at the IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship in Burlington, Vermont April 14, 2012. (REUTERS/Herb Swanson) |
Caroline Oullette scored less than two minutes into overtime to give Canada a 5-4 win over the United States in the final of the women's world championship in Burlington, Vt., ending a gold-medal drought in the tournament that dates back to 2007. It was the 10th gold medal at the world championships for Canada.
The U.S. had won the previous three world finals -- Canada slipped an Olympic gold medal in there in 2010, though -- and rolled to a 9-2 win over the Canadians in the round robin portion of the tourney this year.
"The losses of the previous years were really weighing on us," Canadian captain Hayley Wickenheiser admitted. "None of us wanted to see that happen again. We stayed positive the whole game."
Ouellette (with two goals) Wickenheiser, Jayna Hefford and Meghan Agosta scored for Canada. Gigi Marvin scored a pair of power-play goals for the U.S. while Kendall Coyne and Brianna Decker also tallied.
Shannon Szabados stopped 35 shots for Canada while Molly Schaus made 39 saves for the U.S.
In the bronze-medal game, Switzerland upset Finland 6-2, capping off a Cinderella tournament for the mountainous European nation.
Wickenheiser and defenceman Laura Fortino were the only two Canadians named to the tournament all-star team. American Marvin, Monique Lamoureux-Kolls and Kelli Stack were joined by Swiss goalie Florence Schelling.
