Sarah Fillier had a goal and an assist for the Canadians, who will look to defend their world title and write another chapter in a historic showdown with the United States in Sunday’s gold medal game. Sarah Nurse, Christine O’Neill, Jessie Eldridge, Emily Clark and Brian Jenner also scored and defenseman Ella Shelton had two assists. Canadian goalkeeper Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped five shots for the win. Defender Lara Christen scored for a depleted Switzerland with Saskia Maurer turning away 48 shots in her first tournament start. The USA is unbeaten in six games here, including a 5-2 win over Canada in the qualifying round. Canada beat the USA 3-2 in overtime to win last year’s world championship and end its arch-rival’s five-game winning streak. The Canadians then prevailed 3-2 in February’s Olympic final in Beijing for the gold. They had lost in a shootout to the US four years earlier in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Canada may hold both titles, but the USA has been the better goal producer and also stingier in their end than the Canadians. The USA beat the Czech Republic 10-1 in Saturday’s previous semifinal. The Americans have outscored their opponents 52-5 in six games so far this tournament, compared to Canada’s 30-8. The USA has reached the final of every women’s championship since the inaugural tournament in Ottawa in 1990 and has won nine gold medals. The only time Canada, winners of 11 golds, did not meet the USA in the final was in 2019, when they were upset in the semifinals by hosts Finland in Espoo. Canadian coach Troy Ryan continued to work different offensive line combinations in Saturday’s semifinal, moving Sarah Potomak to a line with Poulin and Jenner and shutting down Victoria Bach alongside Eldridge and Emma Maltais. Lara Stalder returned to Switzerland’s starting line-up after the captain spent four days in quarantine for COVID-19, but top forward Alina Mueller, who also tested positive for the virus, did not play on Saturday. The Swiss were also without Noemi Ryhner (hand) and Laura Zimmermann (ankle) for the semifinal, which was chipped after Canadian defender Renata Fast’s check on Christen in the second period sent the Swiss defender to the locker room. The Swiss fans booed Fast every time she touched the puck for the rest of the game. Pullen pounced twice from the slot and Nurse got her stick to the puck in a mouth scrum for a power-play goal in the third. The Swiss trailed 4-0 when Christen scored with a two-man advantage in the second. He left the ice in discomfort later in the period after checking Fast in the Swiss zone. O’Neill, Eldridge and Jenner all scored their first goals of the tournament for Canada on Saturday, while Fillier got her team-leading fifth. The Czech Republic plays Switzerland for the bronze medal on Sunday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 3, 2022.
