THE CANADIAN PRESS
HAMEENLINNA, Finland -- Canada cruised into the medal round at the women's world hockey championship Monday with a decisive 7-0 win over Sweden, avenging a historic loss to the Swedes last November in the Four Nations Cup.
That 2-1 overtime defeat, plus the fact the bronze medal would be the best Monday's loser could get, had the Canadians primed for battle.
"We were revved up," said Calgary defenceman Carla MacLeod, who powered Canada's offence with a goal and three assists before 1,403 spectators. "This was a big game for us. We had it circled on our calendar."
The Canadian women will now battle the defending champion Americans and Finland, who like Canada won their pool with 2-0 records, to see who makes it to Sunday's final.
Canada, winner of nine world titles, faces Finland on Wednesday and the U.S. on Friday.
The U.S. shut down Russia 8-0 on Monday while the Finns defeated Switzerland 6-3 in front of 3,200 spectators at Patria Arena.
Canada has outscored its opposition 20-1, compared to 16-0 for the U.S. and 13-3 for Finland.
Pool runners-up Sweden, Russia and Kazakhstan will play off for a spot in the bronze-medal game. Winless Switzerland, China and Japan dropped to the relegation round.
"We were hoping for better, but Canada is a big, big strong hockey club and when they got their confidence going after three-nothing, they all stepped up and became 10 per cent better hockey players," Swedish coach Peter Elander said.
Captain Hayley Wickenheiser of Shaunavon, Sask., scored short-handed for her third goal of the tournament and 19-year-old Rebecca Johnston of Sudbury, Ont., also notched her third.
Montreal forward Caroline Ouellette and Marie-Philip Poulin of Beauceville, Que., each contributed their second goal in as many games. Colleen Sostorics of Kennedy, Sask., chipped in a power-play goal and Winnipeg's Jennifer Botterill also scored for Canada.
Kim St. Pierre of Chateauguay, Que., earned the 18-save shutout. Swedish counterpart Sara Grahn, the winning goalie in her country's historic win in November, stopped 32 of 39 shots.
While the U.S. is Canada's traditional rival, there was plenty of pushing, shoving and high elbows after the whistle against Sweden. Ouellette took exception to Katarina Timglas's elbow to MacLeod's head late in the first period and planted her fists firmly in the Swede's chest. Coincidental minor penalties were the result.
Ouellette coaches three of the Swedes as an assistant at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and was a teammate of three of them during her playing career there.
"I don't lose my composure that often, but a shot to the head really gets me," Ouellette said. "I don't think it's necessary and after the whistle too. Maybe it wasn't a good penalty on my part, but I just think it's unacceptable."
Two power-play goals carried the Swedes to victory last fall. The Canadians are stronger even-strength, so Sweden's strategy is to harry them into taking penalties, score on the power play and rely on its defence and goaltending to keep the score close.
While the Canadians took their share of penalties, they shut down Sweden's power play on six chances, including a five-on-three at the end of the third period. Canada forced Sweden's shooters to the perimeter, working hard to get their sticks on the puck and break up possible one-timers off the pass.
"You can have the best individual on penalty kill, but if the others aren't doing the same thing, it doesn't work," Ouellette said. "We were really well prepared. We knew where to go and how to defend it."
While the Swedes had their scoring opportunities, Elander pointed out that it's hard to beat a goalie like St. Pierre, who stopped shots from the Montreal Canadiens in one of the NHL team's practises.
Ouellette's goal at 2:22 of the first period got her team out of the gates, but Canada's momentum really grew in killing off Catherine Ward's bodychecking penalty at 4:59 and MacLeod's goal at 10:53.
MacLeod put the puck on net from where the boards and the goal-line intersect and it bobbled off Grahn and in.
"I'll take them any way I can," MacLeod declared. "I'm certainly not picky."
Canada's power play that went 0-for-19 at the Four Nations in Lake Placid, N.Y., is no longer dry as Sostorics scored her country's third of the tournament a man-up to make it 3-0 in the second period. Poulin further deflated the Swedes by deking defenceman Emilia Andersson and beating Grahn with a backhand early in the third.
MacLeod caught the Swedes high in the neutral zone and sprung Wickenheiser for a breakaway for Canada's fifth goal. Botterill capped the scoring with 36 seconds remaining in regulation.
St. Pierre, who was in net for the loss to Sweden, preserved Canada's 3-0 lead late in the second period by making a tough save on a screened shot by Cecilia Osterberg.
"After what happened at Four Nations we didn't want that to happen again," St. Pierre said. "It was a great game they played that day. We knew today we had to be the better team."
Canadian coach Melody Davidson wasn't surprised the Swedes tried to get in her team's face to open the game.
"There's a terrific rivalry there and lots was on the line for them," she said. "They were on Swedish TV.
"For both of us, a lot was on the line. If you don't win that game, the best you can play for is a bronze."
Davidson pointed out that Sweden also beat Canada's under-22 team at the MLS Cup in January "so they were really riding a winning streak coming in."
Notes -- Wickenheiser is five points from becoming the first to 300 on Canada's national team ... Ouellette is a point away from a career 150 ... Canada's Haley Irwin is also a teammates of Swedes Kim Martin, Jenni Asserholt, Elin Holmlov and Pernilla Winberg.
