WINNIPEG — Jillian Saulnier scored with 3:10 left in the third period and Laura Fortino added an empty-net goal to give Canada’s women’s hockey team a 2-0 victory over the United States in pre-Olympic exhibition play on Tuesday.
Saulnier put a backhand shot past American goalie Alex Rigsby and Fortino sent a long shot into the empty net with 44 seconds left at Bell MTS Place.
Goalie Genevieve Lacasse made 32 saves for Canada. Rigsby stopped 21 of the 22 shots she faced.
The game was the fourth in a six-game series leading up to February’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Canada leads the series 3-1.
Canada was 0 for 3 on the power play and the Americans went 0 for 5. The teams were scoreless after two periods.
Lacasse made a quick stop on a close shot when her team was shorthanded in the first, then later snapped out her glove for another save. The Americans led the shots on goal 12-7.
The pace picked up in the second period.
Illinois winger Kendall Coyne challenged Lacasse twice, making the Calgary goalie whip out her glove again to stop a shot. Coyne then made a slick move to get around Manitoba defender Halli Krzyzaniak and Lacasse turned aside the shot.
Shots on goal favoured the Americans 24-15 after the second.
Canadian forward Laura Stacey had a great chance late in the second, firing a low shot that Rigsby squeezed.
After some shoving and pushing during 4-on-4 as the period winded down, Canada got another penalty for roughing, giving the Americans a 4-on-3 for 20 seconds to start the third that they killed.
The U.S. had another power play in the third after Emily Clark body-checked Amanda Pelkey, but Canada didn’t make it a costly mistake.
Canada, which also won 2-1 in overtime on Sunday in Minnesota, is carrying 26 players and has to cut three to get down to the Olympic roster.
The teams face off again Dec. 15 in San Jose, Calif.< [relatedlinks]
