Canada held Switzerland to just eight shots in its 4-1 victory at the Women’s World Hockey Championship on Saturday afternoon, so it would be silly to sound anything close to an alarm bell coming out of the victory.
Still, Canada won’t have to look hard to find a few things to tweak as it works through the tournament.
One player who seems to have her game set just right, mind you, is Sarah Fillier, who bagged a brace in this game. It was one year ago that Fillier had her coming out party at the 2021 worlds and the 22-year-old was flashing the same form against the Swiss.
Canada is now 2-0 at the tournament being held in Herning, Denmark and will have a quick turnaround with a game against Japan slated to go Sunday morning at 9 a.m. Before we turn the page, though, let’s take a closer look at Fillier's play and some other things that stood out from Canada’s victory over the Swiss.
Second Line Gets its Fill
Fillier's line from the 2021 worlds with Natalie Spooner and Melodie Daoust on both wings combined for 27 points, providing a huge offensive boost for Canada. With neither Spooner nor Daoust available for this event, Fillier is centring a second unit flanked by Jessie Eldridge and Sarah Potomak and the line sure seemed to hit its stride in Game 2.
Fillier opened the scoring just past the midway point of the first with a shot that clanked off a couple shin pads before it beat Andrea Braendli.
While the goal itself wasn’t an all-world play, it looked like we were going to get some serious razzle-dazzle from Fillier just moments earlier on the same shift when she had some space behind the net and briefly tried to scoop the puck up with the blade of her stick. The attempt didn’t quite materialize, but Fillier confirmed during a first-intermission interview that she was, indeed, attempting a Michigan goal and hesitated just a little too much to pull it off.
Her second tally of the match may not have been a Michigan-level jaw-dropper, but it still showcased her fantastic shooting ability, as well as some evidence her line is getting in sync.
Switzerland’s Lisa Ruedi had control of the puck and was eyeing a zone exit when both Eldridge and Potomak swarmed her to create a turnover. Before you knew it, Fillier corralled a loose puck and was curling back toward Braendli. The right-shot pivot sniped a short-side goal on the blocker side, putting Canada up 2-0 halfway through the affair.
It's not fair to expect this Fillier line to do the damage the one with Spooner and Daoust did last time out at the worlds, but this was a much stronger showing from the trio than it had in the tournament opener against Finland.
Refining the Finish
Ninety-two seconds after Fillier made it 2-0, Emily Clark scored on a sweet one-timer play that came about after a forced turnover by Victoria Bach, then a great dish by Blayre Turnbull. At that point, it seemed Canada would route the Swiss, who had just a single shot in the middle frame.
Instead, Braendli hung in — she made 42 saves overall — and Canada failed to pull away. A number of players — from Eldridge to Marie-Philip Poulin to Jocelyne Larocque — had Grade A attempts, but failed to find the back of the net.
Remember, Canada put over 40 shots on Finnish goalie Anni Keisala in its first contest, but only squeezed three pucks past her. While both Keisala and Braendli turned in great performances, you have to believe Canada will be talking about bearing down on its chances as it moves forward.
Maybe it’s a good harbinger that Turnbull finished this game off in the dying minutes with a beautiful drag-and-snap goal that squeezed through Braendli.
Don’t Put Yourself in a Box
If converting chances is sure to be a topic in Canada’s team meetings after this one, it’s still likely Item 2 on the agenda after cleaning up some undisciplined play.
Canada took six minor penalties in this contest compared to just two by the Swiss. Canada also committed a half-dozen minors against Finland, so the errant sticks getting caught up between legs and too-rough rub-outs on the boards have got to be reeled in.
A Marti Party
This contest had no business being a pseudo nail-biter, but that’s just what it became when Alina Marti one-timed Laura Zimmerman’s pass with seven-and-a-half minutes to go to make it a two-goal game.
While Switzerland was never able to get any closer, it’s notable Marti is just 18-years-old and this was her first point at a senior-level international event.
