Too fast, too skilled: Team Canada women’s hockey crushes Sweden in the Olympic quarter-finals
Hattrick from both Sarah Fillier and Brianne Jenner continued Canada’s fights against opponents as they scored a double-digit goal for the third time.
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BEIJING – Maybe it was the shootout loss to the Americans four years ago that fueled a revised attack for the elite team Canada.
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Maybe it was to find a way to make better use of the dazzling speed that revolutionizes the women’s game, a skill that this sublimely gifted Canadian team has in abundance.
And maybe what we see is a team so far above the rest of the sport that there is no stopping what is becoming a historic Olympic race.
So thorough was Canada’s 11-0 destruction of Sweden in a quarter-final competition on Friday night at the Wukesong Sports Center, that it called for superlatives.
Hattrick from both Sarah Fillier and Brianne Jenner continued Canada’s fights against their opponents here when they scored a double-digit goal for the third time.
Although they have plenty of company, Fillier and Jenner are on the verge of women’s Olympic hockey history. Both have already scored eight points, one breaking the record from the Canadian big Meghan Agosta.
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In the name of justice, which had not faced Canada in the Olympics since 2010, they did not belong on the same ice as a team that has now surpassed its opponents 44-5 through five matches.
The latest mismatch is partly at the IOC, which extended the Olympic tournament to 10 teams, which means that the quarter-final round was set up for this type of humiliation.
Canada’s first look at a “B” group opponent was certainly not a brilliant moment for the sport, but it did allow the pre-tournament favorites to easily advance to Monday’s semi-final against an as yet undecided opponent.
Skating circles around their opponents, a new look and a new style has really lifted Team Canada’s dominance to a next and perhaps never before seen level.
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The team is lightning fast and not just in skating speed. It also scores at a historic pace. And it’s not lost on the Canadian players that make it happen.
“I feel that the women’s game is developing and we are getting better every year and I have been a part of this for a long time,” said forward Rebecca Johnston, who is competing in her fourth Olympics.
“I have definitely noticed the improvement that our national team has had. We are getting faster. We are more skilled. The young children are coming forward and really pushing the vets.”
And the rest of the world – perhaps even the rival Americans – do not seem to be keeping up.
Under general manager Gina Kingsbury and coach Troy Ryan, there has been an emphasis on pushing up the pace of the game. It’s not just high speed skating either. It is aggressive on the forecheck and quickly moves the puck up from any zone.
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“I feel like we’re a million times better with the transition part of the game,” Johnston said. “We make it difficult for other teams to catch up.”
From the first of three blowouts in this tournament, Ryan made it clear that his team would not take their foot off the gas at any point.
And the dominance has become thorough as a result. After two periods on Friday, Canada had more goals (nine) than the Swedes had scored on goal (6).
At the end of the night, the shot clock was just as skewed: Canada 56, Sweden 11.
They have now scored 44 points in five matches this tournament. In the 2018 and 2014 Olympics, they received 35 points together.
Fillier and Jenner have plenty of company on the results list with an offensive that is as productive as women’s hockey has ever seen.
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“The confidence we have, the well-rounded depth we have … everyone can score,” Johnston said. “We can score goals in different ways, from the net, from different angles, points shots.
“When you have that versatility, it’s hard to defend.”
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Almost impossible in the case of the Swedes, who finished third in the ‘B’ group and had the great misfortune to face the tournament’s most dangerous offensive team.
Although Canada would never be a threat to lose – and in fact benefited from 7.5 goals on a gaming site – they added their dominance much more emphatically than their competitors from the United States
The Americans advanced with a 4-1 victory over the Czechs but were in a battle most of the way, trailed 1-0 after one and only took their first lead of the match six minutes into the third period.
Next level Canadians? They went through a stretch on Friday where they scored five goals in six shots in seven minutes. Dominance may not even do it justice.
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