Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin set a new Olympic record with her 19th and 20th career goals, leading Canada to a 2-1 victory over Switzerland in the women's ice hockey semifinals. The defending champions will face the United States in Thursday's gold medal game, extending Canada's streak of reaching every Olympic final since women's hockey was added to the Games.
Team captain Marie-Philip Poulin etched her name in Olympic history Monday, netting two goals to propel Canada into the women’s ice hockey championship game with a 2-1 victory over Switzerland in Milan.
The triumph marks Canada’s eighth straight appearance in an Olympic women’s hockey final, maintaining their perfect record of reaching the title game since the sport debuted at the Winter Games. Poulin’s performance was particularly notable as she shattered the all-time Olympic women’s scoring record, tallying her 19th and 20th career goals.
Thursday’s gold medal contest will pit the defending Olympic champions against their longtime rivals from the United States, as Canada seeks their sixth Olympic title against a youthful American squad.
Switzerland managed to find the net once through forward Rahel Enzler in the opening minutes of the final period, but couldn’t overcome Canada’s offensive dominance. The Canadians peppered the Swiss goal with 46 shots compared to just eight for their opponents.
The bronze medal will be decided Thursday when Switzerland takes on Sweden.
Despite missing the final two preliminary round contests due to a knee problem, Poulin showed no signs of rust at Santagiulia arena. The player known as “Captain Clutch” broke through after a goalless opening frame to make Olympic history.
Her record-setting 19th Olympic goal came via a skillful slap shot that bounced off the ice surface and sailed over Swiss goaltender Andrea Braendli’s equipment, surpassing fellow Canadian Hayley Wickenheiser’s previous milestone and igniting celebrations among the maple leaf supporters in attendance.
Poulin wasn’t finished there, adding her second tally less than seven minutes afterward by jamming home a rebound while diving toward the net during a scramble in front of the goal.
The Canadian star found herself in penalty trouble four minutes later after delivering a hard check on Swiss player Laura Zimmermann along the boards, but escaped a major infraction that could have significantly impacted the outcome, serving only a two-minute minor penalty.
While Switzerland had stunned hockey powerhouse Finland in the quarterfinal round, they couldn’t sustain that upset magic against Canada. Enzler’s goal, set up by teammate Alina Muller in the third period’s early stages, provided only a brief moment of optimism for the Swiss cause.
Source: https://srnnews.com/olympics-ice-hockey-poulin-powers-canada-into-womens-final/