Canada came out firing on all cylinders, providing immediate notice to the Swiss that this was going to be another game. Canada’s tenacity in the offensive zone and aggressive pursuit of pucks between the blue lines almost prevented the Swiss from generating decent scoring chances. The only exceptions came during two strong performances by the Swiss, but even then they only managed to create a few decent chances, only to be met by a near-perfect goal from Desbiens, who started for the second time in a row.
Canada scored the only goal of the period after several waves of pressure suffocated the Swiss every time they tried to get the puck over their own blue line. The puck ended up landing on Filler’s stick in the high slot and her shot hit something in front and landed in the net behind Braendley, also making her second straight start.
“I just made a play on Ella and she was wide open on top,” Filer described. “She hit me back and I got a lucky bounce off a couple of shin pads and in. It’s nice to have a little puck luck early in the game.”
The Canadiens almost got another later in the period when Erin Ambrose hit Sarah Potomac with a brilliant stretch pass, putting Potomac ahead. But Braendli stood his ground and made a save on the deck.
The second saw even more Canadian dominance, to a 19-1 shot differential. They doubled their lead at 9:40 after more pressure forced Lisa Ruedi into a turn in the corner. The puck rolled onto Fillier’s stick and she beat Braendley with a hard shot to the short side.
A minute and a half later, Canada had another turnover, this one just inside Switzerland’s blue line. Blair Turnbull then fed Emily Clarke with a nice pass and her quick shot also slipped to Braendley. The Swiss got their best chance late in the period after a Canadian turnover. The dangerous trio of Alina Muller-Lara Stalder-Noemi Ryhner was on and Muller released the puck to Stalder as Ryhner reached the net. The connecting pass was perfect, but Desbiens was steady in her toughest save of the night (and only one of the period).
Marty’s historic marker got the Swiss back in the game and they thought they had scored soon after on the power play, but the whistle blew before the puck went in because the referee behind the goal lost sight of it. Turnbull contributed to the win at 18:46 when her shot on a partial break went through Braendley’s pads and over the goal line.
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