??
U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team Falls to Canada, 2-0, in Gold-Medal Game of 2010 Olympic Winter Games
VANCOUVER, B.C. – The U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team fell to Canada, 2-0, here this afternoon in the gold-medal game of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. With a 4-0-0-1 overall record at the tournament, Team USA captured its second-ever Olympic silver medal.
“We can walk out of the arena with our heads held high,” said Mark Johnson, head coach of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team. “I’m very proud of our team. They competed for 60 minutes today and came up a little short. It stings a little bit now, but we came away with the silver medal, and we should be proud.”
Team USA generated several quality scoring opportunities while on the power play in the first period. Defenseman Caitlin Cahow (Branford, Conn.) created the team’s best chance 12 minutes into the stanza, but had her wrist shot from the right circle gloved down by Canadian goalie Shannon Szabados.
Canada took a 1-0 lead 15 minutes into the first period with a rising slap shot by Marie-Philip Poulin. Three minuts later, Poulin notched her second of the period to give Canada a 2-0 advantage after one.
Both Szabados and U.S. goaltender Jessie Vetter (Cottage Grove, Wis.) stood strong in the second period, as neither team could crack the scoreboard in the frame despite each posting double-digit shots on goal.
Vetter continued her solid play in the third period, denying Canada forward Haley Irwin on a breakaway 12 minutes into the frame. Meanwhile, Team USA nearly cut Canada’s lead in half a minute later, as Kelli Stack (Brooklyn Heights, Ohio) just missed on a backdoor feed at the far post.
But Team USA could not pull closer, as Szabados made 28 saves in a winning effort. Vetter turned aside 27 shots in the loss, including all 21 shots in the second and third periods.
NOTES: The U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team last captured silver at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Team USA won the gold medal at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, and the bronze medal at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy … Four-time Olympian Jenny Potter (Edina, Minn.) led all U.S. players with six goals in the tournament, while Natalie Darwitz (Eagan, Minn.) notched a team-high seven assists in Team USA’s five games. Both players tied with a team-best 11 points … Team USA went 0-for-6 on the power play, while Canada was 0-for-5 … The U.S. roster, including player bios, can be found here. Additional coverage of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team can be found at USAHockey.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter … Mark Johnson, head women’s ice hockey coach at the University of Wisconsin, is Team USA’s head coach, with Dave Flint, head women’s ice hockey coach at Northeastern University, and Jodi McKenna, head women’s ice hockey coach at Wesleyan University, serving as assistant coaches.