Canada beat Finland 3-1 on Saturday in the home team’s lone pre-tournament game ahead of the IIHF Women’s World Championship in Brampton, Ont.
Facing off at the Gale Centre in Niagara Falls, Ont., both teams put up a strong performance in a showcase of offence, defence and goaltending.
The game was scoreless until just before the halfway mark when Brianne Jenner put Canada up 1-0 at 9:30 of the second period. The play saw Jamie Lee Rattray intercept a pass at the Finnish blue line before getting the puck to Jenner, who scored bar down.
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Canada extended its lead in the third period to 2-0 after a goal from Emily Clark on a wide-open net.
Finland finally answered with a goal of its own from Emilia Vesa at 8:18 of the third. While it cut Canada’s lead in half, it didn’t last for long as captain Marie Philip-Poulin scored on the backhand to restore her team’s two-goal cushion less than a minute later.
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The Women’s World Championship officially kicks off Wednesday and will run until April 16. Starting off with four games in the preliminary round, Canada opens play with a contest against Switzerland on Wednesday.
The Canadian women will be aiming to three-peat after winning gold medals at the tournament in both 2021 and 2022.