photo: Andre Ringuette/IIHF
Better late than never, they say. Canada, which was supposed to have started their Olympics two days ago, finally got on the ice in a meaningful way tonight, defeating Switzerland 4-0 in the first game in defence of their 2022 gold medal. Three of the goals came on the power play.
They outshot the Swiss 55-6 and would have won by a much greater margin but for the incredible play of Swiss goalie Saskia Maurer. At the other end, Emerance Maschmeyer improved her career record at the Olympics to 3-0, two of those wins via shutout. Of Switzerland's six shots, three came off the stick of assistant captain Alina Muller, who has been sensational leading the Boston Fleet to the top of the PWHL standings this season.
The Swiss, overtime winners in their first match against Czechia, drop to 0-1-0-1 in the Group A standings with the loss. Both teams now have a day off before resuming play on Monday. The Swiss will face the Americans and then Canada tangles with coach Carla MacLeod’s Czechs.
The Canadians and Swiss teams have played at the Olympics five times previously, Canada winning them all by an aggregate score of 40-6.
"It's the first game of the Olympics for us," Renata Fast said. "So obviously to start, you're going to be gripping your stick a little bit tight. I think we settled in nicely. And Switzerland played a good defensive game. Their goaltender played amazing. We had to stay patient, stick to our game plan, and play as a team. I think we did that, and then obviously got rewarded in the end."
"We've learned how to play big teams," offered Swiss forward Rahel Enzler. "Our team has been together for multiple years now. I think every year we grow together. We grow into our game. You can see it gets closer every year. I'm really proud. I think we played a great game, especially in the d-zone. We stayed in the game as long as we could. And I think also our goalie kept us in the game."
Canada dominated the first period but couldn’t dent Maurer’s armour. Despite a huge 17-2 shots advantage, the Canadians looked rusty around the goal and lacked their usual killer instinct. Their best chance came on a two-on-one when Sarah Fillier fed Claire Thompson going to the net, but future doctor Thompson couldn’t connect.
The Swiss had a similar chance earlier, but an Ivana Wey setup for Alina Marti saw the shot go wide.
Canada poured it on in the second, again, but Maurer was in the zone and rejected all efforts by the favourites to take the lead. Well, almost all. Fillier had an early chance when she got to a loose puck, but she quickly fired high and wide instead of controlling the puck and moving in alone.
But an Alina Muller penalty for an illegal hit gave the Canadians a power play, and they connected. Natalie Spooner was credited with the goal after a Marie-Philip Poulin shot pinballed in front before bouncing off Spooner.
"Watching that video of [Spooner] finding out the news of making the Olympic roster, I think, was emotional for all of us," Fast noted. "Just knowing what she's been through over the last quad, the sacrifices she makes every single day. It's not easy to have a family, to come back from giving birth, but then also an ACL injury. So she's been so resilient throughout this quad, and she's willing to play whatever role she's put in with this team."
Canada had chances galore to increase their lead. Maurer robbed Blayre Turnbull on a two-on-one. Poulin looked to the rafters after missing a good chance from in close. Jocelyne Larocque couldn’t covert a nice pass from Daryl Watts.
The Swiss had only one shot in the period, but it was a doozy. Sinja Leemann burst down the left wing on a partial break, but her nice shot was picked out of thin air by the glove of Emerance Maschmeyer, her best save of the night.
Early penalty trouble in the third cost the Swiss another goal. Two boarding penalties in succession gave the Canadians plenty of chances with the extra skater, and just five seconds after the second opportunity, they connected. A shot went wide of the Swiss goal and came out the other side right to Fillier, who whacked the puck into the empy net before Maurer could react.
Canada added a third power-play goal at 13:36 when Julia Gosling tipped in an Erin Ambrose point shot. Watts made it 4-0 when a screened shot fooled Maurer at 16:44. It was Canada's 49th shot to just six for the Swiss.
They outshot the Swiss 55-6 and would have won by a much greater margin but for the incredible play of Swiss goalie Saskia Maurer. At the other end, Emerance Maschmeyer improved her career record at the Olympics to 3-0, two of those wins via shutout. Of Switzerland's six shots, three came off the stick of assistant captain Alina Muller, who has been sensational leading the Boston Fleet to the top of the PWHL standings this season.
The Swiss, overtime winners in their first match against Czechia, drop to 0-1-0-1 in the Group A standings with the loss. Both teams now have a day off before resuming play on Monday. The Swiss will face the Americans and then Canada tangles with coach Carla MacLeod’s Czechs.
The Canadians and Swiss teams have played at the Olympics five times previously, Canada winning them all by an aggregate score of 40-6.
"It's the first game of the Olympics for us," Renata Fast said. "So obviously to start, you're going to be gripping your stick a little bit tight. I think we settled in nicely. And Switzerland played a good defensive game. Their goaltender played amazing. We had to stay patient, stick to our game plan, and play as a team. I think we did that, and then obviously got rewarded in the end."
"We've learned how to play big teams," offered Swiss forward Rahel Enzler. "Our team has been together for multiple years now. I think every year we grow together. We grow into our game. You can see it gets closer every year. I'm really proud. I think we played a great game, especially in the d-zone. We stayed in the game as long as we could. And I think also our goalie kept us in the game."
Canada dominated the first period but couldn’t dent Maurer’s armour. Despite a huge 17-2 shots advantage, the Canadians looked rusty around the goal and lacked their usual killer instinct. Their best chance came on a two-on-one when Sarah Fillier fed Claire Thompson going to the net, but future doctor Thompson couldn’t connect.
The Swiss had a similar chance earlier, but an Ivana Wey setup for Alina Marti saw the shot go wide.
Canada poured it on in the second, again, but Maurer was in the zone and rejected all efforts by the favourites to take the lead. Well, almost all. Fillier had an early chance when she got to a loose puck, but she quickly fired high and wide instead of controlling the puck and moving in alone.
But an Alina Muller penalty for an illegal hit gave the Canadians a power play, and they connected. Natalie Spooner was credited with the goal after a Marie-Philip Poulin shot pinballed in front before bouncing off Spooner.
"Watching that video of [Spooner] finding out the news of making the Olympic roster, I think, was emotional for all of us," Fast noted. "Just knowing what she's been through over the last quad, the sacrifices she makes every single day. It's not easy to have a family, to come back from giving birth, but then also an ACL injury. So she's been so resilient throughout this quad, and she's willing to play whatever role she's put in with this team."
Canada had chances galore to increase their lead. Maurer robbed Blayre Turnbull on a two-on-one. Poulin looked to the rafters after missing a good chance from in close. Jocelyne Larocque couldn’t covert a nice pass from Daryl Watts.
The Swiss had only one shot in the period, but it was a doozy. Sinja Leemann burst down the left wing on a partial break, but her nice shot was picked out of thin air by the glove of Emerance Maschmeyer, her best save of the night.
Early penalty trouble in the third cost the Swiss another goal. Two boarding penalties in succession gave the Canadians plenty of chances with the extra skater, and just five seconds after the second opportunity, they connected. A shot went wide of the Swiss goal and came out the other side right to Fillier, who whacked the puck into the empy net before Maurer could react.
Canada added a third power-play goal at 13:36 when Julia Gosling tipped in an Erin Ambrose point shot. Watts made it 4-0 when a screened shot fooled Maurer at 16:44. It was Canada's 49th shot to just six for the Swiss.
Switzerland vs Canada - 2026 Women's Olympic Games
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