International

2022 Olympics: Feb. 4 Recap

Canada continues their hot start with an 11-1 victory over Finland

Canada routs Finland, 11-1

Group A

Goal Scorers

Canada: Sarah Fillier (x2), Sarah Nurse (x3), Brianne Jenner (x3), Laura Stacey (x2), Jamie Lee Rattray

Finland: Minnamari Tuominen

For those of us who are regularly a minute or two late to watching hockey games because we’re still grabbing snacks or signing into Peacock, Sarah Fillier is doing a truly stunning job of ensuring we regret the consequences of our actions. For the second game in a row, she got the Canadians on the board right away, scoring at the 1:01 mark of the first for a 1-0 lead.

Canada never looked back from that point, piling on 11 goals against a Finnish team that has yet to really find its footing so far. Both Jenner and Nurse scored hat tricks, and Fillier added one of the niftiest goals we’re likely to see all tournament.

The Canadians’ offensive performance was emblematic of their strength as a team. All four lines were in on the scoring, and all were involved in driving play. It’s even more impressive that they did it without Mélodie Daoust in the lineup (currently listed as day-to-day).

Finland pushed back early, getting on the board towards the end of the first period. With Canada leading 2-0, Tuominen scored to cut the lead in half and give the Finns some momentum back, but they weren’t able to carry it over into the second. They also had a number of power-play chances, particularly in the third period, where they could showcase more of their skill, but were a step or two behind on converting.

The blowout loss also shines an even brighter spotlight on Finland’s decision not to take four-time Olympic goaltender Noora Räty to Beijing. Meeri Räisänen earned the start against Canada but was pulled after forty minutes in favor of Anni Keisala. Keisala is an extremely capable goaltender—she won Best Goalie at 2021 Women’s Worlds—and hindsight is 20/20, but the way things unfolded here were less than ideal. Keisala was peppered with four Canadian goals in 20 minutes.

Finnish head coach Pasi Mustonen leaving Beijing