VANTAA, Finland – The U.S. Women’s National team captured the 2012 Four Nations Cup title by defeating Canada, 3-0, tonight at Tikkurila Valtti Arena.
“I’m very happy as to how our team came together this week,” said Katey Stone (Arlington, Mass.), head coach of Team USA. “We played tough, we played smart, we made some adjustments, we had great goaltending, and we played strong (defensively). I’m happy and proud of how (we) played.”
Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill.) scored the game-winning shorthanded goal for the U.S. after picking up a loose puck in the neutral zone and burying her chance at 12:46 of the first period.
Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho) and Anne Schleper (St. Cloud, Minn.) contributed insurance goals for Team USA in the second and third periods, respectively. Both goals were point shots on power play opportunities.
U.S. goaltender Jessie Vetter (Cottage Grove, Wis.) turned away 26 shots and the Team USA penalty kill denied all seven power play chances for Canada to preserve the shutout.
NOTES: Kendall Coyne was chosen as Team USA's Player of the Game … The U.S. has now won five Four Nations Cup titles (1997, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2012) … Scoresheets for each game of the 2012 Four Nations Cup can be found here … Team USA will next come together for a training camp in late December at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn.
Game Summary
Scoring by Period 1 2 3 F
USA 1 1 1 3
CAN 0 0 0 0
First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, Coyne, 12:46 (sh). Penalties: CAN, Ward (body checking), 5:29; CAN, Larocque (delay of game), 8:09; USA, Vetter (delay of game), 11:35; USA, Knight (roughing), 15:16; USA, J. Lamoureux (roughing), 19:46.
Second Period – Scoring: 2, USA, Knight (M. Lamoureux, J. Lamoureux), 14:33 (pp). Penalties: USA, Decker (high-sticking), 4:04; CAN, Watchorn (kneeing), 12:57; USA, Dunne (cross-checking), 17:06; USA, Decker (delay of game), 19:01.
Third Period – Scoring: 3, USA, Schleper (J. Lamoureux), 15:35 (pp). Penalties: USA, Knight (hooking), 6:12; CAN, Wickenheiser (roughing), 14:44.
Shots On Goal 1 2 3 Total
USA 12 4 6 22
CAN 9 8 9 26
Goaltenders (SV-SH) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Vetter, 60:00 9-9 8-8 9-9 26-26
CAN, Labonte, 60:00 11-12 3-4 5-6 19-22
Power play: USA, 2-4; FIN, 0-7
Penalties: USA, 7-14; CAN, 4-8
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