Records for Poulin, Desbiens as Canada downs Finland 8-1 in world hockey semifinal
U.S. edges host Czechs to reach gold-medal game
Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin and goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens rewrote some women's world hockey championship history ahead of the final against the United States.
Poulin's first-period goal in Saturday's 8-1 semifinal win over Finland for her 87th career point in the tournament passed Hayley Wickenheiser for the most by a Canadian. The 34-year-old Poulin from Beauceville, Que., later added an assist for her 88th.
WATCH l Poulin surpasses Wickenheiser with 87th career point at worlds:
"She's been the heart of the hockey for Canada for a long time, and I'm just so happy that she gets recognized for that," Desbiens said. "But to be honest, she's so much more than a goal scorer and a point marker. She's just everything else too.
"If you really watch her play, it's all the little things she does away from the puck, all the stick lifts, blocked shots, the back checking."
The 31-year-old Desbiens of Clermont, Que., stopped 19 of 20 shots to become the winningest goalie of all time in the tournament with her 22nd career victory in world championships, which surpassed Florence Schelling of Switzerland.
Desbiens was injured shortly before the world championship, but played her third game Saturday and will start against the U.S. on Sunday.
WATCH | Canada dominates Finland and moves on to gold medal game, Desbiens sets worlds record:
"She's a warrior. She fights," Poulin said. "She was just coming back from injury. She wanted to be here, and she really put that work in to be here, so I'm really proud and happy for her."
"Even the little things like the celebration of Poulin's points, the celebration of Ann, all those things can help," Canadian head coach Troy Ryan said. "The grind of a tournament can wear you down after a while, and anything you get to get a little bit extra emotion into it is beneficial."
Another Canada-U.S. gold medal game
Canada and the United States clash for women's world hockey championship gold Sunday for the 23rd time in 24 tournaments dating back to 1990.
Canada seeks a 14th title and the U.S. an 11th. The only time the archrivals didn't play for gold was in 2019 when Canada was upset by host Finland in a semifinal in Espoo.
The Americans won nine of 11 finals starting with their first gold medal in 2005, but the pendulum swung to Canada in recent years with three wins in the last four years.
Canada got by the host U.S. 6-5 in overtime in last year's final in Utica, N.Y., after the U.S. prevailed 6-3 in Brampton, Ont., in 2023.
"The Canada-U.S. rivalry is amazing, and you always want to face them in the final," Desbiens said. "You always know it's going to be a good one. Both teams really get the best out of each other. Everybody works so hard, and it's often a one-goal game."
Five storylines for Sunday's championship game in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic:
— The U.S. gets more recovery time after Saturday afternoon's semifinal, but had to grind out a 2-1 win over the host Czechs. Canada was able to shift into cruise control by the third period of an 8-1 win over the Finns at night.
— Canada heads into the final outscoring it's opposition 24-3 over three games after dropping a 2-1 decision to the U.S. in a Pool A game. The defending champions will need that scoring depth Sunday as the U.S. will try to shut down Canada's top line of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Jennifer Gardiner. Poulin leads the tournament with four goals and seven assists. Gardiner is the top goal scorer with five.
— Goaltending tale of the tape: Ann-Renee Desbiens is more seasoned in big games as Canada's starter in four straight world finals and the Olympic final, but American goalie Aerin Frankel has had a stellar season with the PWHL's Boston Fleet.
— Will the U.S. insert forward Kirsten Simms, who was scratched in a 2-1 win over Canada in the preliminary round? Simms scored the lone goal and OT winner in Utica in a 1-0 win over Canada in Pool A. Simms also scored the game-tying goal on a penalty shot with 18 seconds left and the OT winner for Wisconsin in the women's Frozen Four final.
— Speaking of Wisconsin forwards, Laila Edwards is playing on the U.S. blue line after winning MVP last year in Utica as a forward. Edwards' skills are a power-play asset for the Americans, but Canada will try to exploit her inexperience in that position.
4 goals in under 2 minutes
Canada added another entry in the record book Saturday. Darryl Watts scored twice followed by goals from Emily Clark and Danielle Serdachny in a span of one minute 58 seconds late in the second period.
That beat the previous fastest four in 2:13 by Canadians Halli Krzyzaniak, Jennifer Wakefield and Meaghan Mikkelson twice against Russia in 2016.
The Finns, last year's bronze medallists, were a handful early for Canada. Captain Michelle Karvinen scored 46 seconds after the opening faceoff. Canadian defender Erin Ambrose produced the equalizer less than two minutes later.
Poulin's one-timer off a Jennifer Gardiner feed at 14:41 of the first period for a go-ahead goal tilted momentum toward Canada before the second-period onslaught.
Gardiner, the tournament's top goal scorer with five, reunited with Poulin and Laura Stacey after Ryan stirred his forward lines in a quarterfinal victory over Japan.
Claire Thompson with a short-handed goal and Sarah Nurse with her first of the tournament scored in the third period of Canada's first semifinal against Finland since the hosts upset Canada 4-2 in 2019 in Espoo.
"I thought it was our most complete game that we've played, so that's exactly what you want in a semifinal," said Canadian forward Blayre Turnbull. "We generated a lot of offence from all four lines, but I thought defensively, we were pretty solid throughout the whole game too."
Watts made Finland pay for its unsuccessful offside challenge of her first goal by scoring her second on the subsequent bench minor. She was ejected from the game early in the third when she was assessed an illegal hit penalty for her open-ice check of Karvinen.
"I definitely don't think there is an intent there to target the head," Ryan said.
WATCH | Canada's Daryl Watts faces possible suspension after illegal check at worlds:
Wickenheiser, a Hockey Hall of Famer and an assistant general manage of the Toronto Maple Leafs, accrued 86 points from 1994 to 2016. Women's championships became an annual tournament starting in 1999.
At 39 goals, Poulin was two from breaking Jayna Hefford's Canadian record. Poulin's 49 assists were tied with Wickenheiser's record.
Poulin and Wickenheiser were also tied for the most world championship appearances by a Canadian player at 13. Poulin played in her first in 2009.
"It hasn't really sunk in, but honestly, I would not be here without any of my teammates along the way," said the captain, listing off former teammates Wickenheiser, Hefford, Caroline Ouellette and Gillian Apps.
"This is why I'm here. They made me love the game even more."
Natalie Spooner, the PWHL's MVP in its inaugural season with Toronto Sceptres, was scratched for a second time in the tournament with defender Micah Zandee-Hart and goalie Eve Gascon also sitting out Saturday.
