Good Start To The Games

The ladies above are your 2023 FISU Canadian Women's Hockey Team, and they began their quest for a gold medal at the 2023 FISU World University Games tonight with a game against Slovakia. While some may believe that these two teams are on far different levels when it comes to skill and ability, I'd warn against taking any team lightly at the FISU Games. These are teams who are coming in hungry and, for the most, relatively unknown with the FISU Games having been cancelled last year, so it would be a mistake for Canada to look past Slovakia in their opening game.

Knowing that Ottawa head coach Greg Bowles always has his GeeGees team prepared, I suspected the Canadians would be ready for the challenge presented to them tonight. Slovakia, for their part, were ready to work hard to match Canada's talented roster. Which team would prevail on the opening day of games?

Madison Willan was the first player to strike for the Canadians, and the Alberta Pandas forward converts the feed from Saint Mary's forward Shae DeMale by going high glove-side on Adriana Stofankova!

Canada had the 1-0 lead just 2:28 into the game thanks to Willan's goal. Things actually settled down after that goal as the Slovaks kept the Canadians to the outside while Stofankova made some key saves. Canada was certainly carrying the play, but the single goal was all they managed through the opening 20 minutes of play.

The second period was more of the same in that Canada carried the play, but the Slovaks were opportunistic. They had a couple of great chances on Kendra Woodland in the Canadian net, but the UNB Reds netminder was stellar in the few times she was tested. Canada had their chances to increase the lead, but the iron was helping out the Slovaks as Canada pinged the post a few times in the frame. Nevertheless, Canada still held the 1-0 through 40 minutes despite outshooting the Slovaks through out the first two periods.

Canada swapped goalies to start the third period as Saskatchewan Huskies netminder Camryn Drever came on to relieve Woodland who stopped eight shots in the 40 minutes she played. Drever would be tested at the five- and seven-minute marks as Slovakia had chances, but the Huskies goaltender was having none of it. That may have sparked the Canadian offence as Toronto Varsity Blues forward Céline Frappier got herself on the scoresheet!
Frappier's solid zone entry leading into the shot from the slot and the goal came at 7:16 of the the third period, and was assisted by Waterloo Warriors defender Carley Bosse-Olivier and Montreal forward Audrey-Anne Veillette. Canada went up 2-0 on that goal, but they weren't done there. The aforementioned Shae Demale added a third Canada goal with 4:05 to play with the assist going to McGill defender Elizabeth Mura, and Audrey-Anne Veillette would score the fourth Canadian goal 20 seconds later with Concordia forwards Emmy Fecteau and Rosalie Bégin-Cyr picking up helpers.

When the final horn sounded, the Canadians had a reason to celebrate thanks to their 4-0 score over the Slovakians with Canada outshooting the Slovaks by a 39-13 margin. Woodland and Drever would share the shutout, but Woodland would be credited with the win after starting the game and stopping eight shots in her 40 minutes of work. For the record, Drever played the third period and made five saves.

In the other game featuring a Canada West player, Calgary Dinos goaltender Ella Howard was under siege with Great Britain against Czechia. The Czechs were relentless in launching 65 shots(!) on Howard, and the Milton Keynes-born netminder did her best to keep her team in the game. When the game mercifully ended, though, the British had fallen to the Czechs by a 13-0 score. Howard was in the net for all 13 goals, stopping 52 shots as the Czechs outshot Great Britain by a 65-3 margin. That's not a typo.

Canada's next action is on Saturday, January 14 against Czechia, so the Canadians will face another stiff test in these Games. As seen above, the Czechs will play aggressively and won't stop until the whistle sounds, so the Canadians will need to be ready in all three zones. I imagine the time between games will allow the Canadian coaching staff to work on a few things to tighten things up, but Saturday's game should be a beauty between two very good teams.

If you're interested in watching the game, it goes at 4:30pm ET on Saturday and can be seen on FISU.tv. The video quality is pretty good, and I was able to watch it without any lags or choppy quality. I do miss a play-by-play on these broadcasts, but beggars can't be choosers here. I'll be tuned in on Saturday to cheer on the Canadians and I hope you will too!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!