Ella Shelton scored a goal and had two assists to lead Canada to a 4-1 win over Finland at the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Utica, New York, on Thursday night (April 4). The victory gives Canada its 100th win in Women’s World Championship history.
PWHL Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner got Canada on the board first. Jamie Lee Rattray put a puck to the net before Jenner found the rebound and beat Finland’s Sanni Ahola. Emma Maltais scored a goal off an outstanding feed from Natalie Spooner to give Canada a 2-0 lead. Finland cut into the lead on a Petra Nieminen goal before Canada got goals from Julia Gosling and Shelton to give Canada the hard-fought victory.
Gosling, the St. Lawrence University captain, was making her World Championship debut for Canada along with her cousin Nicole. Julia scored 22 goals and 51 points in 37 games this season, and Nicole is coming off a strong senior year with Clarkson, scoring a career-high 14 goals and 39 points in 40 games. She helped lead the Golden Knights to a Frozen Four appearance before losing to eventual champion Ohio State.
Canada improved to 25-2 all-time versus Finland in World Championships and 87-2-1 in all international contests.
It was a slightly different game than the two played in pre-tournament action on Saturday (March 30), as Finland traded chances with Canada throughout the game. Finland kept the shot count closer than most anticipated, managing 33 shots against Canada’s 35. Goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens made 32 saves and was named Canada’s player of the game.
St. Cloud State University goaltender Sanni Ahola stopped 32 shots for the Finns after a 29-save performance in a 4-0 loss to Czechia the previous day (April 3).
Poulin Returns to Action
Captain Marie-Philip Poulin was in the lineup for Canada despite missing games leading up to the tournament with PWHL Montreal due to an injury. She’s dealt with back injuries in the early stages of the season, but this time around, it’s believed to be a knee issue. The 33-year-old has eight goals and 17 points in 16 games this season. In last year’s Worlds, she had four goals and eight points.
There was a great deal of uncertainty about whether Poulin would play in the first game of the tournament. She missed Saturday’s (March 30) pre-tournament game against Finland with the injuries but was on the ice for practice on Tuesday (April 2). Poulin has scored 33 goals, including four game-winners, with 73 points in 58 career games at the tournament.
Desbiens Gets the Start in Net
One of the big questions facing Canada coming into the tournament was how they would utilize their three talented goaltenders. Based on PWHL performance, they have three outstanding options. Kristen Campbell has a 2.06 goals-against average (GAA) and a wild 12-5-0 record with Toronto, Canada’s head coach Troy Ryan, who coaches Campbell on PWHL Toronto and has great insight into how she plays. Desbiens also has a 2.29 GAA with a 5-4-1 record with Montreal, while Emerance Maschmeyer has a 2.33 GAA with a 7-6-4 record. Maschmeyer has played the most of the three, with over 1,000 minutes.
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With Desbiens playing so well and earning player of the game honours, it will be interesting to see who gets the call in net for the next game. Campbell and Maschmeyer may get the start in the next two games before Ryan and the coaching staff decide who will be in the net against the United States.
Canada will get little rest as they return to the ice on Friday, April 5, to face off against Switzerland. The Canadians will cap Group A games with another back-to-back Sunday afternoon against Czechia and Monday evening against the United States.
