Canadian women's hockey team beats U.S. 5-1 in Four Nations Cup final

TIKKURILA, Finland - The Canadian women's hockey team snapped a four-game losing streak in international finals with a 5-1 victory over the U.S. on Saturday to take the Four Nations Cup.

The Canadian women hadn't beaten the U.S. in the last game of an international tournament since the 2007 Four Nations Cup in Kitchener, Ont.

The U.S. won two world championships, the 2008 Four Nations Cup and September's Hockey Canada Cup in Vancouver after that.

"We have some players that have never won in a big tournament before against the U.S., some of our young players," captain Hayley Wickenheiser said from Tikkurila.

"Just to get the taste of winning and what it takes under pressure in an important game in a tournament, they all count for momentum and confidence and it's a big win for us."

Meghan Agosta of Ruthven, Ont., Toronto's Cherie Piper, Jayna Hefford of Kingston, Ont., and defenders Carla MacLeod of Calgary and Tessa Bonhomme of Sudbury, Ont., scored for the Canadians in their final international tournament before the Winter Olympics start Feb. 12 in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.

"It's still just one step towards our ultimate goal which is to get in that gold-medal game in Vancouver," head coach Melody Davidson said.

Meaghan Mikkelson of St. Albert, Alta., had three assists as Canada evened its record against the U.S. to 3-3 in their last six meetings.

Goaltender Shannon Szabados of Edmonton made 21 saves for the win, including two key saves on American forward Jenny Potter in the second period when her team led by one and two goals.

Jocelyne Lamoureux gave the Americans a 1-0 lead in the first period before Canada scored five unanswered goals. American goalie Molly Schaus had 24 saves in the loss.

Canada's power play was 1-for-7 in Friday's 3-2 to loss to the U.S. in the preliminary round, but 3-for-6 in the final.

"We made better decisions with the puck and won faceoffs," Wickenheiser said. "We didn't struggle so much off the draw and it made a big difference. We were able to settle in and had better puck movement."

The pivotal point in the game came early in the second when Canada killed off a U.S. power play, including 10 seconds when Canada was two players down. Szabados made her first of two big saves on Potter in the second period during that kill.

Then with American Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej in the penalty box for holding, Bonhomme scored the first of Canada's three power-play goals in a row to make it 3-1.

"We had two back-to-back penalties early on. To be able to kill those off was huge and then to capitalize on our power play, absolutely that was a nice momentum change for us," MacLeod said. "That save Szabados made on a breakaway, all of that was momentum for us and helped us move forward."

The Canadian kept up their intense pace through the third period. The American struggled to contain their opposition and often ended up in the penalty box. Piper and Hefford scored when Canada had two-man advantages.

"It's a reflection of the games we've been playing in the midget triple-A league, our off-ice training, it all helps and in the end, come the third period at the end of these long tournaments, thankfully we have some legs and I think it's an advantage for us for sure," MacLeod said.

Wickenheiser led the tournament in points with a goal and five assists in four games, while Hefford was the top goalscorer with four in four games.

Sweden edged Finland 2-1 for third place in the tournament.

Barring an upset, Canada and the U.S. are expected to meet Feb. 25 in the Olympic gold-medal game in Vancouver. The Canadians have won the last two Olympic titles.

Canada and the U.S. meet again Dec. 12 in Denver and Dec. 15 in Calgary for their third and fourth games of a six-game exhibition series.

Twenty-six players are trying out for 21 jobs on Canada's Olympic roster and Davidson has not yet said when she'll select her team.

She's giving her players a week off before they resume training again in Calgary on Nov. 16.

"I really liked our resilience and mental toughness," was Davidson's summation on the tournament. "We played a lot of games, five games in seven nights, and we played a lot of games prior to coming over here.

"I just feel like we're getting stronger and stronger mentally and physically. We're coming together nicely as a group."

The Canadian women play a regular schedule of games in the men's Alberta Midget Hockey League and meet the Calgary Royals on Nov. 17.