Canada defends its title: US bid denied in women's hockey
Dupont, Kevin Paul.  Boston Globe; Boston, Mass. [Boston, Mass]. 26 Feb 2010: C.1.  

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Tears of disappointment streaming down their sullen faces, silver medals dangling from their necks, America's top female puck carriers left Canada Hockey Place yesterday as the second-best women's hockey team in the world.

Canada, again Canada, captured the Olympic gold medal with a 2-0 victory over Team USA, with Canadian hockey icon Wayne Gretzky and actor Michael J. Fox cheering from the stands of the sellout crowd at Their Hockey Place. Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice within a 2:55 span in the first period, and goalie Shannon Szabados went a perfect 28-for-28 in net, snuffing out America's quest to return to the top of the medal stand for the first time since 1998.

It was Canada's third straight Olympic gold, and it came the Canadian way, with the Team Maple Leaf women attacking better on the rush, blocking more shots behind their blue line, and Szabados outplaying US netminder Jessie Vetter, who fanned a glove at Poulin's one-time rocket from the left side at 13:55 of the first, then misjudged Poulin's short shovel from the slot at 16:50.

"It's just awesome," said Poulin, a Canadian flag draped over her shoulders long after the triumph, "to have that medal around my neck. I have no word to describe it. Just awesome."

The Yanks, after outscoring the opposition, 40-2, in their first four games at Olympus, were tentative for the first 10 minutes, getting outshot, 5-1. But the killer for Team Red-White-and-Blue might have been the minutes leading up to Poulin's first strike, when the Canadians were nabbed for back-to-back penalties, Gina Kingsbury sent off for bodychecking at 10:00 and Catherine Ward for interference at 11:21. Whether one or two players up, the Americans not only failed to score, they failed to move the puck with the precision, speed, and proficiency that they did in their previous games.

"We obviously missed a great opportunity to put the puck in the net," said former Harvard star Angela Ruggiero, among the most obviously heartbroken members of Team USA. "By not scoring, there was a little loss in momentum."

All of which was compounded when the Canadians, only 34 seconds after getting back to even strength, watched Poulin smoke a one-time slapper from the left-wing faceoff dot to the top right corner. Jennifer Botterill dished in a velvety feed from the near corner and the sharpshooting Poulin ripped a rising shot home, Vetter slow to react with her glove.

With 3:10 left in the period, and each side with a player in the penalty box, Poulin was parked low in the slot with a setup from Meghan Agosta. She shoveled a low shot toward the right post and Vetter, who stopped 41 of 42 shots in three previous games, couldn't catch it or steer it away. Canada, 2-0, and the Yanks already had surrendered as many goals in 17 minutes as they had in their previous four games.

"They worked hard," said American defenseman Kerry Weiland. "Yeah, it hurts, but you have to be happy for them. It's the dream . . . it was our dream, too . . . and I am sure everyone in our room feels they had more to give tonight. But they deserved to win."

Team USA was better in the second and third periods, but the two-goal advantage was the equivalent of Szabados locking a Denver Boot on the Canadian cage and slapping an 800 phone number on the pipes for the Americans to call to pick up their hearts. Nothing would beat her. After facing only seven shots in the first period, she stopped 14 in the second and then seven in the third. Making it all the easier, her defensemen fronted her with brave and effective shot-blocking. The Yanks had little success getting shots off the rush, and they couldn't get shots through when setting up and working the puck.

"You can't win a gold medal game without scoring a goal," said Weiland.

"I wouldn't say I was frustrated," added US forward Monique Lamoureux, who had four goals and 10 points in the tournament. "I just kept thinking, `I have to get one, I have to get one.' We figured once we got one they would start coming. But we never got the first one."

When it was over, the Canadians tossed their sticks in the air and the hometown crowd erupted, shaking a building that pulsated with energy the night before, when the Canadian men pounded the Russians, 7-3, in the quarterfinals. Finland (bronze) and the US collected their medals during the on-ice ceremony, many of the US women sobbing and embracing one another. Moments after the Canadian anthem played, a brief fireworks display threw one last thunderbolt of a charge into the crowd.

"We woke up this morning hoping and thinking that we would win a gold medal," said Ruggiero, her voice quaking.

They went to sleep with silver their reality, because they lacked the necessary luster.

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont @globe.com.