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Canada comes back to top Slovakia 6-1 and book a ticket to gold medal game

U SPORTS Staff

Canada fell behind 1-0 but showed tremendous character and resilience, overpowering Slovakia 6-1 to book their spot in the 2023 FISU World University Games gold medal game.

Canada came out timid, perhaps gripping their sticks tightly at the prospect of playing in such a high-stakes contest against a hungry Slovakian team they had beaten soundly in preliminary play.

Slovakia was the better team early in the first period, taking away Canada’s breakout and testing UNB goaltender Kendra Woodland. At 8:23, the four seed would break through, forcing a turnover deep in Canadian territory, leading to a rebound that Romana Haluskova would deposit to make it 1-0.

“They were really strong on pucks, and they were very physical. We knew they were going to come out strong. They told us they would last night,” said Annabel Faubert. “We were prepared for that.”

Canada would push back, hitting a pair of posts late in the frame, but after 20 minutes, Slovakia held a 1-0 lead.

The first 20 minutes clearly didn’t sit well with the Canadians, who came out flying in the second period. Just 2:10 in, Montreal power forward Audrey-Anne Veillette streaked in on a breakaway and beat Slovakian netminder Adriana Stofankova with a great wrist shot just inside the post.

Just two minutes later, SMU star Shae Demale worked diligently to beat her defender, circle the net, and find a waiting Leah Herrfort wide-open in the slot. The Waterloo sniper did the rest, burying her second of the tournament to quickly make it 2-1 Canada.

The Canadians continued to pour it on the rest of the period, throwing 20 shots on net in the frame, but Slovakia escaped down just a goal after forty minutes.

“We tried to keep it more simple after that first period,” said forward Rosalie Bégin-Cyr. “We wanted to get it to the net and crash the net. “We wanted to stick to the plan and continue to play smart.”

It took Isabella Pozzi just 11 seconds to score her first of the tournament, cruising into the slot and sending a backhand from the top of the circle that eluded Stofankova, making it 3-1 and giving Canada some breathing room.

But the Canadians kept coming, with Nispissing’s incredibly skilled Maria Dominico scoring the easiest goal of her career tapping a rolling puck over the goalline for her fifth of the tournament, before the captain, Emmy Fecteau ripped a wrister on the powerplay, beating Stofankova to put the game out of reach. Carley Olivier would add a goal from the point in the final minute, putting an exclamation mark on the Canadian victory.

“After that first game, we all got very close with each other. We all have the same goal,” said Faubert, postgame. “It’s so easy to play with each other, because it is the highest level we can play. We are very excited for the game tomorrow.”

The win books Canada’s berth in the gold medal game, set for 8:30 PM ET on Saturday, January 21st. They will play the winner of the semifinal matchup between Japan and Czechia.

“We are pretty excited. We are excited for the gold medal. That was our first goal, said Begin-Cyr. “We wanted to get to the gold medal game, so we are excited and we are ready to win.”

View the game summary.