Canada rallies to beat US in 4 Nations Cup
KAMLOOPS, British Columbia (AP) Haley Irwin and Rebecca Johnston scored in a 1:27 span late in the third period and Canada beat the United States 3-2 on Wednesday night in the Four Nations Cup women's hockey tournament.
The round-robin game was the first between the teams since Canada's 3-2 overtime victory in the Olympic gold-medal game in February in Sochi.
Irwin tied it 2-all with 4:57 left, and Johnston added her second power-play goal of the game with 3:40 to go. Johnston tipped Courtney Birchard shot from the point past goalie Alex Rigsby with Hilary Knight serving a penalty for roughing.
''We seem to always be behind in the third period, but we have a confidence, we're eager,'' Johnston said. ''We just won't stop until the very last second.''
Dani Cameranesi opened the scoring for the Americans early in the first, and Johnston tied it midway through the period. Shiann Darkangelo gave the United States the lead on a power play early in the second.
''It looked like nerves were playing a factor early on, but then as the game got going I thought we played better and better,'' Canadian coach Doug Derraugh said. Both teams battled hard, both teams had chances. Close game, lots of excitement was pretty much what I expected.''
Genevieve Lacasse made 30 saves for Canada, and Rigsby stopped 18 shots for the United States.
''I think we just need to manage the puck a little better, be a little smarter,'' U.S. coach Ken Klee said. ''We played a great game. When you outshoot somebody 16-5 in a period you don't usually give up two and not get any. We competed hard. It was a good game.''
Earlier Wednesday, Finland beat Sweden 1-0. In the opening games Tuesday night, the United States beat Finland 5-0, and Canada topped Sweden 2-0.