World Women's Hockey Championship: a clear victory for Canada

UPDATE DAY

Quebec goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens was never threatened by attacks from Switzerland in Canada's first game at the World Women's Hockey Championship, posting a 4-0 shutout on Wednesday at Brampton, Ont.

The hometown favorite had just 12 saves to make in the preliminary round opener. Nine of his saves were made in the first period, the Swiss then being limited to three shots in 40 minutes.

The more the meeting progressed, the more the Canadian domination was felt. Marie-Philip Poulin and his band shot no less than 25 times at the opposing net in the third period. Despite everything, the Canadian captain was cleared of the score sheet.

Natalie Spooner, Sarah Nurse, Rebecca Johnston and Sarah Fillier scored the goals at the expense of goalkeeper Andrea Brandli. Spooner was playing her first match since becoming a mother, she who gave birth to a boy on December 6th. She took advantage of a turnover to score in the slot, where she and her teammates did the most damage.

Canada will face the Czech Republic on Friday, then Japan the next day. The maple leaf will end the preliminary round with a duel against its big American rivals. The Canadians are the two-time defending champions of the event, having triumphed last year in Denmark and the year before in Calgary.