It took solely six minutes into the primary interval of Canada’s first preliminary-round sport on the ladies’s world championship for the primary line to strike.
The rookie, Jennifer Gardiner, scored her first profession world-championship purpose towards Finland, thanks partly to a secondary help from her linemate and captain, Marie-Philip Poulin.
Veteran ahead Laura Stacey completes the all-Montreal Victoire first line, which has been Canada’s greatest to this point after 4 video games. Gardiner and Stacey have every recorded 5 factors, whereas Poulin leads all forwards on the event with eight factors.
They’re going to tackle Japan within the quarterfinals on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET in České Budějovice, the Czech Republic metropolis internet hosting this 12 months’s event.
“They are a enjoyable line to look at, not a enjoyable line to play towards,” Boston Fleet ahead Jill Saulnier, who received Olympic gold alongside Stacey and Poulin in 2022, instructed CBC Sports activities’ Hockey North this week. “They’re clearly fairly expert, a fairly deep group. Nice folks. It all the time comes again to that.”
Whereas the primary purpose on the event is win a world championship for a second consecutive 12 months, it is also the final probability to check potential line mixtures in a event format forward of the Olympics subsequent February. Twenty 5 gamers are carrying the purple and white within the Czech Republic, however solely 23 will go to Italy for the Olympics.
But it surely was laborious to disregard the magic between Gardiner, Poulin and Stacey when the trio have performed collectively for the PWHL-leading Victoire. Poulin leads the Victoire in factors (23) adopted by Stacey (20) and Gardiner (16).
“They’ve somewhat little bit of all the things,” Canadian head coach Troy Ryan instructed The Canadian Press final week.
“Stacy and Pou are going to have some simply pure chemistry, Stacey [is] somebody who might be first on pucks … likes to take pucks beneath the purpose line. Pou, the best way she thinks the sport is subsequent stage, can end pretty much as good as anyone. Gardiner is an efficient mixture of somewhat bit vitality and somewhat little bit of youthfulness, however sufficient talent as nicely.”
Surrounding Poulin along with her Victoire linemates additionally frees up Fillier to play on a talented second line with Sarah Nurse and Daryl Watts, the Toronto Sceptres ahead who has recorded two targets in her first senior nationwide workforce event.
Velocity and talent
Stacey has performed on the nationwide workforce roster with Poulin for a number of years, however usually lined up in a backside six, vitality sort of function. For some time, she was a part of a 3rd line with Emily Clark and Blayre Turnbull that would perform a little little bit of all the things, on high of being annoying to play towards.
However Stacey’s sport has grown considerably during the last couple of years.
Then, within the PWHL, she tied for fifth in league purpose scoring (with Poulin and Watts) final season whereas enjoying in all conditions for Montreal. She’s been a staple on the Montreal energy play, however her dimension, attain and velocity additionally assist her thrive in a shutdown function.
Stacey scored the lone purpose for Canada in a 2-1 preliminary-round loss to the USA on Sunday, cashing in on her second breakaway of the sport.
WATCH | Hockey North – Saulnier talks 1st PWHL battle and career-changing commerce:
The 33-year-old ahead joins host Karissa Donkin to debate how she’s adjusting to her new function with the Boston Fleet after being traded on the deadline.
Saulnier has performed with or towards Stacey for practically 20 years, starting in junior hockey in Ontario, persevering with by the Canadian Girls’s Hockey League and the Canadian nationwide workforce, and into the PWHL
Watching Stacey’s development over that point has been “excellent” each as a teammate and as a pal — Saulnier was a part of the marriage celebration at Poulin and Stacey’s wedding ceremony final summer time.
“It has been an honour as a pal of hers to simply watch her thrive,” Saulnier stated about Stacey. “That is all you need on your buddies in sport is to simply to see them pull out the perfect model of themselves, and I feel that is what the world is seeing of her proper now.”
The rookie
Gardiner, in the meantime, has instantly clicked alongside Poulin in her rookie professional season. The captain has praised her younger teammate’s imaginative and prescient, velocity and shot as she’s watched her acquire confidence and a chance on the nationwide workforce.
The 23-year-old from Surrey, B.C. was on the cusp of constructing final 12 months’s world-championship workforce, and had been recognized as one of many subsequent gamers up on Workforce Canada.
“Her season and her play all season lengthy within the PWHL confirmed that she’s prepared for the problem of enjoying on the worldwide stage,” Canada’s GM Gina Kingsbury instructed CBC Sports activities earlier than the world championship started.
Poulin, in the meantime, is enjoying in her thirteenth world championship and proving she’s nonetheless the perfect participant on this planet, whether or not it is scoring targets when Canada wants them, blocking a vital shot or profitable battles alongside the boards.
She goes into the quarterfinals simply two factors shy of the Canadian world championship profession factors document held by Hayley Wickenheiser (86), three assists away from Wickenheiser’s Canadian help document (49) and two targets from passing Jayna Hefford as the highest Canadian purpose scorer on the event (40).
All of which Poulin downplayed to The Canadian Press.
“I do not care about particular person [records] in any respect,” Poulin stated. “I actually do not care.”
Realizing who Poulin may play with may imply one more easy resolution for Kingsbury, Ryan and the remainder of the workers to make forward of 2026.
“Simply having these additional reps in apply, I really feel prefer it helps understanding the place they will be, what they will do, what they love to do, and form of the place all of us excel,” Stacey instructed The Canadian Press about Gardiner and Poulin.
“If I can get the 2 of them the puck on the forecheck, they will put the puck in fairly nicely.”
The winner between Canada and Japan will transfer on to the semifinals on Saturday.
The gold-medal sport is about for Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.
Source link