Canada Captures 2006 Four Nations Cup
November 11, 2006 | Women's Hockey
Former Badger and current UW undergraduate assistant Carla MacLeod scored one goal and added an assist as Canada captured its ninth Four Nations Cup in eleven years Saturday night with a 5-2 win over USA in front of over 4,650 fans at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
Current Wisconsin captain Bobbi-Jo Slusar also claimed a gold medal as Canada out-scored its opponents 23-3 en route to a perfect 4-0-0 record in the tournament.
Fellow UW teammates Jinelle Zaugg and Erika Lawler earned silver medals with Team USA, which was led by Wisconsin women's hockey head coach Mark Johnson. UW Director of Hockey Operations Paul Hickman also served as the equipment manager for USA.
Goals by Canadians Cherie Piper and MacLeod in the first period staked Canada to a quick 2-0 lead at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. Hayley Wickenheiser and Caroline Ouellette padded the lead in the second period, but the U.S. made a game of it with goals by Natalie Darwitz and Kristin King in the third period. An empty-net goal by Jennifer Botterill ensured the win for Canada. This marked the first time that Canada and the U.S. have met in a tournament final since the 2005 IIHF World Women's Championship in Sweden, a game that the U.S. won 2-1 in a shootout.
Team USA head coach Mark Johnson was pleased with the way his team overcame a difficult start against Canada and improved throughout the tournament.
'The start of the game was tough because for the first 10 minutes we were killing multiple penalties,' said Johnson. 'That put us on our heels and we never really got out of the gate. However, we kept competing and made a little bit of a game out of it in the third period.
'Overall, we made huge strides from the start of the tournament to now, ' continued Johnson. 'Hopefully now the players can take this experience and continue to prepare for our camp in December.'
The Four Nations Cup has been an annual event since 1994. It brings together the top four nations in women's hockey in the world: Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States of America. Earlier on Saturday, Sweden beat Finland 3-2 to take the bronze medal.
