When you have to wait an entire four-year Olympic cycle to start your title defence, what’s two more days? After Canada’s first game of the tournament against Finland was postponed, Saturday’s 4-0 victory over Switzerland was worth the wait.
And truthfully, we did have to wait just a little bit for the offence to settle in — while the shots piled up early, it took a full period of play for the Canadians to get on the board. The power play proved to be the difference, with Natalie Spooner, Sarah Fillier and Julia Gosling all scoring PP markers, and Daryl Watts adding an even-strength marker late to cap off the victory. Fillier and Watts also each had an assist in the win. Claire Thompson registered two helpers, while Marie-Philip Poulin, Renata Fast, Erin Ambrose and Sarah Nurse each had one.
Canada outshot Switzerland 55-6, which tells you just how much the Canucks were able to control the pace. It also tells you just how busy and great Swiss netminder Saskia Maurer was. Emerance Maschmeyer got the start for Canada — a move made to keep things as scheduled after No. 1 netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens had been slated to go against Finland on Thursday. Maschmeyer wasn’t tested often, but looked strong on a few dangerous chances by the Swiss to earn the shutout.
Here are our takeaways from Team Canada’s performance in the 4-0 victory.
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Spooner comes up clutch
Natalie Spooner’s journey to Milano Cortina has been nothing short of incredible. In the four years since helping Canada claim gold at Beijing 2022, she’s made two remarkable comebacks — first, after giving birth to son Rory, she returned to action in time to open the inaugural PWHL campaign and by season’s end was crowned league MVP; then, after a devastating knee injury in May 2024 that sidelined her nine months, she returned to action last February.
At 35, the power forward has evolved her game many times over, and has embraced a net-front role that’s proven incredibly successful. That versatility was on full display Saturday against Switzerland.
The postponement of Thursday’s tournament-opener against Finland delayed not only the action but head coach Troy Ryan’s first real opportunity to mix and match his lines in real time. We saw plenty of that on Saturday, and Spooner factored into it heavily. After the first period yielded 17 shots (compared to just two by the Swiss) but no goals, adjustments needed to be made to spark some scoring.
Spooner entered the Olympic tournament as Canada’s 13th forward, her do-it-all skillset making her a perfect wild card for Ryan to slot up and down the lineup. She didn’t take long to hit her stride in that role, getting a dirty goal on the power play — a signature Spooner clean-up — to open up the game’s scoring early in the second period. That quick special teams chemistry with Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey saw her promoted to the top line, replacing Julia Gosling in that spot in the second period and sparking some offence from both. Where Ryan starts Spooner on Monday, and how much he adjusts lines for the second game, will be something to watch.
Watts scores a stunner
Of Canada’s four goals on Saturday, just one came at even strength, with Daryl Watts making the most of her Olympic debut by scoring an absolute stunner.
With just over three minutes left in the game, Watts received a pass from Sarah Nurse just inside the Swiss zone with a little space. Then, as she approached the faceoff circle with the puck, she started to shift towards the middle of the zone to throw off one defender before slinging a perfect wrist shot through the other’s legs. The puck sailed over goalie Saskia Maurer’s glove and into the net for a gorgeous goal many years in the making for Watts.
It was the perfect way to cap what was an excellent first outing for Watts, who is one of seven players suiting up on Canada’s Olympic team for the first time. Fellow Olympic rookie Julia Gosling also celebrated her debut with a goal.
Canada’s power play makes Switzerland pay
Three power-play goals on Saturday had Team Canada making a statement about their special teams right out of the gate. Spooner’s came first, followed by two more in the third period. Sarah Fillier pounced on a puck that bounced off the end board and buried it into a wide-open net, then Gosling tipped a shot from Erin Ambrose a few minutes later to make it 3-0. (There was a little confusion about whether veteran Brianne Jenner, who’d parked herself net-front and also made to tip the puck, actually got a stick on it, but it was ruled Gosling’s goal.)
Canada went three-for-five with the advantage, sending a clear message to opponents to enter the penalty box at their own risk.
This is a win within the win for Canada, whose lacklustre performances during their recent four-game Rivalry Series against Team USA yielded very little energy on special teams. Keep up this kind of momentum, and the PP unit could prove to be one of Canada’s biggest strengths in the tournament. It’ll be something to follow as Canada hits the ice against Czechia on Monday before its biggest test of the tournament, Tuesday against Team USA.
