CANADA WINS SILVER MEDAL AT 2016 IIHF WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Canada’s National Women’s Team claimed its seventh silver medal in front of capacity crowds at the IIHF Women’s World Championship after a 1-0 overtime loss to the United States on Monday night at the Sandman Centre.

After more than 72 minutes of scoreless hockey, the United States’ Alex Carpenter finally broke through, beating netminder Emerance Maschmeyer (Bruderheim, Alta./Harvard, ECAC) who had an outstanding performance in net stopping 33 of 34 shots on goal.

In addition to her silver medal, Maschmeyer brings home the award for top goaltender of the tournament.

“We said it right from the very beginning that we felt like we had a special team,” said head coach Laura Schuler. “I think that we got the best out of each and every player that we had because they brought their heart and soul every single time they stepped on the ice and I couldn’t be more proud of our players.”

The 2016 IIHF Women’s World Championship is the 17th since the tournament’s 1990 inception. Canada’s National Women’s Team has appeared in every world championship gold medal game, winning 10 gold medals (1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2012) and seven silver (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016).

“It really hurts, I think every time you work so hard for something and you get silver it’s hard, but we’re going to keep moving forward, This group is really special; we played for each other and I think the crowd that we had tonight was unbelievable.  Just at the end to see people still cheering for us, it reminded us how lucky we are to play for Canada.” – Captain Marie-Philip Poulin.

More than 500 volunteers – including one from as far as Iceland – worked alongside the local host committee and Hockey Canada to deliver on the success of the event. In all, 38,000-plus fans attended the 21 games held in Kamloops’ Sandman Centre and McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre, while well over one million viewers tuned in across the country on TSN and RDS.

“This Championship has given Canadians an opportunity to see this incredible group of athletes play on home ice. Their relentless push for the podium is inspiring girls and women, and for some, to follow in their footsteps on the ice,” said the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, who was among the 5,850 fans who packed the Sandman Centre to cap off an exciting week of hockey. “I would like to thank the IIHF, Hockey Canada, the local organizers and, most importantly, all the volunteers who have contributed to the success of this event.”

In Monday afternoon’s bronze medal game, Russia beat Finland 1-0 in a shootout.