MILAN (AP) — Marie-Philip Poulin’s injured right knee held up just fine. And the Canadian women’s hockey icon added another entry to her “Captain Clutch” reputation.
Returning to the lineup after missing two-plus games, Poulin injected a spark into a slow-starting Canadian team by making a key defensive play and then scoring to tie the Olympic career record in a 5-1 win over Germany in the quarterfinal round of the Milan Cortina Games on Saturday.
The goal, the 18th in her fifth Olympic Games, was a mere afterthought for Poulin, who matched former Canadian teammate and Hockey Hall of Famer Hayley Wickenheiser. Rejoining her teammates in the knockout round was her only motivation.
“Being a little bit back in the stands for the last two put things in perspective for sure,” Poulin said, after watching Canada drop a 5-0 decision to the U.S. before closing preliminary play a 5-0 win over Finland. “You want to be part of that, and you never want to be on the sideline due to an injury.”
Her teammates were happy to welcome back the 34-year-old, who earned her nickname for scoring three Olympic gold medal-clinching goals.
“She’s such a gamer. There’s never a doubt that when she’s on the ice, she’s ready,” Emily Clark said. “She does everything she has to do to be everything she can be for this team.”
Sarah Fillier had a goal and assist, and Brianne Jenner, Claire Thompson and Blayre Turnbull also scored for the defending Olympic champions. Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 10 shots.
Canada advanced to the semifinals set for Monday and will play the winner of the day’s later quarterfinal between Finland and Switzerland. The top-seeded and tournament-favored Americans will play Sweden, the Group B winner after the Swedes upset Czechia on Friday.
It was the first Olympic meeting between the two nations, while Canada improved to 9-0 overall in international play and have now outscored the Germans by a combined 83-1.
Franziska Feldmeier became the first German female player to score against Canada. Her goal came on a shorthanded breakaway 8:42 into the third period after intercepting Renata Fast’s pass. Sandra Abstreiter finished with 38 saves, and looked shaky on two goals.
“It’s always fun to score. And then to score against a team like Canada is always exciting,” Feldmeier said. “I think we showed that German ice hockey developed, especially women’s hockey.”
The Germans showed promise in finishing second in Group B with a 3-1 record, but still have work to do to break into the top six following their fourth Olympic appearance and first since 2014.
Canada has a far richer tradition as five-time gold medalists, and much higher expectations, which placed an even higher emphasis on Poulin’s return after being sidelined in a 5-1 win over Czechia on Monday.
She made a tremendous impact despite getting eased back in being limited to spot shifts and power-play time by logging 15 1/2 minutes.
Five minutes in, Poulin chased down Germany’s Laura Kluge driving in on a shorthanded breakaway. She clipped Kluge’s helmet with her stick to distract the forward while she got off her shot that was stopped by Maschmeyer.
She then capped the scoring from a familiar spot — parked in front of the net and redirecting in Fillier’s shot for a power-play goal with 4:30 remaining.
“Incredible player, incredible person,” Fillier said. “That’s amazing. I’m sure she won’t think it’s that cool, but she deserves it.”
Fillier was among several players who didn’t know of Poulin’s milestone until being informed after the game.
Coach Troy Ryan was fully aware of the milestone and the leadership presence Poulin provides his team.
“I’ve run out of things to say about Pou,” he said. “In my head, you’d almost think that was already her record. So when I see that, it’s just nice that she gets to be where she belongs.”
Ryan was less glowing over how his team muddled through an opening period that featured several giveaways and miscues.
“I thought we just didn’t compete to the level that we need to. I don’t think we were as difficult to play against as we need to be moving forward,” he said, before crediting his team for improving over the final 40 minutes.
Canada opened the scoring on its first shot on goal, with Jenner driving the net and redirecting in Emma Maltais’ centering pass 1:40 into the game. Thompson made it 2-0 with 3:19 left in the period by firing a shot from the left point that appeared to knuckle through Abstreiter’s legs. Fillier put Canada up 3-0 when her shot deflected in off Abstreiter’s stick with 2:30 left in the second period.
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