“I was surprised and I think Sarah Tueting was surprised,’’ Smith said. “Those are difficult plays to handle on that type of bounce. Sometimes those type of shots can be a little baffling.”
The U.S. next plays Finland at 1 p.m. tomorrow to determine the winner of Pool B. The closest the Fins have come to beating the U.S. was in the 2000 World Championships when they blew a 3-1 lead to the U.S. en route to a 4-3 loss.
Canada 7, Russia 0
Botterill’s goal, the first of her Olympic career, came in the third period off a deflection on from the right side of the crease. She redirected a high shot from Vicky Sunohara perfectly down to the ice in between the Russian goaltender’s legs.
The most important goal of Botterill’s national team career—the ultimate game-winner against the U.S. in the world championship gold medal game—had also been on a similar kind of redirection at the edge of the crease. Botterill said such goals have come through instinct, not through repetition.
“It’s not something I’ve practiced too much,” Botterill said. “When you get into the game, your hand-eye coordination is there.”
Canada outshot Russia 60-6. St. Lawrence’s Isabelle Chartrand scored her first career Olympic goal on a blue-line shot, and Dartmouth signee Cherie Piper scored the second the goal of her Olympics. Piper, once one of team’s final cuts, has established herself since being reinstated.
“Obviously she’s played well, and the whole team is happy for her,” Botterill said.
Botterill said that it was hard to tell how well the team’s level of play against Russia, the 2001 World Championships bronze medalist, would translate against the United States, though she did say several of Canada’s goals were high-quality.
“It’s important to work on your execution for each game, so what you do is going to work in the bigger games,” Botterill said.
Shewchuk was held off the scoreboard against Russia, leaving her with one goal for the tournament after scoring against Kazakhstan.
“It’s a short tournament and you want to make sure that you take advantage of your chances,” Shewchuk told the Ottawa Sun prior to the game.
Canada is in the middle of a two-day break. The team practiced during the day and attended a reception during the evening.
“Most of our time is planned so there’s just the right amount of rest and recovery,” Botterill said.
Canada’s next opponent will be Sweden, who features Minnesota-Duluth standouts Maria Rooth and Erika Holst. First place in Pool A will be decided tomorrow night at 9 p.m.