China Defeats Canada 7-4
After winning the initial sprint, China took the lead with a goal by Huanhuan Ma on the first possession of the game. China managed to maintain their lead, scoring 4 of their 7 goals on powerplays, two in the fourth quarter. Canada kept the game close with two goals by Hanna Yelizarova in the third. However, China's Ao Gao scored twice in the fourth to solidify their victory.
CAN 4 (1, 0, 2, 1) H. Yelizarova 2, J. Bekhazi 1, D. Perreault 1
CHN 7 (1, 1, 2, 3) A. Gao 2, F. Teng 1, P. Liu 1, J. He 1, L. Zhang 1, H. Ma 1
Saves
CAN - Riddell 7
CHN - Yang 12
"I think we beat ourselves this game, we made a lot of mistakes."
-Patrick Oaten, Head Coach, Canada
"China played very very well. We had a good 6 on 5 percentage. It was an exceptional day, it's not normal for China to beat Canada, but we are rising slowly to the top."
- Juan Jane Giralt, Head Coach, China
Greece Defeats Russia in a shootout
Greece took down Russia in a shootout after denying the Russians on an extra-man chance in the final minute of play. With Greece leading for the majority of the first three quarters, Russia scored back-to-back goals late in the fourth to take a one-goal lead. Greece, however, quickly responded and tied the game with 1:31 left in the fourth quarter on a goal out of center by Alexandra Asimaki, her second of the game. Greece's Maria Tsouri set the tone early in the shootout, blocking Russia's Evgeniya Ivanova and Evgenia Soboleva before Angeliki Gerolymou put in the winner for the Greeks.
GRE 17 (3, 3, 2, 1, 4) A. Gerolymou 4, K. Liosi 2, A. Asimaki 2, A. Roumpesi 2, A. Avramidou 1, T. Manolioudaki 1
RUS 15 (3, 2, 3, 5, 2) E. Ivanova 4, N. Ryzhova-Alenicheva 3, E. Prokofyeva 2, E. Tankeeva 2, E. Soboleva 1, A. Ustyukhina 1
(4-2 pen)
Saves
GRE - Tsouri 9
RUS - Ustyukhina 9
"It was our second game, and we still didn't play well, but the water was better."
- Alexandr Kabanov, Head Coach, Russia
"[The game] wasn't good on defense, but it was good offense. Every win against Russia is very important because they are a very good team, gold medal winners. It's good to give us courage."
- Greorgios Morfests, Head Coach, Greece
Hungary outlasts the Netherlands
Hungary beat the Netherlands in a shootout after goalie Orsolya Kaso blocked Nienke Vermeer's attempt in the second round of shooters. Each of the five shooters for both teams converted their first five attempts, and Dora Kisteleki put in the winner for her fifth goal of the match. Yasemin Smith tied the game for the Netherlands at 8 apiece with 12 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into a shootout. Hungary took a 4-0 lead in the first quarter following back-to-back goals by Dora Kisteleki to start the game, and held a three goal lead early in the third quarter. However, the Dutch stormed back and scored the final two goals of the game to send it into a shootout.
HUN 15 (4,2,1,1,7) D. Kisteleki 5, O. Takacs 2, R. Keszthelyi 2, A. Valkai 2, G. Szucs 1, R. Dravucz 1, I. Toth 1, B. Bujka 1.
NED 14 (1,2,2,3,6) M. Cabout 4, Y. Smit 3, Van Belkum 3, S. Van Der Sloot 2, J. Cabout 1, N. Vermeer 1.
(7-6 pen)
Saves
HUN- Kaso 7
NED- Van Der Meijden 5
"We led the whole game except the last thirty seconds because we had big trouble and I don't understand why but my goalkeeper saved the game. In the second half of the game, we had very weak and very crazy attacks and I told them to take it easy, and we shot at the end of the attack time and I don't know why."
-Matyas Petrovics, Head Coach, Hungary
"When we were four goals less, the team did not go crazy and they believed, believed, believed, into the last section."
-Mauro Maugeri, Head Coach, The Netherlands
USA downs Australia in Shootout
In the third shootout of the day, the USA topped Australia, 15-14 to take the lead in Group B. Lauren Silver scored on the last shot of the shootout to seal the win for Team USA after American goalie Emily Feher blocked Australia's fifth shooter, Nicola Zagame. The Americans opened up an early 3-0 lead and held a slim advantage for the majority of the first three quarters, but fell behind when Australia's Bronwyn Knox put one past the American keeper with 1:47 left in the fourth. Lauren Silver tied it up a minute later when her shot from the outside was tipped past Australia's Victoria Brown, but the Aussies regained a one-goal lead on a lob shot by Knox with 19 seconds left in regulation. Following a time out by USA coach Adam Krikorian, Lauren Wenger entered the ball to Kami Craig in center who finished a step-out shot with 10 seconds remaining to send the game into the third shootout of the day. The United States converted six of its eight man-up opportunities, while holding Australia to 2-for-9 shooting on power plays. Lauren Silver and Elsie Windes each recorded hat-tricks for the United States, while Rowena Webster netted a tournament high five goals for Australia in a losing effort.
USA 15 (3, 3, 2, 4, 3) L. Silver 3, E. Windes 3, E. Figge 2, K, Craig 2, H. Petri 1, L. Wenger 1, M. Steffens 1, K. Rulon 1, M. Seidemann 1
AUS 14 (1, 4, 3, 4, 2) G. Ralph 5, G. Beadsworth 3, B. Knox 3, R. Webster 1, M. Rippon 1, N. Zagame 1
Saves
USA - Feher 8
AUS - Brown 3
"I thought we played well, you know, overall I was pretty pleased with it, especially on the power-play situations we were 6-for-8 and we've been putting a lot of emphasis on our five-man defense and they were two-for-nine. Overall I was pretty pleased with how we did, and especially how we fought back at the end. I don't know how we got out to a 3-0 lead early in the game; our teams are so evenly matched that it could have easily been 0-3. We just executed and they didn't execute, and that's the difference in the game."
-Adam Krikorian, Head Coach, USA
"I don't know if there's that much pressure [at the end of the game]. You're down by one, and everyone thinks you're going to lose anyway. Kami came through there, and Lauren Wenger did a great job getting the ball in to her. At the end of the game, we need big time players to step up, and that's exactly what they did."
-Adam Krikorian, Head Coach, USA
"I thought [Emily] played well early in the first half, and I've seen her play better in the second half, but the great thing about her is that she's mentally strong; I think she was a little frustrated with herself in the second half but she stepped up and made some big saves in the shootout."
-Adam Krikorian, Head Coach, USA
"I think it was a typical Australia and USA game decided by one goal. I've seen so many games decided by one goal in the past years."
-Grieg Richardson, Assistant Coach, Australia
"I think the girls played reasonably well and I'm very optimistic about the games ahead."
-Grieg Richardson, Assistant Coach, Australia