Canada claims women's hockey gold, blanks US

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Canada won the women’s hockey gold medal for a third straight Olympics, beating the United States, 2-0, Thursday in front of a raucous Vancouver crowd ringing cowbells and frantically waving thousands of maple leaf flags.

Marie-Philip Poulin scored two goals, and Shannon Szabados made 28 saves as the Canadians thrived on their home fans’ relentless cheers to dominate every aspect of the biggest game in this young sport, earning their 15th straight Olympic victory.

“I looked up in the stands and saw a sign that said, ‘Proud to be Canadian,’ and that’s what I am today,” Szabados said. “My teammates were unbelievable today. We played a great game, and this is an incredible moment.”

Playing with a consistency and passion its men’s team can only hope to emulate this weekend, Canada hasn’t lost at the Olympics since 1998, when the Americans won their sport’s first gold.

The Canadians kept nearly the entire game in the Americans’ end – outpassing, outshooting and simply outworking the only team in women’s hockey with a chance of standing up to them.

Earlier, Finland won the bronze medal, beating Sweden, 3-2, in overtime. The victory gave the Finns their first medal in women’s hockey since their bronze at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.

The Canadians got two first-period goals from Poulin, the super-speedy 18-year-old Quebecois forward who claims she feels no Olympic pressure. Their smooth, graceful goalie did the rest, with Szabados capping her first Olympics with flawless netminding in a win that sometimes seemed just as one-sided as Canada’s 18-0 victory over Slovakia to open the Winter Games 12 days ago.   (AP)