Plymouth, Michigan - Nicole Hensley (Lakewood, Colorado) stopped all 18 shots she faced. Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wisconsin) and Gigi Marvin (Warroad, Minnesota) netted goals.
United States Women’s National Team earned a 2-0 victory over rival Canada here tonight at USA Hockey Arena to open the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
“We came out and played with a lot of poise and everyone contributed to tonight’s victory,” said United States Head Coach, Robb Stauber.
“Our veterans led the way, Hensley stood tall in net and our new players brought a lot of energy to the team.
I'm glad we were able to win tonight in such a great atmosphere created by our fans.”
The United States outshot Canada, 12-5 in the opening period but was unable to find the back of the net as the teams remained scoreless entering the first intermission.
USA’s best chance came when the puck crossed the line during a net-front scramble, but the play was whistled dead just prior.
The teams continued to trade chances for the majority of the second period before the United States broke the deadlock with 2:06 left in the period.
The play started when
Megan Bozek (Buffalo Grove, Illinois) curled around the net and fed a cross-crease pass to Brianna Decker, who tapped home the puck for the game’s opening goal.
United States took the one-goal lead into the final period with Hensley preserved the advantage when she stopped a point-blank tip by Blayre Turnbull just over a minute in.
Gigi Marvin made it a two-goal game when her wrist shot from the point beat goaltender Shannon Szabados 4:49 into the third period.
The United States continues play tomorrow - Saturday, April 1 - against Russia at 3:30 pm ET.
The game will be televised LIVE on the NHL Network in addition to being streamed LIVE on NHL.com.
The United States outshot Canada 30-18 and finished 0-for-1 on the power play. Nicole Hensley was named the United States Player of the Game.
The United States is the defending champion and has played Canada in the gold medal game in all 17 of the previous events.
They captured the event's top prize a total of seven times (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016) including six of the last seven tournaments.
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