Canada bounces Germany in Poulin's return, back in Olympic semis

MILAN - Canada advanced to the semifinal round for the eighth-consecutive Olympics, following a 5-1 win over Germany Saturday at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.

Brianne Jenner scored on Canada's first shot of the game at the 1:40 mark on assists from Sophie Jaques and Emma Maltais. Then, Claire Thompson blasted one from the point with 3:19 left in the first period to give Canada a 2-0 lead.

With two and a half minutes left in the second, Renata Fast and Daryl Watts found Sarah Fillier in the crease for her third goal of the Games, equaling Julia Gosling for the team high.

Just 38 seconds into the third period, Emily Clark set up Blayre Turnbull for a breakaway from the red line to put Canada ahead by four.

The Germans had two stellar opportunities on shorthanded breakaways in the first period. They finally capitalized when Franziska Feldmeier broke away from her own zone on the penalty kill to beat Emerance Maschmeyer midway through the third.

Marie-Philip Poulin added an insurance goal for Canada with 4:30 to play. It was her first in Milan, but 18th of her career to equal Hayley Wickenheiser for the most in Canadian Olympic history. Poulin missed the final two group stage games after tweaking her knee on a hit during Canada's win over Czechia.

"You want to win every Olympics," Poulin said, "and I was lucky enough in my career to play with some amazing players. I am pretty thankful for that. The two skates I had in the last couple of days to see how I was feeling (factored into her playing decision). Waking up in the morning, it was not worse. Having an open conversation with the doc and coaches, they trust me, and I trust them."

Canada coach Troy Ryan elaborated that Poulin is much more interested in team wins than individual records and defended his call to return her to the lineup.

"Seeing her prepare for the game during the warm up, that's a good feeling for coaches," Ryan said. "I thought she looked great. As a coach, I have to connect to the players as much as I can. They know the medical science behind it, but sometimes an athlete just knows how they feel and what they are comfortable with. There is a lot of outside pressure that can add to those decisions, and I think it's important to have those conversations without putting the pressure on her."

Maschmeyer stopped 10 German shots in her return between the pipes after Ann-Renee Desbiens started Canada's three prior games.

"It's always an honor to be called upon to play," Maschmeyer said. "Not a lot of goalies get to be in this position. I have a lot of pride in it. I just want to be there for my team whenever I need to make saves, and they fortunately put some pucks in the net tonight."

Feldmeier's goal was the first allowed for Maschmeyer in these Olympics.

"They're good in transition," she added about Germany. "They turn over pucks well in the neutral zone. We knew that pretty well in the pre-scout, and we knew there would be opportunities on odd-man rushes, so I was expecting that."

On the other side, Sandra Abstreiter stopped 38 of Canada's 43 shots.

"It was a whole group effort," Abstreiter said. "Yes, they got a lot of shots in the net, two unfortunate bounces for me, I would like to have those back, but in the end, if they get that many shots, they are going to get some goals. Even with the lucky shots, they obviously have the quality to make up for it in other ways."

Germany concluded its first Olympic appearance since Sochi 2014 with three wins in the group stage - two in regulation and one in overtime. It is a positive result for the national program, which was eighth at last year's World Championships and also appeared at the Olympics in 2002 and 2006.

"I have had the most fun," Abstreiter added. "It's been an honor to represent the country together with all of my friends. We are such a close group. I am just beyond proud of everyone. I think we advertised women's hockey in Germany pretty well, especially after such a long time of not being there. I think we can be proud of ourselves."

Canada will play either Finland or Switzerland in Monday's semifinal. The United States and Sweden meet in the opposite bracket.

"We have to manage our aggressiveness," Ryan added. "So, if we are aggressive - great, but you can't have one-two-three people being aggressive on plays, you have to have people anticipating the next play and able to jump on it."