Big Red Quintet Claims MLP Gold
KREUZLINGEN, Switzerland – Cornell standouts Laura Fortino, Catherine White and Chelsea Karpenko each scored goals leading Canada's Under-22 Team to the gold medal Saturday with a 6-0 victory over Sweden at the MLP Cup.
Lauriane Rougeau and Jessica Campbell of the Big Red also were members of the gold-medal winning squad. The Cornell quintet combined to score 10 goals and added four assists in the four-game tournament. Karpenko (four goals) and Campbell (two goals, two assists) led the way among the Big Red participants. Fortino contributed two goals and one assist; White scored two goals; and Rougeau set up one goal.
Against Sweden, six players scored for the Canadians, who led 5-0 after the first period and didn't look back en route to winning their eighth title in nine years. Canada didn't allow a goal through the six-country tournament.
“I think we had a great start, we scored early, and that's what talked about, having a good start and setting the tempo, and trying to make them play with us,” Canadian coach Jim Fetter said in a phone interview. “I thought we did a great job, overall it was a great team game.”
The Canadians outshot Sweden 60-37 with Geneviève Lacasse earning the shutout for Canada.
“It was the best we played all week,” Fetter said. “And that's what we discussed, that we wanted to make sure we got better every time we stepped on the ice, and that today, whatever game we were playing, that we were playing our best hockey, and that's what happened.”
Canada cruised by its opponents throughout the tournament, beating Switzerland 5-0 and Germany 9-0 in the preliminary round before trouncing Russia 9-0 in the semifinals.
“That's what we discussed, that we wanted to make sure we got better every time we stepped on the ice, and that today, whatever game we were playing, that we were playing our best hockey,” Fetter said. “That's what happened.”
