Six different players hit the target, and Canada won its third game in as many preliminary round matches, 6-1 against the athletes of the Russian Olympic Committee (COR) on Monday at the Beijing Olympics.
A rather unusual situation, however, as the Canadians and their opponents from the COR wore masks for this meeting. which began at 12:10 a.m., after an hour’s delay.
The Russian players were introduced and they were side by side on the blue line of the Wukesong Sports Center when Canada’s head coach, Troy Ryan, walked behind his team’s bench to chat with the referees.
There was no immediate explanation for the delay.
The Russians skated on the ice and sat for 40 minutes before returning to their locker room.
An on-ice official then announced that “the competition has been postponed until further notice”.
Six Russian players, including captain Olga Sosina, have been placed in isolation and unable to play in the tournament due to testing positive for COVID-19.
The Russian women’s hockey team isolated itself in the Olympic Village from January 31 to February 2 due to the outbreak.
Captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored her first goal of the competition, making it 6-1 in the third period.
Sarah Nurse, Sarah Fillier, Jamie Lee Rattray, Erin Ambrose and Rebecca Johnston also moved the ropes.
Goalkeeper Ann-Renée Desbiens was granted time off for this duel. It was Emerance Maschmeyer who protected the Canadian net.
After this third victory, the Canadians are preparing for a confrontation against their eternal American rivals in 24 hours.
Unsurprisingly, the Americans also won their first three matches in Group A.
Canada is trying to recapture the gold medal after the United States defeated them in the 2018 final in Pyeongchang.
The representatives of the maple leaf had previously triumphed at the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Vancouver and Sochi.
