Finland's Noora Tulus (24) and Emma Nuutinen (22) celebrate the winning goal over Canada in the IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship preliminary round game in Plymouth, Mich., on Saturday, April 1, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Kryk
April 05, 2017 - 2:11 PM
PLYMOUTH, Mich. - A quick look at Canada's semifinal against Finland at the women's world hockey championship Thursday:
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Canada
Haley Irwin — Adept at tip-ins and redirects, which is how you score on Finland goaltender Noora Raty.
Marie-Philip Poulin — If the semifinal comes down to the wire, look for Canada's captain and Olympic golden goaler to ride to the rescue.
Shannon Szabados — Must win the goaltending dual with Raty.
FINLAND
Noora Raty — Veteran goaltender has always been able to steal a game, but now has a stronger supporting cast in front of her.
Susanna Tapani — Leads tournament in scoring with three goals and five assists in eight games.
Michelle Karvinen — Creative, smart and experienced, Karvinen is Finland's top playmaker.
KEYS TO THE GAME
Canada — Short, smart passes and forwards coming back to help move puck quickly out of the defensive zone. Pay the physical price to score dirty goals on Raty.
Finland — Keep forcing Canada to take shots from the perimeter and pressure them for a turnover in the offensive zone. Tournament's most penalized team has to stay out of the box.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2017