Special teams the difference as Canada falls to U.S. in Four Nations Cup final
TIKKURILA, Finland - Kendall Coyne scored shorthanded in the first period and Jessie Vetter made 18 saves Saturday as the U.S. shut out Canada 3-0 in the final of the Four Nations Cup women's hockey tournament.
Vetter and Anne Schleper added power-play goals for the Americans, while Jocelyne Lamoureux added two assists.
Charline Labonte made 19 saves in taking the loss for Canada, which defeated the U.S. 3-1 in the round-robin portion of the tournament.
The Americans opened the scoring Saturday with Coyne's unassisted short-handed goal at 12:46 of the first, a period that saw Canada get outshot 12-1.
Knight doubled the U.S. lead at 14:13 of the second on the power play before Schleper made it 3-0 at 15:35 of the third on another man advantage.
The Canadians last won the Four Nations Cup in 2010 when they defeated the Americans 3-2 in overtime. The U.S. beat Canada 4-3 in a shootout in last year's final in Sweden.
The tournament serves as an evaluation opportunity for Canada ahead of the 2013 women's world hockey championship, which takes place in Ottawa this April.
