The third period was a triumph for Kazakhstan, surging back into the match with three goals, two to Natalya Shepelina.
Dominique
Perreault scored twice for Canada and Marina closed the period’s
scoring at 12-6. Canada pushed the score out to 14-6 and Kazakhstan
finished with a flourish through Aizhan Akilbayeva with a bouncer and
Anna Zubkova five seconds from time.
Canadian coach Guy Baker, the
former USA women’s supremo, would be pleased with the efforts of Monika
Eggens in particular, a real strike force who will be needed badly in
the later rounds.
Match 30: 18:50, Quarterfinal Qualification, CANADA 14 KAZAKHSTAN 8
Quarters: 4-2, 6-1, 3-3, 2-2
Referees: Cory Williams (NZL), Manol Taylan (TUR).
Extra Man: CAN: 3/3. KAZ: 2/5.
Pens: Nil
Teams:
CANADA: Michele Relton, Krystina Alogbo (1), Katrina Monton, Emma Wright (2), Monika Eggens (4), Sophie Baron La Salle (1), Joelle Bekhazi, Dominique Perreault (2), Carmen Eggens (2), Christine Robinson (1), Stephanie Valin, Marina Radu (1), Nicola Colterjohn. Head Coach: Guy Baker.
KAZAKHSTAN: Alexandra Zharkova, Natalya Shepelina (2), Aizhan Akilbayeva (1), Anna Turova (1), Anastassiya Mirshina, Anna Zubkova (1), Natalya Alexandrova, Yekaterina Glushkova, Assel Jakayeva (1), Marina Gritsenko (2), Alexandra Rozhentseva, Assem Mussarova, Kristina Krassikova. Head Coach: Andrey Sasykin.
FLASH QUOTES:
Joelle Bekhazi (CAN):
“This was a good preparation for the game against Russia, our next rival, because they have a very similar way of playing. We tried to be aggressive at the beginning of the game and kept pushing during all the game. Russia is going to watch carefully our mistakes so we will have to work hard and play very well to beat them.”
Alexandra Zharkova (KAZ):
“We are very sad. Canada is a really strong team, with strong players, and they have good shooters. In our preliminary round we’ve had very strong teams like Hungary. It was a tough tournament and a great experience.”