Canada became the first team to make the gold-medal final, a realm it has only conquered once before - in 1991 when it lost to the Netherlands in Perth, Australia. The victory was built on a 4-1 lead early in the second quarter and much like the game before, the leading team watched as the underdog relentlessly came back. IVANOVA scored two in a row for 5-4 and PANTYULINA nearly ruined Canada¹s dreams when she levelled the game four seconds from three-quarter time. But Canada scored twice on extra at the top of the fourth with Russian captain KONOUKH pulling one back on a drive soon after. The game was there for the taking. At 2:48 the game-changing goal was scored and possibly the goal of the tournament when ROBINSON sent in a high long ball to ALOGBO at centre forward. The Canadian captain rose high and swatted the ball backwards behind her head over the head of PROTSENKO into the goal. At 8-6 the lead looked unassailable. However, Russia went to a timeout at 1:02 and drew a penalty, which RYZHOVA-ALENICHEVA converted at 0:38. The game wasn’t over. Canada took a timeout at 0:20 and played out time until seven seconds from time when Russia took its second timeout. The ball moved to PANTYULINA who shaped, shot, hit the left upright, hit goalkeeper RIDDELL and rebounded into the left upright again and not into the goal. Canada had forced its way on to the podium where it has been twice before this century, claiming bronze medals at Fukuoka in 2001 and Montreal in 2005.