Canada beats U.S. in OT to win Four Nations Cup

The puck seemed to follow Rebecca Johnston on Saturday, so it was almost inevitable she'd be in on the winning goal.

Meaghan Mikkelson's shot deflected in off Johnston's shin pad at 6:21 of overtime to give the Canadian women's hockey team the Four Nations title with a 3-2 win over the U.S in St. John's.

"A dirty goal, but what can you do?" said a smiling Johnston.

It was Johnston's second goal of the game after the 21-year-old from Sudbury, Ont., scored in the first period. She also had a backhand shot early in overtime that came close.

"I definitely felt like my legs were going," Johnston said. "Things were going well, I was getting shots on net so it was just a matter of time. I'm glad I was able to get an opportunity for that overtime goal."

Mikkelson, a defenceman from St. Albert, Alta., had a solid game with a goal and the assist on the winner. Haley Irwin of Thunder Bay, Ont., had three assists, while Meghan Agosta of Ruthven, Ont., added two of her own. The line of Johnston, Irwin and Agosta had a stellar tournament and were Canada's top performers in the final.

Agosta and Irwin tied for the most points in the tournament with eight each. Johnston and Irwin were linemates on Canada's Olympic team earlier this year, so they had chemistry that Agosta had to tap into.

"I would say Haley and Rebecca were our most consistent forwards for sure," Canadian head coach Ryan Walter said. "(Agosta) really came along. She struggled and then her game really came together. We challenged her a little bit and she wanted to be better and it was good to put her on that line because those two were hot."

Julie Chu and Kendall Coyne replied for the U.S., who had beaten the hosts 3-2 in a shootout on Tuesday in the first game of the tournament for both countries. Monique Lamoureux-Kolls had two assists.

While the Mile One Centre exploded on Johnston's winner, the Canadian players' post-game celebration was restrained. The goal came on a power play after U.S. defenceman Kacey Bellamy hauled Johnston down on a half-breakaway with the pair crashing into the net.

The game was delayed while Bellamy was removed from the ice on a stretcher. U.S. head coach Katey Stone said the player probably had at least a concussion.

"She's moving her limbs, but she's got some neck pain and some sensitivity to light," Stone said.

Bellamy's tripping penalty gave Canada their second man advantage of the 20-minute overtime. The Canadians felt over-the-top jubilation would be disrespectful to the injured player.

"It dampens the mood for sure," Canadian captain Hayley Wickenheiser said. "You never want to see a player get hurt like that. She didn't seem to move and you know a player is hurt when that happens. It seems like it was a fairly serious injury."

Canada had outshot the U.S. 34-25 in Tuesday's game and continued that firepower Saturday with a 56-26 margin in shots.

Stone went with Molly Schaus in net for the Americans, even though Jessie Vetter made 32 saves and didn't give up a goal in the shootout Tuesday. Schaus was up to the task, particularly in the second and third periods when her team was outshot 31-13 by the hosts.

Walter gave goaltender Shannon Szabados her second start in as many nights and third of the tournament. The 24-year-old from Edmonton had to be sharp early as her team was outshot 10-5 for most of the first period, until a late power-play helped even up shots at 10 apiece.

Third on Canada's goaltending depth chart just two years ago, the 24-year-old has ascended to No. 1 ahead of veterans Kim St. Pierre and Charline Labonte after her 29-save shutout in the Olympic final.

The 2010 Four Nations Cup was Canada's first international tournament since beating the U.S. 2-0 for Olympic gold Feb. 25.

While Canada retained 13 veterans from that team, the defence had five players with minimal international experience and it showed in the final. The Canadians occasionally had trouble breaking out and were guilty of risky, low-percentage passes in their own zone.

Earlier Saturday, Finland recovered from its 15-0 thrashing at the hands of Canada on Friday to beat Sweden 2-1 for third place. Karoliina Rantamaki and Annina Rajahuhta scored in the first period for Finland and Pernilla Winberg replied for Sweden. Noora Raty earned the win with 31 saves.

These four teams will meet again at the 2011 world women's hockey championships April 16-25 in Zurich and Winterthur, Switzerland.

They'll be joined by the host Swiss, Russia, Slovakia and Kazakhstan. The U.S., is the defending world champion after taking the title in 2009 in Hameenlinna, Finland.

Walter, a former NHL player and an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks last season, was named the women's coach for the Four Nations. Hockey Canada has yet to announce who will coach Canada at the world championships in April.

"The things that we were doing were almost to a tee exactly what NHL teams do and they executed very well," Walter said of the Canadian women.