Canada, with a roster that includes forward Shailynn Snow of Clarke’s Beach, is going straight to the semifinal round of the world women’s under-18 hockey championship in Obihiro, Japan.
The Canadians defeated Russia 5-1 Wednesday to finish with a 2-1-0 record in the preliminary round, In earlier games, Canada downed Sweden 2-1 and lost by the same score to the United States.
It’s a two-tier tournament, with the Canadians, Americans, Swedes and Russians comprising the top group and all guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. Finland and Switzerland, the top two finishers among the lower seeds in the bottom tier, advance to the quarter-finals against Sweden and Russia, respectively.
Canada and the U.S., which was 3-0 in preliminary play, get direct berths to the semifinals, where the Canadians will play the Russia-Switzerland winner Saturday night in Obihiro (early Sunday morning in Newfoundland).
The 17-year-old Snow, who doesn’t have any points so far in the tourney, is in her last year at Ridley College, an Ontario prep school, where she’s the hockey team’s captain.
Snow is headed to St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., and its NCAA Division One team on an athletic scholarship this fall
Twitter: @telysports
