Canada beat Finland 5-0 and will face U.S. in women’s hockey final

Canadian forward Meghan Agosta set an Olympic record with her ninth goal of the tournament and Canada went on to beat Finland 5-0 in the women’s hockey semi-final Monday at Canada Hockey Place.

Agosta set the record at 16:21 of the second, scooping up the puck in front of the net and lifting it over a sprawled out Noora Räty.

Not only does Agosta now hold the record for most goals at the Olympics, she also secured another record last week, becoming the first female hockey player to record three career hat tricks at the Winter Games.

With the victory, the Canadians will face off against the Americans who won their semi-final match 9-1 over Sweden.

It will be a significant rematch for the U.S. as they will be looking to win gold on Canadian soil after losing on home turf at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City and after failing to qualify for the gold medal match at the 2006 Games.

So far in Vancouver, Team U.S.A have outscored their opponents 40-2, while the Canadians have been slightly better, scoring 46 goals and only allowing two against.

Canada opened the scoring at 5:22 of the first period when Agosta circled the net and slid a pass across the crease to a wide-open Cherie Piper who tapped it in for her fifth goal of the tournament.

Haley Irwin made it 2-0 late in the first after jamming home a loose puck past the Finnish net minder.

After Agosta gave Canada a 3-0 lead, Irwin scored her second of the game at 4:23 of the third, banking a shot off of Räty after she made a phenomenal save on Rebecca Johnston.

Caroline Ouellette put the final nail in the coffin, scoring Canada’s fourth shorthanded goal of the tournament with just over a minute remaining in the game.

This game could have been put out of reach much earlier had it not been for the brilliant goaltending performance by Räty, who finished the game with 45 saves, including several highlight reel stops.

Aside from Räty, Finland simply could not compete with their Canadian counterparts, who dominated every facet of the game.

Shannon Szabados, making her second appearance in these Olympics, made 11 saves for the victory.

The gold medal game is set for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.