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Posted: Feb 15, 8:08p ET | Updated: Feb 16, 12:29a ET

Canada women roll over Switzerland 10-1

VANCOUVER (AP) -- Although Canada's second win in the Olympic women's hockey tournament wasn't a Slovakia-sized rout, it also was never in doubt.

Meghan Agosta scored two goals, Hayley Wickenheiser added her first of the Olympics and Canada steamrolled another overmatched opponent, beating Switzerland 10-1 Monday.

Gillian Apps, Jayna Hefford and Marie-Philip Poulin all scored eye-catching goals as the Canadians followed up their historic 18-0 win with another demonstration of their formidable prowess.

Two days after Canada's merciless thumping of the Slovaks sparked discussions of the Olympic fitness of women's hockey, Switzerland provided a significantly tougher test-- even if the result looked much the same.

Swiss goalie Florence Schelling actually played well, making 45 saves before sitting out the final minutes with frustration on her face.

Canada outshot the Swiss 62-12. The differential wasn't surprising, given the Swiss team's decision to sit back on defense and hope for mistakes by the Canadians, who don't make many.

Shannon Szabados made 11 saves in the first Olympic appearance for the Canadians' presumptive starting goalie, though she also allowed their opponents' first goal of the tournament.

Darcia Leimgruber scored with 24 seconds left in the second period, batting home a rebound for Switzerland's first goal of the Olympics after getting shut out by Sweden in its opener. Even the pro-Canadian crowd at UBC Thunderbird Arena roared for the celebration by the world's presumptively fifth-best team.

Switzerland even took a power play into the third period with some momentum, but Hefford sped past defenseman Julia Marty for a short-handed goal 54 seconds in.

Wickenheiser, the Canadian captain, and Cherie Piper each had a goal and two assists among nine Canadians with multipoint games.

The Canadians' early offensive star in Vancouver is Agosta, the Mercyhurst College forward who had a hat trick against Slovakia. Agosta, who turned 23 last Friday, already has seven points-- more than she scored in the entire Turin Games.

Although the Canadians needed more than 99 seconds to score their first goal, they immediately controlled play with much the same ferocity they showed against Slovakia. Nearly 6½ minutes in, Apps tipped a power-play shot from the point over Schelling's shoulder.

Sarah Vaillancourt tapped home a rebound nearly eight minutes later, but Schelling made 14 saves in the period to keep it relatively close. Switzerland even had a couple of scoring chances during a power play, but Szabados was sharp.

Piper made a clever fake early in the second period for her second goal of the Olympics, and Agosta got her fourth goal of the tournament with a deflection on Kathrin Lehmann's knuckleballing shot in front.

Canadian fans began filling their seats at UBC Thunderbird Arena more than two hours before the puck dropped in a rink one-third the size of Canada Hockey Place, where Canada beat Slovakia. The pro-Canadian crowd also contained dozens of hearty Swiss fans with their "Hop Suisse!" chant.

 

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