U's big three in Women's World Championships shone brightly

What a day for U women's hockey on Tuesday.

Junior forward Amanda Kessel scored the game-winning goal early in the third period as the U.S. beats Canada 3-2 for the gold medal in the Women's World Championship in Ottawa, Ontario.

"I feel like it is revenge," Kessel said, according to a U of M release. "We got beat on our home soil last year. To come into Canada and win the gold medal is unbelievable. We used our speed and worked hard. It gives us great confidence heading to Sochi."

She was speaking of the Olympics in Sochi, Russia, next year.

Senior defenseman Megan Bozek, Kessel's Gopher teammate, had the second U.S. goal. on a 5-on-3 power played, she scored on a slapper. It was her only tournament goal, but she also had two assists.

With the score knotted at 2-all, Kessel carried the puck into the right circle on an odd-man rush, then sniped a shot over one of the Canadian goalie's shoulders.

It was the fifth gold for the U.S. in this tournament.

As for Noora Raty, she was in the nets for Finland in the bronze medal game. The punchless Finns lost 2-0 to Russia.

Raty kept the game scoreless until the third period when the Russians scored when Raty was screened. The second goal was an empty-netter in the last minute.

Raty was named to the media all-star team.

On Monday, Raty made 40 saves as the Finns lost 3-0 to the U.S. in the semifinals. She kept the score 0-0 until the U.S. got a puck past her at 13:55 of the third period. The Americans also scored once more before scoring into an empty net for the third goal.