Stoney Creek Junior Sabres players Jillian Saulnier, Laura Fortino and Jessica Wong helped Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team score a silver medal at the IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship recently.

Stoney Creek Junior Sabres defenceman Laura Fortino along with forwards Jillian Saulnier and Jessica Wong helped Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team score its second consecutive silver medal at the IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship last Saturday in Germany, after a 3-2 overtime loss to the US.

Both teams started the first period strong, but the US hit the scoreboard first, after Brooke Ammerman snapped a shot past the blocker of Canada netminder Roxanne Douville to send the US to the dressing room up by one.

The US lead doubled early in the second, when Taylor Wasylk pushed a loose puck past Douville just moments after Canada’s Jamie Lee Rattray failed to convert on a breakaway.

Canada finally hit the board at the 18:35 mark, after Melodie Daoust chipped the puck over US goaltender Alex Rigsby following a wild scramble in front. Wong picked up the assist.

Wong scored the game-tying goal with less than eight minutes to go in the third to force overtime, but the US took advantage of a power play in the extra period to score the gold medal.

The US also won gold at the inaugural championship last year in Calgary, Alta., defeating Canada 5-2.

“This was my second appearance, so the loss was even more heartbreaking because we worked really hard and wanted to win it that much more this year because of last year,” said Fortino. “It just wasn’t our year.”

Saulnier adds Canada deserved to win.

“We just caught an unlucky break,” she said.

Canada won four straight games to get to the gold medal match up, defeating Switzerland, Finland and the Czech Republic in the preliminary round, as well as Sweden in the semifinal.

“That penalty in overtime really cost us,” said Fortino, who finished the championship with four points. “We had our opportunities in overtime, but didn’t capitalize.”

Wong, who finished as one of Canada’s top scorers with 12 points, including four goals and eight assists, says Canada outplayed the US.

“They just caught a lucky break,” she said.

Despite the loss, Fortino says she wouldn’t change the experience for anything.

“I really enjoyed it,” she said. “Also, the coaching staff was amazing; they helped us so much and had so much knowledge of the game –we learned so much from them.”

Saulnier says the team gelled well together.

“I knew we were going to bond, but didn’t know we were going to bond that well,” said Saulnier. “It was really hard to leave everyone at the end, especially with all of the adversity we went through with the loss; we were a really good team, it was a lot of fun.”

Wong says the experience was amazing.

“Our team was so close, it was like a second family,” she said.

The championship is very important to women’s hockey, says Junior Sabres head coach Stacey Marnoch.