Setting an Olympic women’s hockey goal-scoring record is one thing for Meghan Agosta.

Pleasing head coach Melody Davidson is another.

“I don’t think Meghan had one of her better games today but overall I think she’s done a great job here,” Davidson said Monday after Agosta scored in Canada’s 5-0 semifinal win over Finland.

Agosta’s goal, which put Canada up 3-0, was her Olympic-record ninth of the tournament. She will have a chance to increase that total in when Canada tries for its third straight gold medal in Thursday’s final against the rival United States.
 
The Americans advanced with a 9-1 win over Sweden.

Agosta, a five-foot-seven, 145-pound whirlwind from Ruthven, Ont., who turned 23 the day the Games opened, also downplayed her achievement.

“I think I had an OK game but, you know what? It’s a team game and it doesn’t matter who puts the puck in the net,” said Agosta, who also set up Canada’s opening goal.

The record-breaking score came with the teams playing four-on-four late in the second period.

Canadian defenceman Tessa Bonhomme stickhandled through traffic, moved into the Finnish zone, then dished to Jayna Hefford.

Hefford’s centring pass deflected into the crease off a defender and Agosta buried the loose puck behind Finland goalie Noora Raty.

The goal surpassed Danielle Goyette’s standard set when women’s hockey was introduced at the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan.

Goyette, of St-Nazaire, Que., who retired from the national team in 2007, was at Canada Hockey Place to witness the record.

Now Davidson sees Agosta as a player who can replace Goyette’s legacy.

“She’s really starting to come into her own as the next generation of players.” said Davidson, who’s been on Agosta’s case to play at a high level consistently.

“She’s brought great energy on and off the ice and she’s a lot of fun to work with.”

Now competing in her second Winter Games, Agosta had three goals in Thursday’s 10-1 win over Sweden for her third career Olympic hat trick — another Games record.

Playing on a line with Hefford and centre Caroline Ouellette, Agosta enters the gold-medal game with 14 points.

“Megs and I kind of think the game alike,” said Hefford. “We both play with good speed and like to go to the net on the outside.

“Caroline in the middle is strong and she moves the puck and supports so well. It’s a good combination and there’s been chemistry from the beginning.”

The line was put together in November and combines speed off the wings with Agosta’s scoring instincts and accurate shooting.

“She has such a rocket of a shot,” Ouellette said of Agosta’s 40-per-cent conversion rate.

“She’s always been one of the most talented players and this year she found the confidence, the chemistry with her linemates. Everyone would wish to play with her because she’s so talented.”

Agosta joined the national team in 2004 and is seeking her second straight Olympic gold, to go with a gold and two silvers in world championship competition.

She said building stamina and working harder every shift have been the keys to her success this season.

That work ethic was evident on Cherie Piper’s opening goal, where Agosta controlled the puck in Finland’s end during a line change then fed Piper from behind the net.

“I think I definitely have hockey smarts to be able to read the play,” Agosta said of her scoring instincts.

“I don’t think too much. I guess it just happens.”

Agosta, who leads Canada with 19 goals and 34 points in 20 international games this season, is simply looking to play a tough, Canadian-style brand of hockey against the Americans.

“We’re all talented hockey players,” said Agosta who wears No. 87 at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., and insists it’s a reference to her birth year, not Sidney Crosby.

“We’re all great leaders. We just need to continue to go out there and give it our all. If you battle, great things happen.”

Notes:It was the third consecutive Olympic semifinal between the two countries … Canada won 6-0 in 2006 in Turin and 7-3 in 2002 in Salt Lake City … Agosta had five goals and nine points in six exhibition games against the U.S. this season.

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