The United States trounced Finland 8-1 and Canada shut out Sweden 10-0 to win their round-robin groups with unbeaten records on Wednesday at the IIHF Women's World Hockey Championship in Norrkoping, Sweden.

　　In the semifinals, Group A winner Canada plays Group B runner-up Finland, while Group B winner United States faces Group A runner-up Sweden.

　　Krissy Wendell led the Americans with two goals and two assists, while defenseman Angela Ruggiero notched one goal and two assists.

　　Backup goalie Megan van Beusekom, who replaced starter Chanda Gunn after two periods, gave up a goal to Finland's Kati Kovalainen in the third period.

　　Finland starter Nova Raty had enough after veteran Cammi Granato, an Olympic champion in 1998 and silver medalist in 2002, made it 4-0 halfway through the game.

　　Kristin King, Jenny Potter, Lyndsay Wall and Shelley Looney scored the other goals for the United States, which outscored the opposition 23-3 in three games.

　　In Linkoping, Gillian Apps scored a hat trick to lead the Canadians, who outscored the opposition 35-0.

　　Apps, whose grandfather is Hockey Hall of Famer Syl Apps, scored her third goal at 11:44 of the third period - just one second after the defending champions killed off a penalty.

　　Danielle Goyette, Carla MacLeod, Cherie Piper, Kelly Bechard, Jennifer Botterill, Hayley Wickenheiser and Vicky Sunohara also scored.

　　Kim St Pierre stopped 14 shots, extending Canada's shutout streak at the tournament to three straight games.

　　Canada, also the Olympic champion, beat the United States in every previous championship final. The only Canadian loss in 40 games came in last year's worlds, when the Americans won a round-robin game 3-1 at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

　　Sweden goalie Kim Martin is world-class, but she had a poor performance against Canada. She gloved a Delaney Collins shot, but then dropped it in her crease. Goyette pounced on it to score on a two-player advantage for Canada's first goal of the night.

　　Martin, 19, who's heading to US college hockey in the fall, lost her stick with a minute left in the first period and a diving Piper deflected the puck past the Swedish goalie for Canada's third goal.

　　Apps scored her second with a sharp-angled shot in the second period. Martin was pulled for Cecilia Anderson after Botterill's goal midway through the second made it 6-0 for Canada.

　　Sweden pressed for a goal late in the second period with a man advantage and hit the post, but could not generate a goal.

　　Sweden and Finland went 2-1 and finished second in Groups A and B, respectively. In an earlier Group A game, Kazakhstan tied Russia 2-2 for its first ever point in a world championship. China tied Germany 3-3 in a Group B game at Norkkoping.

　　The best ever result for the Swedes against Canada was a 1-1 tie in a pre-Olympic exhibition game in 1998. A 3-2 loss to Canada at the Four Nations Cup in November was the closest they'd come in years to an upset.

　　(The Associated Press)