Milan ¨C This time, France was ready.
A year after Japan dominated from start to finish to open the final women¡¯s ice hockey qualifying tournament for the Milano Cortina Games, coach Yuji Iizuka¡¯s squad faced a far stiffer challenge from the French on Friday in Smile Japan¡¯s Olympic opener.
Japan, however, eventually emerged victorious on the back of a late tally from forward Makoto Ito in a tight 3-2 defensive battle in which both goalies stood tall.
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