Richmond, B.C. - When Team Canada struggled today at the 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championship, what they needed was a little girl power. Though Canada trailed Finland by as much as four points during the first quarter, a lineup featuring Miranda Biletski and Erika Schmutz helped the team take back the momentum and come out with another win.

The Canadians got off to a rocky start against #11-ranked Finland, racking up a series of violations and fouls early that resulted in turnovers. The speed of Finnish star Leevi Ylönen, who impressed fans with his 32-goal game yesterday against Sweden, also proved difficult to contain. By the end of the first quarter, the Canadians found themselves down 10 to 13.

Though Canada was able to re-group in the second quarter, getting Finland to turn the ball over proved to be more difficult. Luckily, London’s David Willsie and Owen Sound’s Jason Crone amped up the team’s intensity and it wasn’t long before Canada forced two twelve-second violations in a row and found themselves up 21 to 20.

Team Canada didn’t pull ahead, however, until a lineup featuring Windsor’s Schmutz and Regina’s Biletski came on the court alongside BC’s Garett Hickling and Harrow, Ontario’s Mike Whitehead. Schmutz and Biletski are two of only five female athletes at the event and they both provided key stops and steals. Biletski, who didn’t play in yesterday’s match against Great Britain, was particularly impressive during her first major international game.

“We got off to a bit of a slow start, but that just proves out training and how it paid off,” said Biletski after the game. “This is my first major tournament. I’m the baby of the group, so I get a little sheltered by the boys. It’s an awesome, an amazing experience.”

The lineup played the bulk of the second half, propelling Canada to a 55-46 victory. When the buzzer sounded, a sold-out crowd of school children went wild banging thunder sticks and doing the wave. They later crowded the court to get autographs from their favourite players.

“This is my first World Championships and to have it here in Vancouver is amazing: the fans, the support, the people, having family here,” said Schmutz. “It’s been very intense. Everyone is here to play and everyone is here to win. No one wants to go home losing.”

Even the Finnish team was happy with the way the game turned out.

“It was an amazing game,” said Finnish captain Toni Pilspanen. “We didn’t expect it to be like this. It gives us encouragement for the next game. It was great fun.”

On the other court, Team Sweden and Team Great Britain battled it out in a game that came down to the final seconds. Great Britain lost yesterday against Team Canada and a loss in this game would bump them out of medal contention. With only a few seconds remaining, GB was down 46-45 with the ball. Mandip Sehmi passed the ball to Ross Morrison, but it went wide and the young Swedish team claimed the victory.

“We had to win,” said Sweden’s Per-Johan Uhlmann. “Losing a game is the worst thing that could happen.”

“It was a tough game,” said British player Mandip Sehmi. “Another pass would have made the difference. It’s just unfortunately, really…but we showed a lot of character coming back the way we did.”

The action continues tonight at the Richmond Olympic Oval, when Canada will take on Germany at 7 pm.

Team Canada’s quest to become 2010 world champions on home soil continues with the following games:

Wednesday, Sept 22 7 pm Canada vs. Germany
Thursday, Sept 23 Noon Canada vs. Sweden
Friday, Sept 24 7 pm Canada vs. USA

Photographs of today's games are available at http://www.2010wwrc.com/media/media-kit. Please credit BC Wheelchair Sports Association (BCWSA)/Kevin Bogetti-Smith.