Operation Aquarium took place under the cover of darkness, at a suburban Vancouver arena, even while the women's Olympic hockey tournament was in mid-stream.

Canada's team, which beat the United States 2-0 last night for its third straight Olympic gold medal, had played nearly 60 games before Gretzky and friends lit the cauldrons, most of them against midget boys' teams in Alberta. Yet head coach Melody Davidson wasn't satisfied, so two more tests were arranged after the team arrived at base camp in the athletes' village.

The Vancouver North West Giants of the B.C. Major Midget League served as the opponents at the Burnaby Winter Club, games played before family and friends and kept secret so distractions could be avoided.

"How does that not end up on Facebook?" Davidson asked, saying dozens were in attendance for an intimate look at Canadian Olympians.

The teams played on Feb. 11, the eve of the opening ceremonies, and on Feb. 19, in between the preliminary and medal rounds, when Canada had a four-day repose.

The players talked about going to "the aquarium," and the games were listed as "team activity" on the official itinerary. One night, the bus even broke down, and the women needed alternate transportation back to the village.

The ladies won the first game, than practised some scenarios specific to a U.S. gold-medal matchup in the second, because they outscored their three preliminary-round opponents 41-2, and needed a challenge.

"We had to stay sharp," said Davidson, the first coach in Olympic history to win back-to-back championships. "We were winning 18-0 and 13-1." Mission accomplished.

Goaltender Shannon Szabados was impenetrable, making 28 saves, and teenage puck wizard Marie-Philip Poulin scored both goals in a 2-0 victory over the Americans at Canada Hockey Place.

Poulin, so young that she was placed on the fourth line, scored both goals in a three-minute span of the first period. Earlier in the tournament, Sweden's head coach Peter Elander said the 18-year-old would be the best female player in the world by the 2014 Games, but the Beauceville, Que. native announced herself a quadrennial early. Penalty-killing was also a part of the victory equation, and the Canadians wiped out five U.S. power plays, including two five-on-three advantages.

In one such scenario in the first period, captain Hayley Wickenheiser blocked a shot with the Maple Leaf crest in the centre of her chest. In the second period, again down two players, Sarah Vaillancourt blocked two blasts from U.S. defenceman Angela Ruggiero.

"We weren't afraid of blocking shots," Vaillancourt said, "and we knew that's what we had to do on five-on-threes." The Americans entered the game as the two-time world champions and the No. 1 ranked team in the world, but they received a lesson in winning from the home team. The Canadians were excellent across the board, and kept their arch-rivals off the top step of the podium - a place the U.S. has not been since the 1998 Nagano Games.

"This one takes the cake," said veteran defenceman Becky Kellar, who has played in all four women's Olympic tournaments. "We've been on the ice so much this year. We played 60 games, and we practised every situation that could be thrown at us. We were prepared for everything."

Canadian forward Meghan Agosta, who finished tied for the Olympic goal-scoring lead with nine, was named tournament MVP. Szabados was voted best goaltender, after permitting zero goals in two elimination games.

A sea of red in the stands included Prime Minister Stephen Harper, seated alongside Wayne Gretzky. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff was there in a Canadian sweater, and so was actor Michael J. Fox. Steve Yzerman, the executive director of Canada's men's Olympic team, spoke to the ladies before the game, and their male counterparts watched from rafters, soaking in every drop.

"I looked up in the stands and saw a sign that said 'Proud to be Canadian,'" Szabados said. "And that's what I am today."

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