Natalie Spooner scores 1st goal as a mom in Canada's opening win at worlds

Just four weeks after giving birth to son Rory in December, Natalie Spooner returned to the ice with one objective in mind: play for Canada at the world championship.

Mission accomplished.

On Wednesday, about four months after Rory entered the world, Spooner scored her first goal as a mom to key Canada's 4-0 win over Switzerland at the tournament in Brampton, Ont.

Spooner's first-period goal came on the heels of three consecutive penalty kills, including a five-on-three chance for the Swiss, by the Canadians.

Soon after, a Swiss defender turned the puck over in her own zone, landing fortuitously on Spooner's stick in the slot. The 32-year-old native of Scarborough, Ont., made no mistakes in burying the icebreaker.

WATCH | Spooner, Nurse score in 1st period against Switzerland:

"When I finally got to get back on [the ice], I was like, 'Wow, I feel like myself again.' Like I really missed this stuff. That was awesome," Spooner told CBC Sports in March.

"And then just getting back with the girls, [I] just missed that and having all that fun and even like the thrill of big games, even when I was playing in the [PWHPA] it was just like OK, I missed this feeling."

Canadian goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens made 12 saves to record the shutout. Her biggest stops came in the first period, first on those early penalty kills to keep the game tied and then later in the frame when she stonewalled Switzerland's Alina Marti on a breakaway.

Nurse doubled Canada's lead less than three minutes after Spooner's goal, striking quickly on Canada's first power play when her shot bounced off a Swiss skate and into the back of the net.

Earlier in the day, Finland (1-0) destroyed France (0-1) 14-1 while the U.S. (1-0) allowed the opener to Japan