Canada-USA taking rivalry outdoors for historic game
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Whether it’s indoors or now outdoors, Canada coach Dominique Ducharme doesn’t expect the bitter elements to chill the cross-border hockey rivalry his nation has developed against the United States.
“We’re rivals. It’s always been tight games. And we expect a tight game (today),” Ducharme said Thursday after Canada’s junior team held a brief practice on the temporary rink built on the turf of the NFL Buffalo Bills’ home, New Era Field.
“Yes, it’s going to be played outdoors. But once it starts, game on.”
Bundle up, because Canada and the United States are taking their differences outside today, when the teams meet in the preliminary round of the 10-nation world junior hockey championship. Puck-drop is projected for noon PT. It will be the first international game played outdoors and is expected to draw more than 40,000 fans, which would set an International Ice Hockey Federation attendance record.
It’s also expected to be cold, with temperatures forecast to range between -9 to -6 C.
Canada is 2-0 after beating Finland 4-2 and Slovakia 6-0.
The U.S. opened with a 9-0 victory over Denmark on Tuesday before falling 3-2 to Slovakia on Thursday.
Today’s winner will get the edge in the Pool A seeding, and would be expected to get an easier matchup in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
After the Americans tested the outdoor ice on Wednesday, it was the Canadians’ turn under a bright, blue sky on Thursday.
It felt just like home, Canadian goalie Carter Hart said, recalling the many times he spent skating on a large outdoor rink in the backyard of Canada teammate Sam Steel’s home outside of Edmonton.
“Feeling that kind of cold air and runny noses, and cold feet: It was really cool,” said Hart, who wore black tape under his eyes to help deflect the sun.
Hart will get the start in his first meeting against the Americans since allowing Troy Terry’s deciding shootout goal in Canada’s 5-4 defeat in the championship game at Montreal last January.
“Honestly, I’m not too worried about that right now,” Hart said. “It’s over and done with.”
Though Canada holds a 33-10-3 edge over the United States at the world juniors, the Americans have been on a run of late. The U.S. has won the past three meetings, and split the past 10 games since a 6-5 overtime win over Canada in the 2010 championship game.
Tournament organizers gave the final go-ahead to have the game played outdoors during a brief meeting Thursday after concerns were raised over the dropping temperatures.
Of the NHL’s 26 regular-season games played outdoors, five have been played with temperatures below 20 degrees (-7 C). That includes this year’s NHL 100 Classic in Ottawa, when the game-time temperature was measured at -10 C.
The coldest was the NHL’s first outdoor game at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium in 2003, when the temperature was -18 C.
The Bills’ stadium was the site of the NHL’s first Winter Classic in 2008, when the Buffalo Sabres played Pittsburgh with light snow falling and a game-time temperature of 0.5 C.
Canadian captain Dillon Dube said the uneven ice conditions will force both teams to play a simpler style, placing an emphasis on short passes and offences chipping the puck into the opponent’s end.
“It’s going to be a meat-and-potatoes game. That’s going to be the fun part about it: old-time hockey,” Dube said. “But definitely, this game being outdoors is going to be just crazy.
“We were working on simple chips, simple plays,” added Dube, who thinks that being adaptable and consistent for a full 60 minutes will be crucial.
A 30-minute practice was enough to convince Canadian defenceman Dante Fabbro that there’s no way to prepare for the cold of an outdoor hockey game.
“I don’t think there’s any strategy for staying warm out there, it’s pretty cold,” Fabbro said, eyeblack still on his cheeks. “First five minutes it was freezing, I couldn’t even feel my face. But after the first five, it was a lot better, kinda got warm. That’s all you can really do.”
It was -10 C — without windchill — when Canada stepped on the ice for practice in the mid-afternoon.
Ducharme had chosen a time close to the start time for today’s game so his team could get used to the glare reflecting off the ice at that time of day.
Fabbro is the only player on Canada’s roster to have been in a competitive outdoor game before, when his Boston University Terriers beat the UMass Minutemen 5-3 on Jan. 7 at Fenway Park. Fabbro’s strongest memory from that experience was how cold it could get on the bench.
“I had my first shift and I tried to have a sip of the water and the nozzle was frozen,” said Fabbro. “Ice was tough too, because there was a lot of games going on at Fenway. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s a hard game too — especially with a lot of stakes on the line.”
Ice conditions will be a major factor against the Americans. The ice can break off in chunks when players dig their skates in for speed, with starting goaltender Carter Hart noting that it made it a little more difficult for him to move laterally.
The sky was clear on Thursday afternoon, but forecasts for Orchard Park, N.Y., predicted some flurries at game time today.
Canada’s roster has been built around speed, so struggling to dig in on the ice could slow them down. But the American team also emphasizes quickness, so both teams will be handicapped.
Canada’s defensive corps was glad to have the day off and a short practice after back-to-back games to start the tournament.
Several Canadian defenceman have struggled with injuries. Fabbro has been working himself back into game shape after sitting out four of five pre-competition games (lower-body contusion); Kale Clague missed Wednesday’s win over Slovakia after blocking a shot with his foot in Tuesday’s victory against Finland; and Jake Bean saw limited minutes against Slovakia after a bad spill knocked the wind out of him.
However, all three practised on Thursday and are expected to be back in the lineup against the United States.
As veterans of Canada’s heartbreaking shootout loss to the Americans in last year’s final, Fabbro, Clague and Bean are anxious to get another crack at their rivals.
“I don’t know if anyone’s over it yet,” said Bean. “It’s kinda something that’s in the back of your mind . . . and a lot of guys are excited to get back out there against them.”