‘Little Ball of Hate’ Canada’s hero
Marchand’s last-minute game-winner caps late rally over Europe
TORONTO — The moment called for a hero.
A special moment in what was at times a not-so-special tournament.
And so, how fitting, how poetic, that it would come with one unforgettable flick of the wrists from diminutive Brad Marchand, a player nicknamed The Little Ball of Hate.
We know this much: No one in Canada will despise him Friday morning.
Team Canada won the World Cup of Hockey Thursday night on a Marchand goal with 43.1 seconds remaining. It was short-handed. It was unexpected. And, in giving Canada its dramatic 2-1 tournament-clinching victory over Europe, it was a goal for the ages.
Maybe not in your household, but certainly in Marchand’s.
“It is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” he said, his voice crackling with emotion. “I’m having a hard time finding the words ... “I’ll never forget this.” He’s not the only one. According to linemate Sidney Crosby, the author of the famed Golden Goal in the Vancouver Olympics, these are once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
And this one provided an electrifying snapshot in time as part of an event that, frankly, hadn’t produced all that many. The best was saved for last. For more than 56 minutes of drama-less hockey, both Team Canada and the crowd in the stands lacked energy. Here was Team Europe, a roster of players from eight countries thrown together just for this event, holding a 1-0 lead thanks to a first period Zdeno Chara goal.
Playing a boring, suffocating, effective checking style, coach Ralph Krueger’s underdogs appeared well on their way to forcing a Game 3.
But the top player in the world wasn’t about to let that happen.
Crosby came into the game as the tournament’s leading scorer with nine points. Now, with the game on the line, when Canada needed to change the momentum, it was Crosby who orchestrated it, starting the play that led to Patrice Bergeron’s power play equalizer with less than three minutes remaining.
The Air Canada Centre went bonkers. So did hockey fans across the country.
However, just when it appeared the rink was tilting towards the Team Europe net, Canada’s Drew Doughty took a high-sticking penalty. Cheers turned to gasps.
At one point, Marian Hossa found himself alone in front of Carey Price. Hossa has buried those chances so many times before. This time, Price had the last laugh.
Then, as the clock ticked down into the final minute, penalty killer Jonathan Toews lugged the puck into the Team Europe zone. Marchand jumped off the bench. He looked to find open ice. He did. Toews found him.
Seconds later, he found the back of the net — and new-found stardom.
“It’s just crazy the way everything worked out,” said Crosby, the tournament MVP. “When you get a penalty that late in the game, you’re just trying to force overtime.”
Five years earlier, during a visit to the White House as a member of the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, Marchand was called The Little Ball of Hate by President Barack Obama. Now, here he was, the most beloved player in this country.
“It’s funny,” Marchand said. “Even in training camp in Ottawa, I was hearing some boos. It just shows how this entire country backs you up and gets behind this team.
“It’s the biggest stage in the world right now and it’s an incredible honour.”
In winning the World Cup, Canada has now won 16 consecutive games with Mike Babcock behind the bench. It isn’t always pretty, to be sure. But it definitely is effective.
And you never know who the hero might be.
On this night, it was a man known as The Little Ball of Hate, a man who today is feeling a whole lotta love.