Now, the real work begins
Canada needs to win the equivalent of three Game 7s if it wants to achieve its golden goal
GANGNEUNG — The spring of 2011 is one that Team Canada captain Chris Kelly will never forget, a marathon that put the veteran forward through the wringer of the ultimate hockey test.
Hoisting the Stanley Cup at the end of it was the prize for Kelly then, but it took three Game 7 wins with his Boston Bruins to reach the pinnacle of his sport.
To get the ultimate prize at the Olympics, Kelly and his Canadian teammates will have to win the equivalent of three more Game 7s starting with a date against Finland in Wednesday’s quarter-final.
In a tournament that so far has been about jockeying for position, it’s time to get serious.
“I like to describe it as you feel sick,” Kelly said when asked what it’s like to be in a one-game elimination situation. “Excitement. Nervousness. It’s all good energy. When you’re playing hockey as a game on the street you’re dreaming about the Olympics or you’re dreaming about the Stanley Cup. To have the opportunity to experience both I could pinch myself right now.”
So far, the Canadian team has matter-of-factly taken care of business, getting through the elimination round without a regulation time loss. They were particularly strong in a win against the Swiss, were game in a shootout loss to the Czechs and turned it on in the third period to breeze by the host nation.
Things get considerably more difficult now, however, starting with the Finns. If the Canadians get through and the bracket holds to form, Sweden would be the semifinal opponent and the favoured Russians in the gold medal game.
It’s not an ideal draw, one created by that narrow shootout defeat. But the Canadians feel they can contend for the
brightest of medals.
“There’s always going to be the thought that your quarter-final game could be against a lesser opponent but there’s no controlling that,” Team Canada general manager Sean Burke told Postmedia. “You lose a game in a shootout and that’s the way the draw falls.
“Ultimately to win a tournament like this you’re going to have to beat good teams at the right time. The Finns are a very, very good hockey team. I see this game as being every bit as intense as the next game or the final would be.
“But I don’t think the (Finns) are sitting around thinking it’s great that they’ve drawn Canada in the semifinal, either.”
On the plus side, Canada has surrendered just three goals in three games and is getting production from all four lines. For the most part, the players have worked hard enough to make up for the lack of talent and have put themselves in the mix of a tournament that remains wide open.
“It’s like what we expected, it’s been a very competitive tournament,” Burke said.
“I like our character. I like our leadership. I like that we’re saying the right things and that the guys believe it.
“But it’s talk. At the end of it all you’ve got to do it on the ice and I think we can all say we’re at that phase where it’s all in the results at this point.”
The Finns would certainly provide a stout test for Canada, with a young fast squad reflective of what’s going on with the sport in that Nordic country. Of note is first-round pick Eeli Tolvanen an offensive wizard who had a pair of goals in a win against Norway and has been on the Finns top line and power play.
While Burke and coach Willie Desjardins profess to be pleased with the effort and the results so far, both acknowledge that the ability to go deep in the medal round will require something more.
So how do you summon that Game 7 mentality his captain talks about?
“I think it’s going to be automatic,” said longtime NHL veteran Derek Roy, arguably Canada’s best player so far. “It’s pretty easy to manufacture when you’re putting on the jersey and getting ready for the game. Obviously you’re thinking about what you have to do on the ice and that everyone back home is cheering you one.
“It’s going to be a lot of emotion and excitement.”
It remains to be seen just where Canada fits with the contenders, but with the Russians the only team having any sort of favoured status, Burke believes they are right there with the Finns, Swedes and Czechs.
“I like what I’ve seen so far but you’re always looking for more,” Burke said. “We’re at the point you want to get to, the games that matter, We all know you’re not going to get away with being lucky. You have to work to get your wins but you do need some things to fall into place for you.”
Ultimately to win a tournament like this you’re going to have to beat good teams at the right time. The Finns are a very, very good hockey team. I see this game as being every bit as intense as the next game or the final would be.
Canada GM Sean Burke