Canada building toward special finish
Hosts appear to be on a golden march at juniors
EDMONTON • After routs of 16-2 and 10- 0 in the preliminary round, it was hard to tell if that was Canada’s power talking or the predictable carnage that comes from playing second tier opponents at the world junior hockey championship.
Things are getting clearer after Canada’s 4-1 win over Finland on New Year’s Eve.
In reducing a hockey power like Finland to little more than a sparring partner, outshooting them 17-1 in the first period of a game that could have been every bit as lopsided as the beatings they hung on Germany and Switzerland, it’s time to start wondering if maybe the Canadians are just that good.
Despite the early hardships, this team seems to be gaining strength by the day, going from multiple quarantines and the loss of their captain to an undefeated berth in the quarter- final Saturday against the Czech Republic.
Despite the hardships? Head coach Andre Tourigny says the growth and progress we’re seeing now might be because of them.
“Two things always help, overcoming adversity and winning,” he said of a team that’s doing a lot of both. “Hopefully, we’ll keep going.” Calgary Flames prospect Connor Zary said the early hurdles they had to overcome made the team stronger faster, and Canada’s early success might be as much about camaraderie off the ice as skill on it.
“Honestly, it’s how quickly we came together,” he said, when asked about what strikes him most about what Canada’s done so far. “We’re all here for the same common goal, to win a gold medal, but everyone enjoys being around each other. All our personalities kind of jell together. Every guy is super friendly and wants the best for each other and is doing it for the team and not themselves.”
The numbers are gaudy. Four wins, no losses. A 33- 4 goal differential. A 33.3 per cent power play efficiency. A starting goalie with a goalsagainst average of 0.82 and a .950 save percentage. Ten of 13 skaters running at a point-per-game clip or better — and the three who aren’t having combined for seven points.
Granted, those numbers are padded by some sacrificial lambs, but you don’t have to look very hard to see the early signs of something special.
Tourigny, of course, wants to shoot that angle down before it gets into his players’ heads.
“We played well, but we need to remain humble,” he said. “We had a really good game ( against Finland), but against Slovakia people were asking questions because we were up only 2-1 in the third period. One game doesn’t dictate who you are as a team. We need to remain humble. We have a lot of work to do.
“And in reality, the works starts now because it’s do or die. When you play against Finland you want to win, but it’s not do or die. Now we need to get down to business and make sure we’re focused and urgent on the task and patient with the outcome.”
Which brings them to the quarter-final.
Normally, you would chalk this up as another opportunity to for the Canadians to flex their muscle against an easy out — the fourth- place Czechs lost 7-1 to Sweden and 7- 0 to the United States — but they also have a set of Russian antlers on their wall to prove they can take down a contender.
“People don’t give enough credit to the Czechs,” said Tourigny. “They were in the pool with the U. S., Sweden and Russia and they have only two players on their full roster who are not even or plus. And that’s playing against elite opponents night after night.
“They’re a really good fiveon- five team, again, against elite countries. They beat the Russians.”
That’s a bit of a concern given that the Czechs might be playing a better version of the style Slovakia used to throw that 3-1 scare into Canada last Sunday. The Slovaks tightened things up, clogged up the scoring areas and found themselves in a 1- 0 game with four minutes to go in the third period. That’s also how the Czechs beat Russia 2- 0 the same day.
“They have a lot of similar things to the Slovaks, but I think we’re a better team now than we were against the Slovaks,” said Tourigny. “The same is true for them, they got better during the tournament. They collapse in the neutral zone and the same thing in their zone. They play five guys tight and block a ton of shots.
“We need to make sure we play with urgency and stay patient with the outcome, not focusing on the score, but the way we have to play. We need to dig in and score dirty goals. It’s going to be a challenging game.”
❚ ❚ LATE HITS — Winger Alex Newhook, who left the last game with a shoulder issue, is questionable for the quarter- final. Tourigny said if they had to play the game Friday he would have been out, but they’ll take another look at him Saturday … Zary, who signed his entry level deal with the Flames on Thursday, could only spend a short time savouring the moment. “I’m focusing on Team Canada and the task at hand, but there comes a point where you have to get involved. So it was on my mind a bit.”