Canada defends title by blanking Switzerland 3-0
DAVOS, Switzerland — Canada extended its dominant run at the Spengler Cup on Sunday in shutout fashion.
Kevin Poulin made 36 saves as Canada blanked Switzerland 3-0 to win the tournament for the third straight time.
Zach Boychuk and Maxim Noreau scored in the second period and David McIntyre added an insurance goal in the third.
It was the first time a team has won three straight titles at the event since Canada won four in a row from 1995-98.
“We had a special group,” Poulin said of the roster that included Kelowna’s Curtis Hamilton. “We played well, we played hard and we played the Team Canada way all along. I think we deserved to win.”
Canada caught a break on the game’s opening goal at Vaillant Arena.
Noreau’s shot hit Boychuk’s leg and eluded Swiss goaltender Leonardo Genoni midway through the second period.
Less than four minutes later, Canada won a clean faceoff and Noreau blasted a shot from the point to make it 2-0. McIntyre put the game away when he spun in the slot and squeezed a shot under Genoni’s arm.
Poulin held off the Swiss pressure in the final period. His best stop was a highlightreel pad save on Damien Brunner with about two minutes left.
Canada won all four games and outscored the opposition 17-6. The title is the 15th for Canada overall, tying host HC Davos for the most in tournament history.
“It’s exciting, it’s an old tournament and it’s a hard tournament to win,” said Canada coach Willie Desjardins.
The six-team competition was the last of five Olympic tune-up events for Canada, which will start to finalize its roster for the Games in the coming days.
An Olympic team announcement is expected around Jan. 11.
“This group just made it tougher (to make selections),” Desjardins said. “We had lots of guys that played great and gave themselves a better chance because of today.”
The Pyeongchang Games are set for Feb. 9-25.
Gionta named captain as U.S. unveils Olympic roster
NEW YORK — Without the ability to pick from a generation of young American stars, USA Hockey is leaning on a longtime NHL winger as captain and hopes that a diverse roster can capture an Olympic medal.
At the Winter Classic on Monday, the U.S. named veteran Brian Gionta captain as it unveiled its roster for the Pyeongchang Olympics, the first games without NHL players since 1994. There’s no Patrick Kane, Johnny Gaudreau, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel or Jonathan Quick.
The U.S. men’s hockey team is made up of Gionta, four college players, three from the American Hockey League and 15 playing in professional leagues across Europe.
“We really like our roster,” said general manager Jim Johannson. “It’s a group that brings versatility and experience and includes players who have a lot of passion about representing our country.”
Denver’s Troy Terry, Boston University’s Jordan Greenway, St. Cloud State’s Will Borgen and Harvard’s Ryan Donato are the NCAA players who should give the U.S. a shot of youth. Terry and Greenway won world-junior gold with the U.S. last year.
“I get the opportunity to go over there and show everyone what I can do,” Greenway said. “I would have never (thought I’d) been saying to myself I will probably be playing in the Olympics in my junior year of college.”
This isn’t a rag-tag bunch of college kids like the 1980 “Miracle On Ice,” the last time the U.S. men’s hockey team won the Olympic gold medal. The goal was to build a team of varying talents that could compete with two-time defending champion Canada and favoured Russia, so much of the roster is seasoned.
With 1,006 games played over 15 seasons, the 38-year-old Gionta has by far the most NHL experience of the 23 players named. A total of 15 players have appeared in the NHL, including AHL star Chris Bourque and European-based forwards Mark Arcobello and Jim Slater and defencemen James Wisniewski and Bobby Sanguinetti.
“I think it’s a great mix of young talent and veteran players with a lot of international experience,” said Sanguinetti, who was a first-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2006. “Excited to get together in a month.”
Tony Granato, who played at the 1988 Olympics and now coaches at Wisconsin, will be behind the bench in South Korea.
The U.S. lost the bronze-medal game to Finland in 2014 and got the silver in Vancouver in 2010. The U.S. faces Slovenia in its Olympic opener on Feb. 14.