Outcome never in doubt
Canadians down Swiss 8-2; will face Czech Republic in semifinals
BUFFALO — What was that about Switzerland having no chance against Canada?
Two days after head coach Christian Wohlwend laughed off any possibility that Switzerland might manage an upset win in the quarter-final, because their opponent “can shoot better, they can pass better — they can do everything better,” Canada certainly proved him right in a one-sided 8-2 win.
Canada will next play the Czech Republic in the semifinal on Thursday, where another blowout is expected as the team makes what should be an easy march back to the championship final.
This time, it’s not a mind game. It’s the reality.
Though Canada did not play the Czech Republic in the preliminary round, the two teams met in a pre-tournament exhibition in London, Ont., with Canada winning 9-0. The Czechs did not have their entire roster for that game and had just landed in Canada, but it’s still not an overstatement to suggest Canada is once again the overwhelming favourite.
Based on Canada’s play at this year’s tournament, you could say that about just about any of the teams they might face.
This might be have started out as a no-name team devoid of top-end superstars. But it’s been a dominant no-name team. Excluding an overtime shootout loss to the U.S played outdoors in a blizzard, there haven’t been any weak spots in Canada’s game.
Drake Batherson scored twice against Switzerland, while Canada also received goals from Cale Makar, Brett Howden, Jordan Kyrou, Conor Timmins, Dillon Dube and Maxime Comtois.
After five games, Canada is outscoring its opponent 28-7. Even the defence, which looked like it might be a concern after Montreal Canadiens’ d-man Victor Mete missed the quarter-final with an undisclosed injury, has gotten better with each game.
Perhaps why the Swiss coach said what he said the other day. Some thought maybe it was a tactic and he was trying to get the Canadians to underestimate its much-weaker opponent. But, it turns out he was begging for mercy.
Canada, which outshot Switzerland 50-15, didn’t provide much.
This might not have been as big a blowout as their 8-1 pre-tournament win against Switzerland. But it was still a vicious beat down. The ice was still wet when Howden scored 48 seconds after the opening puck drop. By the end of the first period, Canada was leading 3-0 and outshooting Switzerland 19-5. After two periods, the Canadians had chased Switzerland’s starting goalie from the net and was ahead 6-1.
You half expected the IIHF to step in and stop the game. That’s how one-sided the game was. Fortunately for Switzerland, Canada stepped off the gas in the second half of the game.
Down 5-0 in the second period, Switzerland changed goalies. It provided a minor spark, with Dario Rohrbach redirecting a point shot from Simon Le Coultre to make it 5-1. Switzerland added another while short-handed in the third period. But by then, the game was done. Even with their fourth liners on the ice, Canada couldn’t help but find the back of the net.
As the Swiss coach had predicted, Canada dominated again. Expect more of the same in the semis.
The pressure is on Canada: Czech coach
The Czechs have heart, as their coach likes to say, but they’re going to need plenty more than that to beat Canada in a semifinal on Thursday.
Canada has owned the Czech Republic in the history of the world junior and the expectation will be the same when the countries meet in a 2018 semifinal on Thursday.
“Everyone thinks Canada is going to beat us, but the pressure is on Canada, right?” Czech coach Filip Pesan said after his team beat Finland 4-3 in a shootout in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
“We have a great big heart and we are fighting (in) the game to win. If you see those guys and see it in their eyes, they want to fight, they want to battle, they want to block the shots and that is why we just made the semifinals.”
Canada and the Czech Republic have met 16 times at the world junior, with the Canadians holding a 13-1-2 record. The Czechs’ lone victory came four years ago; before that, the only success were ties with Canada in 2000 and 1997.
The Czechs have not won a medal at the world junior since 2005, when they took bronze. That came after the country won back-to-back golds, in 2000 and 2001.
This Czech team has some fine talent — forward Filip Zadina, a lock to be a top-five pick in the 2018 NHL draft, scored two goals against Finland to give him five in the tournament, 2017 Carolina first-rounder Martin Necas has been excellent, and goaltender Josef Korenar will be looking to repeat his play in a 51-save performance versus the Finns — but the odds are stacked high against them.
“We can’t be scared,” said Korenar, who signed with the San Jose Sharks last July after going undrafted. “I think it’s going to be a crazy game against Canada.”
Will it be any easier for the Czechs going in as the major underdogs?
“I don’t know,” Korenar said. “We will see.”
Terry Koshan, Postmedia Network