Stephens makes statement in return
Tampa prospect nets three points as Canada eliminates Czech Republic in quarter-final
MMONTREAL itchell Stephens didn’t want to talk about it.
“Next question,” he said when asked about the undisclosed injury that had kept the Team Canada forward out of the lineup for the previous two games.
The point was that whatever had been bothering Stephens was no longer an issue. And in a 5-3 quarter-final win against the Czech Republic, he proved it.
Stephens, who had gone without a point in the first two games before getting injured in a preliminary round game against Slovakia, broke out with a goal and two assists in his return on Monday night. It was the type of game-breaking performance that Canada had been missing when it lost 3-1 to the United States in the final round robin game on Saturday.
The team now faces undefeated Sweden on Wednesday in semifinal action.
Sweden was an 8-3 winner in its quarter-final game against Slovakia on Monday.
“Obviously, it’s good to be back for sure,” said Stephens. “I guess my main focus is to help the team win. It’s awesome. It’s nerve-racking for sure. The emotions are high … you have to put everything you have on the line, every shift.”
Canada had crushed the Czech Republic 8-0 and 5-0 in a pair of pre-tournament games. Since then, Canada had cruised to the medal round, outscoring its opponents 21-8, while the Czech Republic managed just one win in four games. But the quarter-final was a different beast. As a single-elimination game, anything could happen. It usually does. And the players, many of who had been on the losing side of a 6-5 decision to Finland in last year’s quarter-final, were well aware of it.
This year’s quarter-final against the Czech Republic was not much different. Despite crushing the Czechs in a pair of pre-tournament games, Monday night’s game featured a much different team than Canada had last saw.
Still, no one could have predicted that the game would be this close — or that the game would start so poorly for Canada.
The Czechs not only scored the game’s first goal, they got it on the luckiest of bounces, with goalie Connor Ingram stopping a shot but having the rebound ricochet off a referee’s backside and onto the waiting stick of David Kase.
Canada settled down and took a 2-1 lead in the second period, thanks to a couple of smart plays from Stephens.
The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect, who has 28 points in 22 games in the Ontario Hockey League this season, has been used in an energy-type role for Canada at the world juniors. And whether his team was down a goal or tied, Stephens provided the much-needed spark.
Shortly after Mathieu Joseph stole a clearing attempt, Stephens took a pass down low and found Blake Speers in front of the net for a redirect. Stephens gave Canada a 2-1 lead when he beat the Czech goalie from the top of the faceoff circle.
With the score tied 2-2, Stephens picked up his second assist of the game setting up defenceman Thomas Chabot, who toe-dragged around a Czech defender and scored his third goal of the tournament.
“I think we have a different team this year,” said Stephens. “We started off better this tournament with a win against the Russians on Boxing Day and we had good momentum going into the tournament.”
And yet, this one wasn’t easy. Not by a long stretch.
Every time Canada tried to distance itself from the Czech Republic, its opponent kept nipping at its heels, trying to close the gap.
Canada’s Julien Gauthier made it 4-2 in the third period. And the Czechs scored less than two minutes later to make it 4-3. Gauthier scored again to make it 5-3 and the Czechs kept pressing, looking for more.
Part of the reason why Canada was able to hang on was partly because of Ingram, who stopped eight of 10 shots in the third period. But the bigger reason was because Canada kept pressing as well.
“Don’t take anything easy,” Gauthier had said of learning from last year’s quarter-final loss. “We know we have a good team. We know we have skill and that we can become strong and offensive. We have an allaround pretty good game, so we’re pretty confident.”
Confident, maybe, but the team cannot be content with the win. Not if it plans on advancing past Sweden in the semifinal.