Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Drive for Five is Complete

IIHF.com

SCOTIABANK PLACE - Canada has done it. By defeating Sweden 5-1 at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, the host nation has won gold for the fifth straight year, a level of success matched only by the Canadians from 1993 to 1997.

Sweden had to settle for silver for the second straight year. Leading the way for Canada was goalie Dustin Tokarski, who was aided by a defence that got stick and body in the way of countless Swedish shots on goal. The result capped a perfect six-win run at this tournament for Canada, which outscored the opposition 46-12.

The team was coached by Pat Quinn, a “Curious Case of Benjamin Button” figure who has coached younger and younger teams as he has gotten older. And so, at 65, he is the oldest Canadian gold-medal coach in World U20 Championship history. A tournament-record crowd of 20,380 took in the game.

Cody Hodgson had a pair for the defending champions, and P.K. Subban, Angelo Esposito, and Jordan Eberle also scored for Canada. Joakim Andersson replied for Sweden.

Sweden didn’t get the start it was looking for. After a scrum in front of goalie Jacob Markstrom, Mikael Backlund took an unnecessary--and undisciplined--penalty just 22 seconds after the opening faceoff. And just 16 seconds later, P.K. Subban jammed the puck home for an early 1-0 lead, much to the delight of the 20,380 fans, most of whom were decked out in red and white.

The rest of the period was evenly played. The Swedes skated their jitters away, and although Canada had a few good scoring chances, it couldn’t add a second goal. Cody Hodgson had the best chance toward the end of the period on a fine rush down the middle, but his quick shot slipped through Markstrom’s pads and out the other side.

Canada started the second period sluggishly and Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi had a great chance early on, but Tokarski stopped the deke calmly. At 3:31, Angelo Esposito and Markstrom collided while chasing a puck in the faceoff circle.

Markstrom went down in a heap, but he was 20 feet out of his crease and fair game in the eyes of the Russian and Swiss referees. Defenceman Victor Hedman wrestled Esposito to the ground, and although no penalties were called on the play, Hedman was booed mercilessly by the fans for the rest of the game.

Just 35 seconds later, Esposito made a stunning play, coming out of the corner on his backhand and roofing a shot to the far side to beat Markstrom. The goal lifted the crowd off their feet and gave Canada a commanding 2-0 lead. The play not only added to Canada’s goal total but took all the wind out of Sweden’s sails, and much of the rest of the period was played in Markstrom’s end of the ice.

Later in the period, Markstorm was involved in another collision, this while heading to the bench on a delayed penalty. He collided with Stefan Della Rovere and both players received minors for their various antics (roughing and interference, respectively). Indeed, Canada spent much of the game going hard to the crease and disturbing Markstrom’s blue-ice tranquility. The fans added Markstrom’s name to the booing list, and even though Canada ran into a bit of penalty trouble, it still went to the dressing room after 40 minutes with a two-goal lead.

Canada made it 3-0 just 33 seconds into the third period thanks to a quick screened shot from the point by Hodgson. The power play goal was the result of a Backlund interference penalty at the end of the second. The goal more or less sealed the victory for Canada, although the Swedes never gave up.

Sweden called a time-out with 2:41 remaining, but to no avail. Jordan Eberle sealed Canada's victory with an empty-netter at 18:07, and Hodgson added another with less than half a minute left. Confetti showered everywhere as the crowd rejoiced. Canada remains on top of the junior hockey world.

Shots on goal favoured Sweden 40-31.

Overall tournament attendance was 453,282, a new all-time mark.



(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

No comments: