Team Canada skated at the practice rink at Ostravar Arena on Sunday.
With Alexis Lafreniere out for Monday’s game against Germany, Dale Hunter is turning to a familiar face to create a spark. Connor McMichael, who plays for Hunter in London and led the OHL in scoring when he left for the World Juniors, was promoted to a line with Barrett Hayton and Nolan Foote at practice.
“He knows exactly what Dale wants in terms of system, of execution and I think that helps him,” said assistant coach Andre Tourigny. “And he’s confident, it’s nothing new for him. He’s comfy with the expectations so we feel Mike can be the guy who can be the wildcard here.”
McMichael has 25 goals in 27 games this season and is the only Canadian other than Lafreniere to light the lamp during five-on-five play at the World Juniors. The Capitals’ first-round pick in June’s draft has skated mostly on the fourth line since camp opened.
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“He’s a highly-skilled player,” said Hayton. “You see what he’s done in the OHL this year, it’s very impressive, the points and offence he brings, so definitely having him on my wing is really exciting and I thought we were moving it around pretty good out there today.”
TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli has more on Lafreniere’s condition here.
Seravalli: McMichael gets big chance with Lafreniere out against Germany
Mark Masters and Frank Seravalli have the latest on Alexis Lafreniere and why it’s still unclear whether he will or won’t play again in the tournament. They also touch on who will to see more ice-time with Lafreniere not playing against Germany and why Canada’s third goalie Olivier Rodrigue might get a shot between the pipes.
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Dawson Mercer is also getting a bigger role. The first Newfoundland native in 10 years to make Team Canada at the World Juniors, Mercer started the tournament as the 13th forward playing only one minute and one second against the United States on Boxing Day.
“I wanted to make sure I still motivated the guys,” Mercer said of his mindset. “I looked at it as, there’s only one place to go, you can only move up in the line-up.”
Mercer, an 18-year-old draft-eligible right winger, has moved up all the way to the second line with Joe Veleno and Quinton Byfield. It was only two years ago in Buffalo that Tyler Steenbergen started as Canada’s 13th forward before emerging as the hero in the gold-medal game.
“He scored the winning goal back then and I’d love to get to that same situation that he did,” Mercer said with a smile.
Mercer played a season and a half with Veleno in Drummondville although they rarely skated on the same line. Still, there is a familiarity with his game.
“It’s a good feeling being out there with him,” Mercer said.
‘Only one place to go … up’: After starting as 13th forward, Mercer gets big chance
In the wake of Alexis Lafreniere’s injury and uncertain status regarding a return to the lineup, Canada’s 13th forward Dawson Mercer will slot in to his teammates’ spot. Mercer spoke about the big opportunity to play more minutes for Team Canada and the chance to play alongside Joe Veleno, who he has some history with.
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Canada also shuffled two defence pairs to create a more balanced approach, moving Avalanche fourth-overall pick Bowen Byram up to play with Senators prospect Jacob Bernard-Docker.
“Bo Byram is a key player for us,” Tourigny said, “and he’s playing really well right now, and Bernard-Docker as well, so I think it’s a good mix on the three pairings. We have really good puck-moving defencemen and we have defencemen who can defend on all our pairings.”
Kevin Bahl, a shutdown force, skated with the offensive-minded Calen Addison while Jamie Drysdale remained the seventh defenceman.
After giving up 10 goals in two games, the focus is on defending.
“We gave up too much,” Tourigny said. “We need to make sure we take care of our own end and take care of our net front. We gave up too many goals on box-out situations, rebound situations, that kind of stuff, we need to take care of that and then, after, we can think offence.”
The pairing of Ty Smith and Jared McIsaac remained intact.
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Hayton was lost in his own thoughts following the most lopsided loss in Canadian World Juniors history and that’s why the captain says he didn’t remove his helmet for the Russian national anthem.
“I definitely didn’t mean any disrespect,” Hayton said in his first media session since the incident. “I had no intent behind it but, obviously, I have to own my actions.”
Some Russian players, including captain Grigori Denisenko, expressed displeasure with Hayton on the ice and refused to shake his hand.
“I was definitely a little bit confused,” Hayton said, “but after the fact you recognize your mistake.”
Igor Larionov appreciated the apology from Hayton and Hockey Canada.
“That’s junior hockey, sometimes it happens,” the Russian assistant coach said. “Sometimes it happens and it’s a lesson for everybody, not just for Canadian team, but for everybody who is playing. It’s (ethics) and when you’re playing the game you got to respect if you lose or if you win.”
In fact, the Russian team discussed the situation this morning with the coaching staff trying to create a teachable moment.
“It’s got to be first-class responses and if you lose, you know, you have to be respectful and, if you win, same thing,” Larionov said.
Hayton on not removing helmet during anthem: ‘I have to own my actions’
Barrett Hayton issued an apology for wearing his helmet during the Russian national anthem after Canada’s loss to the Russia on Saturday and explained what he was thinking in those moments.
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The scoreboard was ugly on Saturday, but Team Canada believes the fix is easy.
“They had more urgency than us,” observed Tourigny. “Their battle level was higher than ours and that’s something we can control so that’s good news, because if it would’ve been something in the structure or talent or something like that, there’s nothing you can do, you got what you got.”
After beating the Americans on Boxing Day, Canada let its foot off the gas against a hungry Russian team that had lost its opener.
“Humbled is a great word for it,” said Hayton. “We felt a little too good about ourselves.”
“Maybe overconfidence,” said goalie Nico Daws, “maybe just being a little too comfortable, not really knowing what to expect from other teams. You see the Czech Republic beat Russia and you’re kind of wondering like, ‘Are they that good?’ And then you come and not know what to expect and they come out strong, you know, passionate after losing a game and I don’t think we were really expecting that, we weren’t ready for it, but now we know what to expect and we’ll be a lot better.”
Canada hasn’t named a starter for Monday’s game. Tourigny says they are considering every option, including Olivier Rodrigue, who didn’t dress in the first two games. Seravalli has more on the goalie situation here.
All options are on the table for Canada in net
So far its been Nico Daws and Joel Hofer in goal for Canada, but James Duthie and Bob McKenzie explain why there’s a chance their third goalie Olivier Rodrigue could see some action after his involvement was more apparent in practice on Sunday. They also touch on what Canada needs to do better against Germany in their next game.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
