Team Canada held a limited media availability at Ostravar Arena on Sunday. Team Russia held a full morning skate. Mark Masters has more.
Team Canada captain Barrett Hayton is officially listed as a game-time decision for the gold-medal game.
“He’s working with our medical staff in there right now and doing his treatment and trying to get himself ready,” said assistant coach Mitch Love. “We got a lot of hours here before puck drop so we’ll see where he’s at.”
The Arizona Coyotes centre, who is tied for the tournament scoring lead with 11 points, crashed into the boards in the third period of Saturday night’s semifinal win over Finland. Hayton could be heard yelling in pain before leaving the ice favouring his left arm.
“He’s been getting treatment,” said teammate Joe Veleno. “We saw him this morning, he’s got nothing on his shoulder really so, you know, he seems fine right now.”
That may be wishful thinking. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reported the initial outlook for Hayton wasn’t positive and while the 19-year-old hasn’t been officially ruled out, he’s a long-shot to play.
Sounds like outlook on Canada ?? captain Barrett Hayton’s injury is not positive. He hasn’t been ruled out and team plans to reevaluate in the morning, but the belief going to bed Sat night was that Hayton is a bit of a long shot to play in the gold medal game. #WorldJuniors
Dealing with the absence of a star player is nothing new for this Canadian team. They won twice without Alexis Lafreniere and Veleno missed one of those games due to suspension. Nolan Foote was ejected less than one minute into the quarterfinal win over Slovakia and then in the semifinal game top-pair defenceman Bowen Byram was a late scratch due to illness.
“It’s a resilient group,” said Love. “We’ve dealt with a lot of adversity in this event so far and here we are again today with a chance to play the Russians for a gold medal.”
“You know what, sometimes it’s tricky,” said Russian assistant coach Igor Larionov, “when you got the best players out, sometimes the guys who play do some extra effort. We have to be prepared. We got some people also who are injured and playing through the pain.”
Seravalli: Hayton seems like a longshot to play in gold-medal game
Barrett Hayton’s painful looking injury doesn’t seem to bode well for his status in Sunday’s final against Russia but there is still a chance he may be healthy enough to play. Mark Masters is joined by Frank Seravalli to discuss the latest on his injury and comment on the confidence exuding from Canada as it prepares for some revenge against Russia.
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Byram is likely to play tonight.
“He’s doing better,” said Love. “He was at breakfast this morning, which is a good sign. He’ll be a game-time decision as well.”
Byram isn’t the only Canadian player who’s been dealing with a nasty flu bug. Calen Addison missed practice on Wednesday and others have been impacted as well.
“It was going around a little bit, but guys seem to be all good this morning,” said Veleno. “We saw everyone this morning at breakfast so it’s a good sign. It’s the gold-medal game so whether you’re sick or not I think all the guys will be ready to go.”
“There’s been a little bit of an illness,” said defenceman Ty Smith, “but that’s kind of caused guys to step up like (Jamie Drysdale) did last night and that helps build a stronger team because guys get more touches and more confidence.”
Love confirmed that Hayton and Byram are the only two question marks for Team Canada Sunday.
Depth delivers for Canada in dominant win
With Bowen Byram out with the flu, 17-year-old Jamie Drysdale moved up in the lineup and made an immediate impact with a goal. The World Junior panel has more on that, Barrett Hayton’s injury, and what happened the last time Canada and Russia met in the gold medal game.
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Canada’s first real bout with adversity came when Russia handed them a 6-0 loss on Dec. 28, the most lopsided defeat in the country’s history at the World Juniors.
“That was an eye-opener for us,” said Love, “and we’ll try and use that tonight to will ourselves to the win.”
Both teams are expecting a much tighter affair than the preliminary round.
“Well, it happened last year,” said Larionov. “It happened last year, 2019. So, now, we’re in the new year, 2020, we’re starting to rewrite the books in January so it will be a new game. For us, no overconfidence, we know things happen like that, 6-0, but it’s all behind us, in the distance.”
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However, that painful loss remains a fresh memory for many Canadian players, who are determined not to repeat the sins of the past.
“Last game they wanted to get under our skin,” said Veleno, “they were giving us some cross-checks, hitting us a little late and passing by our bench and giving us some smirks, but we can’t let that get to us. It’s aggravating when that happens, but we have to stay composed. No matter what, we have to believe in ourselves and trust our teammates and I think we’ll be fine … We have to be disciplined tonight and not get sucked up in their game plan.”
SC Express: Canada/Russia WJC moments
With Canada and Russia facing off for the gold medal on Sunday, SportsCentre looks back at some memorable World Junior moments between the two nations in this edition of the SC Express.
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If Hayton can’t play, Veleno will be leaned on even more. After prematurely celebrating a couple close calls that didn’t go in during the last two games, the Grand Rapids centre hopes he’s saving his goals for the gold-medal game.
“That’s what everyone’s telling me,” he said with a chuckle. “I hope the hockey Gods will reward me. I mean, I don’t know what else I can do. The guys have been chirping me a little bit and so have the coaches so I got to make sure I bury those.”
Veleno scored against the Czechs on New Year’s Eve, but that’s his only goal in the tournament. He pinged one off the post against Finland last night.
Veleno, who didn’t score in five games at last year’s World Juniors, tossed and turned on Saturday night, but not because of his lack of finish against the Finns.
“It took me a while before heading to bed. I was just thinking about today’s game,” he said with a smile.
Veleno was imagining a different kind of celebration. Not a goal, but a championship.
“Throwing the gloves in the air, I guess, that’s probably the first thing I thought about,” he said, “getting the Cup and getting to do a lap with that. At the same time, we all have a role to play. We can’t all score big goals. We all have to contribute in our own ways.”
Veleno on premature celebrations: ‘hope the hockey gods reward me’
Joe Veleno has been facing harsh chirps from fellow teammates for celebrating prematurely on goals that aren’t making it to the back of the net. Veleno says he’s saving his jubilation for the gold medal game where he hopes ‘the hockey gods reward’ him.
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Connor McMichael brings a swagger to Team Canada. He started the tournament on the fourth line, but still scored the team’s first goal sparking a comeback against the United States on Boxing Day. And the London Knight enters the gold-medal game having scored in three straight.
On Saturday night, the Capitals first rounder channeled his inner Babe Ruth against the Finns.
“Right before we went out for our first shift he said, ‘Just get me the puck in the high slot and I’m going to introduce myself to the back bar,’ and that’s what he did,” said linemate Ty Dellandrea. “So, he called it.”
Apparently, McMichael has done this before.
“Usually when he says he’s going to score he does it,” Dellandrea said. “He’s a goal scorer.”
McMichael has 25 goals in 27 games in London this season. He now has four at the World Juniors, one off the Team Canada lead (Hayton).
“He’s got a great shot,” observed Dale Hunter, who also coaches McMichael in the OHL, “that’s his strength and when he shoots it it comes off his stick hard and different and goalies have a hard time picking it up.”
McMichael’s goal was the beginning of a Canadian deluge. Dellandrea could sense how locked in the group was in the dressing room.
“We were ready to go,” the Flint centre said. “We were excited for this game. There was a calmness getting ready for the game. Usually, we’re talking a bit, but it was silence, a calm before the storm.”
McMichel has done his damage early in games with all his goals coming within the first 23:31 of play.
Dellandrea: McMichael called his shot on first goal
Following Canada’s dominant performance against Finland in the semifinal game, forward Ty Dellandrea said his fellow line-mate Connor McMichael asked for the puck so he could ‘introduce himself to the back bar’. Within the first couple minutes of the period McMichael did just that to open the scoring for Canada.
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When the Canadian anthem plays after wins in Ostrava some red-clad fans have taken to shouting “True North” during that part of O Canada. It’s a tradition at Jets games and one that Winnipeg native Joel Hofer is well aware of.
“I heard that, actually,” he said with a wide grin after posting a semifinal shutout. “I heard that the first couple games so it’s definitely cool that they’re getting here. It’s getting pretty cold here so maybe they brought over the cold.”
Hofer may have ice in his veins. The Portland goalie has appeared unflappable backstopping Canada to four straight wins. Hofer admitted to being nervous in his first start against the Germans. Have those nerves dissipated?
“No, they’re still there,” he said. “I mean, they’re obviously going to be there. How can you not have nerves, I mean, it’s the World Championship. Everyone has nerves, you just have to accept them and it’s just a feeling. It’s good.”
A fourth-round pick of the Blues in 2018, Hofer has gone from never being invited to a Hockey Canada camp to starting in the gold-medal game at the World Juniors.
“It’s pretty crazy,” he said. “I wasn’t invited to the (summer World Junior) Showcase or anything and was off the radar for a bit. So, I kind of just went about my business, game by game, and it’s been showing off.”
Frank Seravalli has more on how Hofer is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Jordan Binnington, who he met at training camp, here.
After replacing Yaroslav Askarov in the semifinal win over Sweden, Amir Miftakhov is expected to start for Russia, Larionov said. Miftakhov shutout Canada in the preliminary round.
Inspired by Binnington, Blues prospect Hofer doesn’t mind feeling nervous
Blues prospect Joel Hofer says he is inspired by Stanley Cup champion and St. Louis starter Jordan Binnington, as they are both calm guys. Teammate Joe Veleno jokes that he had no idea who Hofer was, but is happy with the way he has taken control.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
