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Canadian comeback falls short in semifinal loss to United States at Youth Olympics – CBC.ca

Published

5 years ago

January 21, 2020

LAUSANNE — It was a quintessential hockey battle between rivals Canada and the United States with high drama, twists and turns and a wicked finish Tuesday afternoon inside Vaudoise Arena.

With time winding down in the third period and the Canadians trailing 2-1, the Americans took a tripping penalty which made for a frantic final two minutes.

A capacity crowd roared as the Canadians buzzed around the United States net with the goalie pulled and an extra attacker on the ice. But despite pinning the Americans in their own zone and firing the puck relentlessly, the Canadians couldn’t find the tying goal in the final seconds of the game.

As the clock hit zeroes the Americans blasted out of their bench and piled onto each other celebrating their 2-1 victory. The Canadians sat in their bench looking on.

“Obviously we’re disappointed in the outcome of today’s game but extremely happy with our effort. I thought the guys left it all out on the ice and it was something we wanted to do,” said Team Canada head coach, Gordie Dwyer.

“We pride ourselves on being Canadian and giving it our all until the end.”

The Canadians trailed 2-0 heading into the third period but mounted a serious charge in the final frame. They cut the American lead in half early as Nate Danielson got Canada on the board. His goal was assisted by captain Matthew Savoie and alternate captain Adam Fantilli.

For most of the third period the Canadians brought wave after wave of offensive attacks at the Americans but just couldn’t find the tying goal.

Despite the loss, Fantilli said he was proud of how the team fought until the end.

“No matter what I’ll be proud of these guys. We went to war together. These 17 guys are like my brothers. It’s the Canadian way,” he said.

A jubilant American side will now play for the gold medal at the Fourth Olympic Games. (Thomas Skrlj/COC/CBC Sports)

Questionable penalty-shot call

The Canadians and Americans started the game zipping around the ice, throwing their weight around at each other, trying to establish a physical advantage early.

It was the Americans who had the best scoring chance in the first period. A massive scramble in front of the net left a United States shooter wide open in front of left side of the net — Canadian goalie Vincent Filion sprawled across the crease, just getting his stick out and swatting away the puck. The sensational save midway through the period kept the game scoreless after the first period.

The United States scored their two goals two minutes apart in the second period. Its opening goal of the game was scored on a questionable penalty-shot call that left the Canadian coaching staff and many in the crowd baffled.

American Frank Nazar got caught up with a Canadian out front of the left of Canada’s net but was losing possession of the puck. There was some confusion over the initial call as it looked to be a hooking violation. However, Nazar was awarded the penalty shot.

Nazar made a scintillating move, calmly sliding the puck from his forward to the backhand, dropping Filion, and backhanding it into the net.

Dwyer called the referee over before the shot to get an explanation on the call.

“We disagreed on the call. But the call was made, and we move forward from there. As a coach, things happen during the game that you have to adjust from and I thought our team rebounded well,” Dwyer said.

Two minutes after the penalty-shot call the Americans struck again, this time on a power play. Isaac Howard ripped a low shot into the bottom right side of the net to give the United States a 2-0 lead. It was Howard’s seventh goal at the Youth Olympics.

The Canadian Way

After a lengthy post-game chat with his team after the loss, Dwyer met with media.

“We talked about what it was to be Canadian, our core values and what it means to wear the Maple Leaf,” he said.

Dwyer says he’s proud of the way his team battled adversity throughout the game.

“You can’t say enough about these kids,” Dwyer said.

“They’re great young hockey players and great young men. We’ve talked about our core values and what it means to play for Team Canada. This is their first experience and I think they’ve done themselves proud and their country proud.”

Canada now plays in the bronze-medal game on Wednesday and will face Finland, which lost 10-1 to Russia in the other semifinal matchup.

Dwyer says this is just the beginning for these young men in their international hockey careers and that they will give their best effort to bring home a medal for Canada.

“It’s their first experience at a young age but what a wonderful experience this is. It’s character-building,” he said.

“We still want to win a medal and the guys would be proud of that.”

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic falls in Guadalajara Open quarterfinals

Published

4 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Kirk’s walk-off single in 11th inning lifts Blue Jays past Cardinals 4-3

Published

4 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Stampeders return to Maier at QB eyeing chance to get on track against Alouettes

Published

5 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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