EDMONTON — We keep saying it, as the 2021 world junior hockey championship grinds lopsidedly towards its conclusion. “THIS will be a true test for Canada.” And when we smoke Finland by three goals we point to Russia:
“OK, but THIS team will be a true test.”
Nyet.
Canada rolled into the gold-medal game with a decisive shellacking of Team Russia, a nation that is supposed to be able to play with our boys but barely caused them to break a rhetorical sweat. In the end, Mother Russia was outscored 5-0 and outshot 35-28 in one of the more lopsided Canada-Russia games ever to play out at a world juniors — or anywhere, for that matter.
Remember Russian goalie Ilya Bryzgalov at the 2010 Olympics, when he said that Team Canada had come out “like gorillas out of a cage?”
Well, it was 1-0 just 59 seconds into Monday’s semi-final when Alex Newhook rifled a shot home with such speed, no one in the building saw its flight under the crossbar. Video replay was required to confirm the snipe, and the rout was on.
“Canada always has a good team,” said defeated Russian Mikhail Abramov. “I can say we just had a bad start…”
The score was 3-0 after 20 minutes, and with only one contest left to play the Canadians have yet to trail in a game for even a second. Nor has Canada surrendered a five-on-five goal yet in this tournament. They have outscored their opponents 33-0 at even strength, 41-4 overall.
This unbeaten Canadian team, it seems, is as good as any we’ve sent to this tournament — maybe ever.. Now, we’ll see if they can finish a perfect 7-0 tournament, with the gold-medal game set for Tuesday night at 9:30 ET against Team USA.
Bear Facts
Head coach Andre “Bear” Tourigny has been a Canadian assistant coach at four previous tournaments, winning gold last year after a pair of silvers and a fourth place finish.
He knows what awaits in Tuesday night’s gold-medal game, an evening of hockey that will be burned into Team Canada’s collective memory for the rest of their lives.
“It’s a lot of pressure, and a lot of emotion in that tournament,” Tourigny said. “You want to be in the last game. You see your players putting their hearts into it every day, working extremely hard… You want to be part of something special, and that last game will be something special.”
It can be special. It can also be heart breaking.
“I’ve been on both sides of that game, and the right side is way more fun,” he said after the semi-final win. “Let’s keep working at it. We have a lot of business still to do.”
This will be Canada’s 15th appearance in a gold-medal game in the past 20 tournaments.
Shutout Shout Out
The 28-save performance was goalie Devon Levi’s third shutout of this WJC — in just six games — tying the record set by Canadian Justin Pogge in Vancouver back in 2006. Pogge would go on to play most of his career in Europe, enjoying just seven National Hockey League games. He currently resides in Leon Draisaitl’s hometown, minding the nets for the Cologne Sharks.
“I’ll always remember it. The group of guys we had, closing out that final game in GM Place. It was surreal,” the Maple Leafs draft pick told me once, in the book “Road to Gold — The Untold Story of Canada at the World Juniors.” “I’ll always be so proud when I get to tell my son those stories, and he can see the tournament. See how big of a deal it is.”
What’s it like challenging Pogge’s shutout record?
“I’m not playing for a shutout record. I’m playing for a gold medal,” Levi said. “It’s something maybe to look at after the tournament. The job’s not done yet.”
He’s playing fantastic, smothering pucks and giving up nothing to the opposition shooters. Remember, Levi only ever played Junior A hockey, and has yet to play his first game for Northeastern University.
Is this the best zone he has ever been in?
“Ummmm, I think so,” he wondered. “I’m just playing hockey and every game feels the same — whether it’s in Junior A, Midget or one of these games. The back checking is unreal. It’s amazing to see how much help that every guy on the ice is giving.”
He’s a household name now, Devon Levi. Then again, so was Justin Pogge.
“The best feeling is being able to represent my country,” said Levi, who has a .975 save percentage and a 0.53 goals-against average. “Going out and play the game I love. That’s what it is about for me.”
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
