EDMONTON — They are what the Canadians thought they were. The Czech Republic — as challenging as they are dull, as dangerous as they are patient.
You’ve heard of a trap game? What Team Canada faced was a Jacque Lemaire, “Mad Trapper” special against a Czech Republic team that clogged up the ice like the ’99 New Jersey Devils.
“They put together a lot of blocked shots, and we had to find a way to get ‘em through,” Canadian forward Peyton Krebs. “We ground away each and every period. It was a lot of fun.”
Fun to play, maybe. Not much fun to watch however.
Canada slogged through a 3-0 win to set up a semi-final date with Russia on Monday, outshot 29-25 by the Czechs, the first time in the 2021 world juniors that Canada was outshot.
It wasn’t pretty, but they don’t judge these games on style points. With two first period goals that came 3:17 apart, you never thought the victory was in doubt for Canada. But still, the score was 2-0 with four minutes to play when the Czechs pulled goalie Nick Malik, and there they were, just a shot away from being a shot away.
Alas, the team that spent the night defending probably should have thought a little more about how they were going to score.
“You’re probably right,” said Canadiens draft pick Jan Mysak. “If you want to win, you have to score goals.”
Necessary Medicine
Andre Tourigny gets it.
A team must be able to play more than one way to be successful. And sometimes, you have to play the game the way the opponent dictates and not use that as an excuse to lose.
“(The Czechs) don’t have the depth of talent of other countries, but they have the heart. They play hard, and they were tough — and on our side, that was perfect,” the Canadian head coach said. “I like that we had to dig in, and we had pressure. We needed to regroup at some points, because we were frustrated … and pressing a little bit. It’s good to go through that.
“The world juniors is about adversity. Today we had adversity and we overcame it.”
It was no secret. The Czechs beat Russia in the group stage playing this way, and a team with zero first-round draft picks wasn’t going to play fire wagon hockey against an opponent with 19 first-rounders.
“We knew (the Czechs) would give us more adversity than people were expecting,” Tourigny said. “Now, it’s about how you will react to that adversity. In order to go where we want to go, we need to handle the adversity in the right way. It’s a plus for me the way the Czechs played us, and the way we had to dig in and figure it out. It’s a good thing.”
Prague Slog
When it was over, and the Czechs were exiting the bubble with a 2-3 record having beaten only Russia and Austria, head coach Karel Mlejnek wasn’t altogether sure on how his team played against Canada.
“I’m not sure if we were close or actually far (from winning),” he said after the game. “We allowed two quick goals, which put us on the back foot. However, we showed a strong mental side, contrary to the games against Sweden and the USA (7-1 and 7-0 losses). We kept fighting, trying to keep it as close as possible.”
When you are as defensive-minded as the Czechs, the problems arise when the opponent gets a lead. That happened early in this game, and although the Czech Republic generated 29 shots, they just didn’t have the touch around the net to get one past Canadian goalie Devon Levi.
“I wouldn’t say we are totally a defensive team. We don’t have a system that we don’t want to score goals,” Mlejnek said. “But Canada played really well, and they didn’t give us those chances we needed.”
Levi Stress
Historically, one of the hardest positions to play in Canadian sports is to be the goalie for our world junior team. Minutes go by without a shot. Periods where you get one, maybe two shots are a regular occurrence.
Devon Levi has lived it this Christmas, so he was quite pleased when his team allowed 12 shots in the first period on Saturday. (The Canadians only surrendered 15 shots in 60 minutes against Germany and Switzerland.)
“It was super fun to be busy in the first period,” Levi said. “It’s a different type of game right? In past games it was a bit harder to say focused. I found that in this game it was easy to have fun, and just go out and play.”
This is a kid who never played Major Junior hockey, spending last season in Junior A with the Carleton Place Canadians and fending off pucks from shooters wearing the jerseys of the Brockville Braves, the Hawkesbury Hawks and the Smiths Falls Bears.
Now, he’s two wins away from a gold medal and a spot in Canadian hockey history. He gets Team Russia on Monday.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” the 19-year-old said. “Every single day we come to the rink. We enjoy what we’re doing, the chemistry is there, and we’re getting’ better every day. I’m excited to see how we’re going to play in the semifinals.”
But what about all the pressure?
“I’m just super grateful to be here, that’s an honest answer,” he said. “I’m just taking every moment and savouring it. I know I’m going to be able to look back on this for the rest of my life.
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
