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.
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.
