The Canadians entered Tuesday’s contest needing a win and on New Year’s Eve — they did not drop the ball. With a dominating 7-2 performance over the Czech Republic, Canada will ring in the new year as the No. 1 seed in Group B and will face Group A’s fourth-ranked team, Slovakia, in the quarterfinals.
Assistant captain Joe Veleno (Detroit Red Wings) returned from his one-game suspension and began the festivities with a power-play goal. His tally set off a barrage of markers for the Canadians with the man advantage that when the clock hit zeroes of the first period, they had netted a total of four. Nolan Foote (Tampa Bay Lightning), Barrett Hayton (Arizona Coyotes) — whose goal needed more than seven minutes of review to confirm — and Connor McMichael (Washington Capitals) tickled the twine.
In the second, the revelers were entertained as the two teams netted three goals in a tournament-record 24 seconds: two by the Czechs to make it a two-goal game and then Liam Foudy (Columbus Blue Jackets) jumping on a weird carom and finishing into an open net to quash any comeback. Canada added two more goals against a depleted Czech team. Head coach Vaclav Varada’s squad lost their goalie Lukas Parik (Los Angeles Kings) to injury and Otakar Sik was tossed for slashing. They entered the game with a injury-riddled a squad and will now face an undefeated Sweden in the medal round.
For Canada, old acquaintances will now need to be forgot as it will meet the Slovaks in the quarterfinals. Slovakia won one game in the preliminary round and netted just eight goals to 22 allowed. The big question for Canada heading into this one is whether phenom Alexis Lafreniere will suit up. He did not play against the Czech Republic and his status is still unknown for the medal rounds.
Sporting News had all the action as Canada defeated the Czech Republic to close out the preliminary stage at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Canada vs. Czech Republic results, highlights from 2020 World Juniors
(All times Eastern)
Final score: Canada 7, Czech Republic 2
3:44 p.m. — Jan Mysak, a 2020 draft prospect, selected as the player of the game for the Czechs. With a goal and two assists, Dylan Cozens gets the honor for Canada.
3:43 p.m. — So it’ll be Canada vs. Slovakia on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Third period: Canada 7, Czech Republic 2
3:23 p.m. — GOAL. Jared McIsaac walks the blue line and goes against the grain with the wrister. Canada leads 7-2.
3:16 p.m. — Quinton Byfield gets two for tripping but the Czech Republic did not score.
3:10 p.m. — Back to 5-on-5 hockey.
3:08 p.m. — Two-man advantage is over. Canada now has 47 seconds of a 5-on-4.
3:08 p.m. — Third period. Canada starts on 5-on-3.
Second period: Canada 6, Czech Republic 2
2:50 p.m. — Canadians will start the third period with a 45-second two-man advantage.
2:48 p.m. — Canada now with a one minute and 10 second 5-on-3 as Joe Veleno gets an accidental stick to the face. Only 24 seconds left in the period.
2:45 p.m. — Now Canada will get another power-play chance.
2:41 p.m. — Jared McIsaac will head to the sin bin. Czech’s scored on their last power play. They did not score this time.
2:34 p.m. — PP GOAL. Make that five power-play goals for Canada. Credit this one to Dylan Cozens who deflected in the Calen Addison point shot. Canada leads 6-2.
2:33 p.m. — The three goals between the two teams set a new tournament record.
2:32 p.m. — It’s a good goal and the Czechs must now kill a two-minute minor.
2:31 p.m. — The goal is being reviewed to see if it was offside.
2:30 p.m. GOAL. So . . .10 seconds later, off a dump-in, Malik goes to play the puck behind the net but it doesn’t even get to him. The puck caroms out to in front and Liam Foudy finishes. Canada leads 5-2.
2:29 p.m. — GOAL. Woah. 14 seconds later its the trailer Libor Zabransky who snaps the puck past Joel Hofer. Canada leads 4-2.
2:27 p.m. — PP GOAL. Vojtech Strondala — who was added to the Czech roster this morning with all the injury woes — buries the rebound. Canada leads 4-1.
2:24 p.m. — Czechs with 2-on-1 down low but Jaromir Pytlik crashing the net misses the puck and Joe Veleno is called for slashing him. The host country heads to the power play.
2:23 p.m. — Ty Smith with a chance that Malik blockers away.
2:22 p.m. — Czech Republic comes close to getting on the board with Adam Raska (Rimouski Oceanic) missing the puck with an open net. Fans chanting, “We want a goal.”
2:11 p.m. — The second period is underway.
2:10 p.m. — Somehow, the shots on net were only nine for Canada and four for the Czech Republic in that first period.
First period: Canada 4, Czech Republic 0
1:53 p.m. — Canada’s four power-play goals ties tournament record for most in a period.
1:46 p.m. — By the way: Canada still has more than two minutes left on the power play.
1:44 p.m. — Czech netminder Lukas Parik is hurt and not putting any weight on his leg as he is helped off. Nick Malik, the Czech’s backup, and third-string, goalie goes in the net. His dad is former NHL defenseman Marek Malik who famously scored this between-the-legs goal. Lukas Dostal, who was scheduled to be the starter for the tournament, is out hurt too.
1:43 p.m. — PP GOAL. New Year’s Eve fireworks at Ostravar Arena. Connor McMichael puts home the loose puck. Canada leads 4-0.
1:42 p.m. — The power play is back to a 5-on-4.
1:41 p.m. — PP GOAL. After seven-plus minutes of review: officially official. Barrett Hayton nets his third of the tourney. Canada leads 3-0.
1:38 p.m. — Play still being checked but very hard to tell from the replays; however, Canadians in attendance definitely think it’s a goal.
1:37 p.m. — In the meantime, Libor Zabransky (Moose Jaw) was called for a penalty at the whistle and Canada will have a two-man advantage.
1:35 p.m. — Standby. The play is being reviewed to see if the puck crossed the line as it actually hit Parik’s shoulder and rolled up his body — possibly over the goal line.
1:34 p.m. — Lukas Parik, a Kings prospect, with a big-time diving save as the Canadians go across the crease with the pass and Barrett Hayton finishes with the quick release.
1:32 p.m. — Canada back to the power play as Otakar Sik is called for (what’s nicely-being called) slashing and given a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
1:26 p.m. — PP GOAL. Nolan Foote with a rocket of a shot — a one-timer — from the top of the right circle. Canada leads 2-0.
1:23 p.m. — Canada back to the power play; already 1-for-1 on the day.
1:16 p.m. — PP GOAL. A blocked shot goes right to Joe Veleno who buries it for his first goal of the tourney. Canada leads 1-0.
1:15 p.m. — Now it’ll be Canada’s turn with the man advantage. Entering the game, Canada has four power-play goals in 12 chances.
1:13 p.m. — Solid kill by Canada as they don’t allow the Czech’s to get a shot on net.
1:10 p.m. — Canada will be shorthanded as Nolan Foote is called for tripping. Czech’s have netted two power-play goals in every game.
1:08 p.m. — Puck has been dropped. Game on!
Pregame
12:31 p.m. — Full lineups for both squads. It’ll be Joel Hofer vs. Lukas Parik between the pipes.
12:19 p.m. — Canada’s lineup for the tilt with the Czechs.
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.
