Dylan Guenther is all for elite players using every available tool at their disposal.
He’s one of them.
It’s when that skill stretches outside a team’s structure where issues can arise.
Canada attempted “The Michigan” move twice in the early stages of Monday’s embarrassing 5-2 opening-night loss to Czech Republic at the world junior hockey championship.
Adam Fantilli and Connor Bedard both came up snake eyes when they picked the puck up with their sticks behind the net and attempted to beat goaltender Tomas Suchanek in the near-side top corner with lacrosse-style efforts.
Guenther saw nothing wrong with either sequence in a vacuum.
But what they illustrated was how far the Canadians had already strayed from a supposed hard-nosed identity and game plan to accompany their high-end talent against an opponent that hadn’t registered a regulation victory against the tournament favourites in 23 previous meetings.
“We’re not going to ‘Michigan’ our way to the final,” Guenther, who scored previously using the same polarizing move in the Western Hockey League, said Tuesday at the team’s hotel. “We’re trying it a lot. It’s a skilled play. I get it. But I think that’s kind of how our game’s going right now.
“We’re trying to skill our way through it. We’re trying to toe-drag, beat guys one-on-one.”
Canada never recovers after match penalty leads to pair of Czech goals
After Canada was given a penalty for an illegal hit, the Czech Republic scored twice to put the game out of reach.
One of three players loaned to Canada for the men’s under-20 showcase by NHL clubs, the Arizona Coyotes forward speaks from a position of authority.
“You have to play the right way,” said Guenther, who has 11 points in 21 NHL games this season. “Play together and play as a team. It starts with the simple side of the game — winning battles. Our skill … there’s no problem.
“It’s the compete level.”
Timing is key
Canadian head coach Dennis Williams also has no issues with hockey’s most-skilled generation to date going for the audacious — as long the timing is appropriate.
“Would like to have seen us do a better job of getting to the paint, getting to the tough areas, focusing more on the way we want to play,” he said. “We were perimeter, and so to go to ‘The Michigan’ play … sometimes there’s a little bit better play to make.”
Canadian forward Logan Stankoven doesn’t have that move on his mind in the heat of the action.
“It’s great to see the game evolving,” said the Dallas Stars draft pick. “When we need a goal or when the game is tight like that, maybe it’s not a time.”
The owner of mesmerizing skill and projected to go No. 1 at the 2023 NHL draft, Bedard also attempted the move in pre-tournament action, while Fantilli — another likely top-5 pick — has succeeded on the highlight-reel play first made famous by University of Michigan forward Mike Legg in 1996.
“Some people may think it’s individualistic, some people think it’s a good scoring chance from behind the net,” said Fantilli, in his first season at Michigan. “There’s a limit to how many times you can try it in a game and how many times you can try it in a tournament.
“It could be a good scoring chance, but sometimes you’ve got to know when to curl back and make the right play.”
I was in net for…The Michigan goal
In episode 5 of our new series, Rob Pizzo speaks to former Minnesota Golden Gopher goalie Steve DeBus about the infamous Mike Legg lacrosse goal in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
‘It doesn’t define us’
An undisciplined, disjointed Canada didn’t make many against the Czechs on a humbling night in front of the first Maritime world junior crowd in two decades.
“It doesn’t define us,” said Williams, whose team had a scheduled day off the ice Tuesday. “This could be the best thing that happens for our group — understand that we just don’t put on our skates and win hockey games. We have to compete, we have to battle, we have to manage pucks, we have to be physical, we’ve got to stay out of the penalty box.
“I’m hoping the players accept our challenge.”
Canada has gone with the same forward lines since cuts were made following selection camp, but Williams indicated there will be changes when his team suits up Wednesday against Germany.
Thomas Milic, meanwhile, will get the start in goal after stopping all 10 shots he faced Monday in relief of Benjamin Gaudreau.
“Super excited,” Millic said. “Something that every goalie dreams of.”
The netminder also had a front-row seat to his teammates’ effort against the Czechs, and echoed a lot their sentiments.
“Not enough of anything, really,” Milic said. “Guys were, I think, maybe taking them a little too lightly. Need to dial in some details and re-establish our foundations.”
That includes preparation.
“There’s a difference between being loose and having fun and being ready to go,” Guenther said. “We were on the loose side. It’s obviously not one day that that happens — it’s leading up to it. Collectively, we have to be better.”
While there was plenty of doom and gloom on the outside, the sun still rose in cloudy Halifax on Tuesday.
Guenther saw a silver lining.
“First and foremost, that’s not us,” he said of the Czech horror show. “That’s not who we are. It’s not that we have to reinvent the wheel. It’s stuff that we should be doing every day. Reset button.”
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
