It is sometimes difficult to remember that the World Junior Championship is, at its fundamentals, a development tournament and not the be-all and end-all source of national pride for two weeks at the end of each year.
As tantalizing as the prospect of a three-peat for Canada is, it’s much better development for the youngsters and, frankly, much more engaging hockey when teams are evenly matched and each game is competitive.
Friday’s marquee matchup between Sweden and Canada provided the gritty competitiveness that many anticipated between the two powerhouses.
Macklin Celebrini and the Canadian squad dismantled Latvia on Wednesday with a 10-0 victory, but unfortunately, they were unable to duplicate that success against a much more skilled opponent. With a final score of 2-0, this loss to Sweden marked the first time Canada has been shut out since the 2021 tournament.
With one final game remaining in the preliminary round, Canada has the opportunity to redeem themselves, while Sweden has the chance to cement first in Group A in front of home fans.
Here are some takeaways from Friday’s matchup:
Swedes proving it’s their tournament to lose
Undefeated thus far through the tournament and emerging victorious against, arguably, their most challenging opponent in Group A, Sweden has demonstrated that this year’s World Juniors, on home ice, is theirs to lose.
Despite their top scorer Otto Stenberg sitting tied for eighth in the tournament points race, Sweden has remained undefeated by playing a complete game against each of their opponents and getting contributions from up and down the lineup.
Against a Canadian team that has proven it can rack up the points, Sweden completely stifled Canada’s offence, preventing their opponent from getting significant traction in the offensive zone.
Though scoreless through the first period, the ice tilted in favour of the yellow and blue during the second frame, as Sweden was able to clog up the neutral zone and create sustained pressure against Canada.
During the few opportunities Canada had to even the score off the rush, Swedish goaltender Hugo Havelid came up with clutch saves when called upon. Through two games between the pipes for Sweden, Havelid hasn’t allowed a single goal.
Having failed to capture World Junior gold since 2012, this roster led by Stenberg, Theo Lindstein and Havelid seems poised to make a serious run at it in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Canada unable to capitalize on chances
Accustomed to scoring goals at will, it was tough to watch some of Canada’s biggest names this tournament squander chance after chance to get on the board.
With Sweden playing a disciplined game and giving up very little, it would have been important for Canada to capitalize on whatever chances they could get. Despite this, the power play that is operating at 37.5 per cent and second in the tournament in terms of efficiency was completely stymied.
At even strength, when Canada was able to create high-danger scoring chances, they could never convert. Carson Rehkopf had the opportunity early to open the scoring, followed by opportunities for captain Fraser Minten and Matthew Savoie to finally solve the Swedish netminder, but each attempt was turned away.
As the clock wound down and Canada was making their final Hail Mary, they squandered the opportunity to pot one with the empty net after taking a too many men penalty.
Though much of these failed chances can be attributed to the brilliance of Havelid, the rare, uncharacteristic offensive struggles nailed the final hammer in the coffin on Canada’s first loss of the tournament.
Mathis Rousseau emerging as Canada’s MVP
After making the early contender for save of the tournament on Day 1, Canadian netminder Mathis Rousseau is creating his own competition for that title.
The undrafted 19-year-old has commanded control between the pipes and was up to the task against Sweden, despite the 2-0 loss.
Making 22 saves on 24 shots, his best of the contest came during the four-minute penalty kill Canada faced during the first period. Already down a man, Conor Geekie chose to head to the bench for a new stick, effectively creating a two-man advantage for Sweden and opened up a slick backdoor pass right to Liam Ohgren. With what seemed to be an empty net for Ohgren, Rousseau committed highway robbery, stretching out to make the toe save and keep the game scoreless.
He made another highlight-reel save in the second period when he lifted the pad just enough to turn aside a shot from Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki. He sopped one more through traffic on Lekkerimaki before Noah Ostlund buried the rebound to put Sweden up by two.
Ranked third in goaltenders across the tournament, Rousseau’s statistics have reflected his strong play on the ice. Posting a .944 save percentage and a 1.33 goals-against average, he’s consistently performed as Canada’s best player.
As they try to rebound from Friday’s loss and enter into the elimination stage strong, expect Canada to keep relying on Rousseau.
UP NEXT: Both teams get a rest day and resume their action on New Year’s Eve as Sweden faces their regional rival in Finland, who earned their first win of the tournament on Friday. Meanwhile, Canada will look to bounce back against Germany, who will be playing the second half of a back-to-back.
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.
