It’s a loss Joe Veleno knows he’ll never truly get over. The same goes for Barrett Hayton.
Canada was leading Finland 1-0 with under a minute to go in the quarterfinals of last year’s world junior hockey championship in Vancouver before a crowd ready to explode.
Moments later, disaster struck.
The Finns tied it late on a crazy carom from behind the net. The Canadians, however, steadied themselves and had a golden opportunity to move on in overtime, only to see captain Max Comtois stopped on a penalty shot.
Noah Dobson got another chance to win it and send the national team to the semifinals on home soil, but the defenceman’s stick broke at the crucial moment as he stared down what basically amounted to an open net.
Finland immediately broke the other way, and blue-liner Toni Utunen — known more for his play without the puck than offensive prowess — took a drop pass and wired a shot upstairs on Michael DiPietro to break Canadian hearts.
“Rewatching that video kind of triggers me a little bit,” Veleno said. “If we would have won that game, we maybe could have won the tournament.”
Instead, the Finns thumped Switzerland in the semis and beat the United States for gold.
‘We all remember all of it’
“We all remember all of it,” said Hayton, this year’s captain. “Forever that’ll be a bitter taste.”
The recollections on the other side are, of course, decidedly different.
“It was a huge goal. I hope to see something similar on Saturday,” Utunen said, adding he’s only viewed the replay on social media a handful of times. “It’s hard to explain the feeling.”
An opportunity at redemption doesn’t always come along in life, but Canada’s five returning players at the 2020 event get one Saturday when the countries meet one round later in the semifinals. Russia and Sweden will tangle in the other matchup, with the gold- and bronze-medal games set for Sunday.
“We’ve got a really good group to do this,” said Veleno, a first-round pick by Detroit. “We believe in ourselves.”
Veleno, Hayton, Jared McIsaac, Ty Smith and Alexis Lafreniere — Dobson was also eligible to return, but wasn’t released to Canada for the tournament by the New York Islanders — stayed in touch in the wake of that crushing defeat, knowing they’d likely get another crack at gold.
“We’re all friends,” said Hayton, who was loaned out by the Arizona Coyotes. “We’re always in constant communication. That’s just how we are. We’re a tight group.”
And things seem to be coming together at the right time.
Bouncing back
Following an embarrassing 6-0 loss to Russia in its second game where Lafreniere injured his knee, Hayton accidentally disrespected the opponent by failing to remove his helmet during the anthem ceremony, and Veleno got suspended, Canada has ripped off three straight wins with increasing efficiency.
A mostly-tidy 7-2 dismantling of hosts Czech Republic to close out the preliminary round clinched first in Group B. Lafreniere, the projected No. 1 pick at the 2020 NHL draft, then made an unexpected return to the lineup — at least to those on the outside — in the quarters against Slovakia, setting the tone with a big hit and finishing with a goal and an assist in a 6-1 victory.
WATCH | Canada sails past Slovakia and into the world junior semis:
Canadian captain Barrett Hayton had two goals and an assist, and Alexis Lafreniere added a goal and an assist in his return from injury as Canada beat Slovakia 6-1 to advance to the semifinals of the World Junior Championship. 1:54
The Finns, however, are also ascending.
After losing 5-2 to Switzerland to complete round-robin play on a sour note, they stunned the favoured U.S. 1-0 in the quarters to book the rematch with Canada.
“They have good players everywhere,” said Finland captain Lassi Thomson, an Ottawa first-rounder. “It’s going to be a tough game.”
Finland, which has won world junior gold three of the last six years following just two victories in the previous 37 tournaments, is in the semis despite missing its No. 1 and No. 2 centres.
And yet, as they have in years past, the Finns have found a way when it matters most.
“After the second period it was easy to see they were frustrated,” Utunen, one of three returning players from 2019, said of Thursday’s victory over the U.S. “They started to play a little bit by themselves.”
Finnish goalie Justus Annunen, a Colorado prospect, has the second-best save percentage at .936 after that 30-shot performance against the Americans.
“He’s been amazing,” said Utunen, who has scored four goals in the last two years, with three coming against Canada. “We need to thank him a lot.”
The Canadians, who beat Finland in a pre-tournament game in December, know their opponent will look to once again stifle creativity at 5 on 5, but unlike last year, Canada’s power play has been lights out at 44 per cent compared to a mark of just over 16.5 per cent in 2019.
Hayton, meanwhile, has rebounded from the Russia controversy to register five goals and nine points in five games, Lafreniere has two goals and six points in his seven periods of action, Veleno is a key piece down the middle, and Smith and McIsaac have been steady on the blue line.
And while the stinging memories of last year will always be present, the returnees are hoping to dull that pain and take another step towards finishing the job with Canada two wins from its 18th gold medal.
“You don’t get too many opportunities,” Veleno said. “You want to take advantage.”
SINGAPORE (AP) — Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen gave only brief answers at a Saturday news conference in an apparent protest against series governing body the FIA for punishing him for swearing.
Verstappen appeared at the FIA’s news conference for the top three in Singapore Grand Prix qualifying — he finished second — but was reluctant to speak.
On Friday, Verstappen was ordered to “accomplish some work of public interest” at the FIA’s discretion for using an expletive to describe his car in another FIA news conference the day before.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has signaled he wants to cut down on swearing in F1, setting up the governing body’s latest disagreement with drivers.
After a brief statement that he was happy with second place in qualifying and thanked his Red Bull team, Verstappen kept his answers to a minimum and said he risked being fined if he said more.
What had the team changed on his car? “A lot.” Was he confident ahead of Sunday’s race? “Maybe.” What about starting alongside title rival Lando Norris on the grid? “I will find out tomorrow.”
As the event’s host struggled to get a response to his questions, the Dutch driver clarified: “This is not towards you, don’t worry. I don’t want to upset you.”
Verstappen’s silence was confined to the FIA news conference. He earlier answered questions on TV from the pit lane and invited reporters to question him outside of the news conference room.
Asked how long he’d refuse to give answers in FIA events, he said: “I’m answering, just not a lot. Problem with my voice.”
Verstappen was supported by Norris and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who has voiced his own concerns over Ben Sulayem’s stance.
After joking that Verstappen deserved his punishment for “foul language”, Norris said: “It’s pretty unfair. I don’t agree with any of it.”
Hamilton said: “It’s a bit of a joke, to be honest. This is the pinnacle of the sport. Mistakes are made.” Hamilton also seemed to suggest Verstappen should avoid the work mandated by the earlier ruling. “I certainly wouldn’t be doing it. And I hope Max doesn’t do it.”
Hamilton, F1’s only Black driver, earlier objected to Ben Sulayem’s statement that F1 should not resemble “rap music,” which the FIA president made while explaining his objections to swearing in an interview with the motorsport.com website this week. Hamilton said Ben Sulayem’s language was “stereotypical” and had a “racial element.”
PENTICTON, B.C. – Kiefer Sherwood spent several nights last spring chasing Quinn Hughes around the ice and generally pestering the Vancouver Canucks.
Now the former Nashville Predators winger is wearing a Canucks jersey.
After signing with Vancouver in free agency, Sherwood is at training camp in Penticton, B.C., lining up against the players he frustrated in the first round of the playoffs last season.
His former foes have welcomed him welcomed with open arms.
“I try to be hard to play against and try to hate the other team and play with that hate and that fire. But at the end of the day, it’s a business and it’s a game of respect,” Sherwood said. “You’re not going after guys if you don’t respect them, right? So now that we’re teammates, it’s just respect.”
The 29-year-old Sherwood’s path to Vancouver wasn’t linear.
A six-foot, 194-pound forward from Columbus, Ohio, he went undrafted before signing with the Anaheim Ducks as a free agent in March 2018, and played 50 games for the team during the 2018-19 campaign.
But Sherwood struggled to stick in the NHL, bouncing back and forth between the minors during stints with Anaheim, Nashville and the Colorado Avalanche.
Eventually, he realized that to cement his spot, he needed to find what made him special — and he landed on speed.
“It’s definitely something that I had to learn and kind of ingrain in myself and train. I think the saying is adapt or die,” Sherwood said. “At the end of the day, you can light up the minors all you want, but you want to be here in this league.”
To hone his speed, Sherwood added more dynamic movement to his training regime, looking to create a new level of explosiveness in his skating.
That explosiveness is the key to winning puck battles, he said.
“I want to hunt. I want to get in on the forecheck, I want to create time and space for my linemates,” he said. “And ultimately, it’s a possession game too. So I want the puck on our tape and to get it to guys that can make plays. We value the puck, we value possession, we value plays. And if we’re dumping it in or forechecking, I want to get it back.”
When he can’t get the puck back, Sherwood wants to wear down the other team.
“It’s kind of the game within the game,” he said. “And it’s that fire that I’m really focused on bringing every night.”
Last season marked a career-best campaign for Sherwood, who put up 10 goals and 17 assists in 68 regular-season appearances for Nashville.
He also appeared in all six of the Predators post-season games and contributed a goal before the team was eliminated by the Canucks.
“I’ve had to look inward a little bit and try to figure out what it’s going to take, and dig deep,” Sherwood said of his career. “And then from there, just keep refining and growing the identity that I need to play with night in and night out.”
His speed and tenacity hasn’t gone unnoticed at his first Canucks training camp.
“Even the forecheck drills, always he’s moving his feet. His effort’s high,” said head coach Rick Tocchet.
“I thought some of the one-on-one drills, he made some nice moves with the puck. That’s the stuff I want to see. But he’s high-energy, big-motor guy. Guys like that, they’re all over the forecheck.”
Playing against Sherwood in last spring’s playoffs, Canucks captain Hughes learned that Sherwood’s playing style means opponents need to always be aware of when the winger’s on the ice.
“He’s a really good player.” Hughes said. “I think he’s got more game than people give him credit for. I’m not the coach, but I think he can play anywhere in the lineup. And I think he’s just a great addition.”
Tocchet also believes Sherwood could have more offensive upside to his game, noting that the Canucks coaching staff has identified some places they want the new addition to work on his game.
“There’s sometimes when he has (the puck), he can slow it down a bit to make a play,” the coach said. “But … I’d rather him have the motor going, and we’ll worry about the other stuff. And he’s a guy you can bounce around on different lines too. So it’s a luxury.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2024.
CALGARY – Trevor Harris had a rushing touchdown and threw a TD pass to Kian Schaffer-Baker to lead the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a 37-29 win over the Calgary Stampeders on Friday night.
Backup quarterback Shea Patterson ran for a pair of touchdowns for the Roughriders (6-7-1), who ended a seven-game winless streak.
Brett Lauther kicked three field goals for Saskatchewan, while newly acquired running back Ryquell Armstead had an impressive debut with 207 yards rushing on 25 carries.
Clark Barnes and Jalen Philpot caught touchdown passes from quarterback Jake Maier for the Stampeders (4-9-1), who are 0-5-1 in their past six games.
Tommy Stevens and Dedrick Mills had rushing touchdowns for Calgary, while Rene Paredes kicked a field goal.
The Stamps had a strong start as Stevens ran for a 69-yard touchdown at 1:38 of the first quarter. Paredes missed the convert, so Calgary had to settle for an early 6-0 lead.
Harris then led the Riders on an eight-play, 63-yard drive that Patterson completed by scrambling across the goal line for a one-yard touchdown.
Following a 33-yard field goal by Lauther at 10:15, Paredes answered with a 41-yarder with just 33 seconds left in the first quarter.
While Maier and the Calgary offence struggled in the second quarter, the same couldn’t be said for Harris and his Saskatchewan squad.
After Harris led the Riders down to Calgary’s two-yard line, Patterson ran for his second score of the game at 12:58 to cap an impressive eight-play, 99-yard drive.
Harris then punctuated a seven-play, 92-yard drive by running for a one-yard score with just one second left in the first half to give the Riders a 24-9 lead.
Barnes caught an eight-yard TD pass from Maier at 4:15 of the third quarter to pull the Stamps back within eight points.
Shaffer-Baker made an acrobatic catch just shy of the goal line and remained on his feet despite taking a pair of hits from Calgary’s Branden Dozier and Kobe Williams. He then ran into the end zone for a 25-yard score at 10:01 of the third.
Philpot hauled in an eight-yard TD catch at 1:01 of the fourth quarter before Louther kicked a 32-yard field goal at 3:44 to put the Riders up 34-23.
After Mills ran for a two-yard TD at 8:39 of the final quarter, the Stamps weren’t able to score a two-point convert as Maier was sacked by Saskatchewan’s C.J. Reavis.
It looked as though the Stamps were going to get the ball back after the Riders went two-and-out, but Tyler Richardson took a costly penalty for contacting punter Adam Korsak.
The Riders subsequently took a 37-29 lead after Lauther kicked a 40-yard field goal with 1:43 left on the clock.
Calgary had one more chance to extend the game, but former Stampeder Jameer Thurman picked off an errant pass by Maier to secure the victory for Saskatchewan.
UP NEXT
Roughriders: Host the Ottawa Redblacks (8-4-1) on Sept. 28.
Stampeders: Visit the B.C. Lions (7-7) on Oct. 4.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.
