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This year's Memorial cup could be one of the best in many years. You will have teh London knights who have hardly lost all year and rarely in the last few months. Then add in aanother very strong OHL team in Oshawa. layer in Rimouski led by the kid who have lost but once since Dec 28th and I think it will be very exciting
the kid is Sidney Crosby
AWARDS
2004-05 add in MVP Playoffs awarded last night
QMJHL - Michel Briere (Most Valuable Player)
QMJHL - Jean Beliveau Trophy (Leading scorer)
QMJHL - "Ford" Offensive Player of the Year
QMJHL - Paul Dumont Trophy (Personality of the Year)
QMJHL - First All-Star Team
2003-04 CHL - Player of the Year (Canadian Major Junior)
CHL - Leading Scorer (Canadian Major Junior)
CHL - Rookie of the Year (Canadian Major Junior)
QMJHL - Michel Briere (Most Valuable Player)
CHL - Canada Post Cup (Three stars)
QMJHL - "Ford" Offensive Player of the Year
QMJHL - RDS/JVC Trophy (Rookie of the Year)
QMJHL - Paul Dumont Trophy (Personality of the Year)
QMJHL - First All-Star Team
QMJHL - All-Rookie Team
It's a wrap - 195,771 turn out, placing 2005 games second all time
Posted on Wed, Jan. 05, 2005
By David Dodds
Grand Forks Herald Staff Writer
Herald Staff Write The consensus is that Grand Forks and Thief River Falls pulled off the most successful World Junior Championship ever held in the United States. That may be good, but local organizers already are coming up with ways the tournament could have been better. While naysayers say the tournament's total attendance didn't meet projections and overhyping the games misled people into believing tickets and hotel rooms were scarce, tournament organizers have their own list of positives.
They stress that this year's fan turnout was the best ever for a U.S. World Juniors, beating out metros such as Boston, Anchorage, Alaska, and Minneapolis. The games, held in Ralph Engelstad Arenas in Grand Forks and Thief River Falls, also were the first to receive national television coverage in the United States. ESPN2 televised most U.S. games. The games also provided a guarantee of about $800,000, another first for an American host.
Thorough critique
Early on, organizers suggested that the 2005 World Juniors could break all-time attendance records because of Grand Forks' proximity to Canada and because the NHL lockout would send hockey-starved Canucks here in droves.
The Canadians came, but attendance at other games, including Team USA's, were less than anticipated, bringing the tickets sold to 195,771. That's good for second all-time behind Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Tuesday's gold-medal game between Canada and Russia scored the highest attendance of the 2005 tournament, a sellout at 11,862.
"I couldn't think of any drastic changes that should've been done to anything that was done here," said Doug Palazzari, executive director of USA Hockey.
Still, Earl Strinden, interim general manager of Engelstad Arena, said there's room for improvement. He said a thorough critique session would take place immediately on how the tournament went, including a written report. The information could come in handy if The Ralph lands the tournament again.
Strinden said if organizers had it to do over again, he'd suggest that they nail down television contracts and sell advertising time much earlier. He said REA won't make a lot of money from television from this year's World Juniors.
USA Hockey will get the guarantee plus 80 percent of additional profits. The remaining money would be split between REA and the North Amateur Hockey Association.
Strinden replaced Todd Berning as arena general manager in October when planning for the World Juniors was winding down the home stretch. He said he's not critical of anything that was done by organizers who've worked on the tournament for the past two years.
Some complaints
Some have been unhappy with the way the tournament was advertised early on, with estimates that thousands would converge on Grand Forks and Thief River Falls, snatching up tickets and filling up hotel rooms. That perception may have actually kept people away, officials said.
"I'm a little surprised by all that," Palazzari said. "I don't know who started it, about the games being sold out and the motels being full.
"If someone needed a ticket, all they had to do was pick up the phone and make a call."
Another complaint had to do with the early push by REA to sell $455 tournament ticket packages. The arena later reduced ticket prices for some of the World Junior games, including games Monday as low as $5.
Strinden defended the tournament-package push, saying that those who had them, paid only $20 for games for which single-ticket buyers were paying between $40 and $50.
"Overall, the ticket packages that were sold early on were still a good buy," he said.
Shuttles popular
Todd Feland, director of public works in Grand Forks and a tournament volunteer, said about a dozen shuttle buses the city provided were popular.
"Especially among Canadian fans," he said. "We're quite pleased with the turnout on those, and the response we've received from fans is that they were really pleased that the city provided the service."
The cost for the shuttle service was built into the $200,000 that the city allocated for transportation, security and advertising at the World Juniors.
The city money, along with another $225,000 from the state, helped make up the tournament's total $4 million budget.
Well I wouldn't go that far. ;) We lost our ECHL team here this year in Greensboro, NC. I'm going through hockey withdrawal.
Good to see the Canadians win. All is right with the world in hockey when Canada rules.
CONGRATULATIONS TO CZECH REPUBLIC
The Czech Republic beats USA 3-2 to win the BRONZE in Overtime
CONGRATULATIONS CANADA
Canada strikes GOLD with 6-1 win over Russia
Canada Routs Russia for Junior Gold; U.S. Finishes Fourth
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 4, 2005
Filed at 11:08 p.m. ET
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) -- Canada won the world junior hockey championships for the first time since 1997, routing Russia 6-1 on Tuesday night for its 11th overall title.
Jeff Carter and Ryan Getzlaf each had a goal and two assists to help the Canadians end a string of four straight runner-up finishes. Russia beat Canada in the 2002 and 2003 finals and the United States upset the Canadians last year in Finland.
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Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, selected the outstanding player of the tournament, added a power-play goal and an assist in the most lopsided title game since the tournament switched to a bracket format in 1996.
Canada, which outscored its opponents 41-7 in six games, blew it open with a four-goal second period. Carter began the run, with his routine shot from the right circle fooling goalie Anton Khudobin to make it 3-1 at 3:33.
After Andrei Kuznetsov replaced Khudobin in goal, Bergeron and Anthony Stewart added goals in a 61-second span, and defenseman Dion Phaneuf made it 6-1 with a power-play goal. Canada outshot Russia 15-2 in the second period and 32-19 overall.
Danny Syvret also scored for Canada.
Jeff Glass made 18 saves for Canada, allowing only defenseman Alexei Emelin's power-play goal in the first period.
A pro-Canada crowd dressed in red and white chanted and waived flags throughout the game. Grand Forks is about 75 miles from the Manitoba border and about 150 miles from Winnipeg, a city of 750,000 people.
In the third-place game, Petr Vrana scored at 2:38 of overtime to give the Czech Republic a 3-2 victory over the United States. The United States missed a chance to win consecutive medals for the first time in team history.
``It would have been huge, but it just didn't go our way,'' University of North Dakota forward Drew Stafford said. ``There's not much you can say other than it's really disappointing.''
Vrana skated around U.S. defenseman Jeff Likens and moved in on goal. With Likens pestering him from behind, Vrana managed a soft shot that went through goalie Al Montoya's legs.
``It was a very weak goal, but it went in and that's all that matters,'' Vrana said. ``I just tried to put it on net.''
Czech goalie Marek Schwarz made 33 saves, 14 in the third period.
The Czech Republic's Michal Polak opened the scoring with a power-play goal early in the first period, and Kevin Porter tied it late in the period.
The teams also traded goals in the second, with Michael Frolik scoring for the Czechs and Drew Stafford countering on a power play for the Americans.
Montoya stopped 34 shots.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-HKO-World-Juniors.html
Canada vs. Russia on Jan. 4 for Gold
Gold Medal Final
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Grand Forks, ND
Ralph Engelstad Arena
The Canada/Russia rivalry
to write new chapter at WJHC
By John Edison
Whenever Canada and Russia square off, the result is bound to be some great hockey. This year, at the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship, the outcome should be no different.
In the gold medal game, Canada’s National Junior Team will bring its unblemished record against a Russian team that has won four straight games. With elite players like Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin facing off against Canada’s staunch defence, the game will make for a fitting end to this year’s World Juniors.
While many people have Canada penciled in as the favorite to win the tournament, coach Brent Sutter is quick to mention that in a Canada-Russia game, anything can happen. “There's so many different things that could go on that you never know what to expect.”
The history behind the two countries is extremely storied. Whether it be 1972’s epic eight-game match-up during the Summit Series or the overtime thriller at the Winnipeg Arena in 1999, Canada versus Russia often means hockey at its finest.
“There’s a great history between the two countries, and obviously they have a talented squad on their side,” said Braydon Coburn. “But we’re very confident with the guys we have in our room, so it is a fitting final.”
The emotion of a Canada-Russia final combined with the fan support of the Canadians makes tomorrow’s game even more special for Team Canada. “It’s so big back home, it’s not even funny. To be living the dream right now, and putting on that jersey is just awesome,” said Coburn.
For team captain Michael Richards, tomorrow’s game will basically be a first-time experience - a challenge he is ready for. “For the most part, I haven’t played very much against the Russians … but you always get the feeling that whenever you play Russia, it’s going to be a battle.”
Sidney Crosby said he is also expecting a close game in the finals. “It’s always a good game, and it’s always a close game,” he said.
Although the games have been close, Russia has had the upper hand in the last few meetings between the teams when the gold medal was on the line. In 2003, Russia bested Canada 3-2. One year earlier, the gold medal was handed to Russia after a 5-4 victory.
In 1999, it took overtime to differentiate the winner from the loser. Russia ended up grinding out a 3-2 win, giving Canada yet another silver.
Despite Canada’s recent difficulties putting away the Russians in the final, Crosby stated that each year is different. The tournament always comes down to one game, no strings attached.
“That’s in the past. We have one game. It’s one game, winner takes all. For sure, we’re happy to be in the final, but the hardest part is left.”
The puck drops in Grand Forks at 7:08 p.m. (local time). The game will be broadcast live on TSN and RDS, as well as on The Fan Radio Network.
---
Canada will face Russia in Tuesday’s gold medal final at the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship, in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Russia advanced to the final, with a 7-2 win over USA Sunday night in Grand Forks. Canada had earlier handled the Czech Republic 3-1 to reach the final. Canada has already assured itself of a seventh consecutive medal at the World Junior Championship, which is the longest current streak for any country at this event.
The last time that Canada and Russia faced off was in a gold medal game on January 5th, 2003 in Halifax, as Russia skated to an exciting 3-2 win.
Since the playoff system was implemented in the World Junior Championship in 1996, Canada and Russia have squared off for top honours three times, with Russia coming out golden on each occasion. Canada is looking to break this trend, and to bring home its first gold medal since 1997.
All-time versus Russia, Canada has a 5-6-1 record at the World Junior Championship.
The game will be broadcast live at 7pm (local) on TSN and RDS, as well as The Fan Radio Network.
http://www.hockeycanada.ca/e/teams/mens/junior/2005/results/1405_canrus.html
Finland 4, Sweden 3 ~ Jan. 3 /RELEGATION
Finns earn 5th place with the win
January 3, 2005
Ralphsworld
by Andrew Oberle
Finland comes back again to defeat rival Sweden; win 4-3 in OT
Janne Kolehmainen picked a good time for his first goal of the World Junior Championships. His goal beat Sweden and secured a fifth place finish for Finland. Scoring 1:37 into overtime, Kolehmainen got a quick shot off after a Swedish turnover and beat goalie David Rautio. For Finland, it was their second comeback victory over Sweden in the last week.
Finland got to the extra frame when Teemu Nurmi tied things up with 50 seconds to go in regulation. With Finland pulling goalie Joonas Hallikainen, Nurmi was able to take advantage of a defensive breakdown by the Swedes and tie things up forcing the extra session.
Finland assistant coach Petri Matikainen was pleased with the effort of his team. “Fifth place is good for this team. They have improved their standing. In the past as 16’s and 18’s they were seventh and eighth. This is the best this group has ever done. Any win against Sweden is good.” Said Matikainen of the win over Finland’s biggest rival.
Sweden controlled the game early. Carl Soderberg got the Swedes on the board with a goal 7:12 into the first period. Coming around the net and putting the puck upstairs over Hallikainen put Sweden up 1-0. Finland was able to tie the game at the 15:25 mark with a goal by Ville Mantymaa, who unleashed a laser of a shot to beat Rautio high to the blocker side. Soderberg was strong early taking Finnish defenders with him all over the ice generating some quality chances for the Swedes.
“They like to slow it down, we were trying to speed up the tempo a little bit, but it wasn’t quite enough. It’s tough, emotional, especially with the loss to them earlier.” Said Soderberg who is a St. Louis Blues draft pick.
Hallikainen was strong to start the second period keeping Finland into the game. Hallikainen was tough stopping Robert Nillson on two shorthanded breakaways and another quality chance by Nicklas Bergfors. Hallikainen finished the game with 35 saves.
Bergfors put Sweden back up by one with the first of his two goals. Getting a nice pass from Linus Videll Bergfors was able to one-time the puck past Hallikainen for a power play goal. Bergfors, the youngest player on the Swedish team added a goal later as well.
“He is very good. He’s a scorer, next year he will be better and score more goals. He is a very hard worker.” Said Soderberg of his young teammate.
With Sweden leading 2-1 after two periods, Finland’s Aki Seitsonen tied things up with a goal at the 7:08 mark of the period. This was followed by Bergfors’ second goal. Taking the puck from behind the net Bergfors was able to shoot the puck off the back of a Finnish defender.
This set the stage for the heroics supplied by Nurmi and Kolehmainen.
“I don’t know what happened. I just got the puck and shot it as quick as I could. That was my first goal of the tournament. It feels good. That’s a big goal, especially against Sweden. Said Kolehmainen.
Sweden’s top players of the tournament were Nillson, Johannes Salmonsson, and Oscar Hedman. For Finland it was Nurmi, Mantymaa, and Petteri Nokelainen.
Slovakia 3, Switzerland 2 ~ Jan. 3 /RELEGATION
Slovakia earns automatic bid with seventh place finish
January 3, 2005
Ralphsworld
by Andrew Oberle
Team Slovakia took seventh place at the World Junior Championships on Monday with a victory over Switzerland. Slovakia got up by two goals early in the game and was able to hold on for a 3-2 victory. The Swiss couldn’t get much offensive flow going as they were penalized seven times in the contest. Both teams were able to escape relegation and earned themselves automatic spots in next year’s tournament. For the Swiss this was an important aspect coming into the tournament, but for Slovakia it was more of a disappointment having not made it to the medal round.
“We are happy to win today. This team is good. We got seventh, but we could do more. We only came here with one goal, to make the medal round.” Said Slovakian defenseman Andrej Meszaros, a first round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators.
Slovakia went up 1-0 just 29 seconds into the game when a sharp angle shot off the stick of Tomas Bulik seemed to catch Swiss goalie Michael Tobler off guard as the puck went through his legs for a goal. Peter Olvecky was added to the Slovak lead with a goal at the 18:13 mark putting them up 2-0 after one period of play. Despite the early slip up, Tobler was strong throughout the period making quality saves to keep the Swiss in the game.
Switzerland increased the pressure in the second period as Gianni Ehrensperger came in all alone on Slovak goalie Jaroslav Halak, but was unable to convert. Switzerland was finally able to get one past Halak, but only after a couple of odd bounces. Swiss forward Yvan Benoit attempted to pass the puck to the front of the net, but the puck hit a Slovakian stick and flipped over the top of the net, then off the back of another Slovak defender and into the net. Halak never had a chance, as he didn’t see the puck until the referee was signaling that a goal had been scored. The Swiss also caught another break when a shot got through Tobler and was on its way over the goal line when defenseman Rafael Diaz swooped in behind Tobler to save a goal.
Going into the third period Slovakia maintained a 2-1 edge, until Kevin Romy scored for Switzerland 8:36 into the period. Romy got a pass from below the goal line from Victor Stancescu and was able to beat Halak up high.
The eventual game winner was scored by Slovakia’s Marek Hascak who beat Tobler high to the glove side with 6:57 left in the game. The Swiss had their chances in the remainder of the game, and despite pulling Tobler for the extra attacker were unable to score.
Despite losing their last game, the Swiss come away with a positive attitude and nothing but good things to say about their World Junior Championship experience.
“We can come out of this with our heads up. We showed some character and that we can play at this level. It is big for us to stay in the A pool for next year’s tournament in Vancouver. It has been a great experience.” Said Swiss defenseman Phillipe Furrer.
Furrer was tough to miss in the last ten days sporting neon green skate blades that are part of an endorsement deal with his team back home.
Slovakia finishes the tournament with a record of 4-2 and the Swiss finish at 2-4.
The top players of the tournament for their respective teams were as follows;
Slovakia: Meszaros, Stefan Ruzicka, and Halak. Switzerland: Tobler, Romy, and Stancescu.
Germany 4, Belarus 3 ~ Jan. 3 /RELEGATION
Germany wins their first game of the Championship
January 3, 2005
Ralphsworld
Germany won its first game of the World Junior Championship Monday beating Belarus 4-3. Germany used a balanced scoring attack and took advantage of two power plays in the third period to get the victory.
Andre Reiss got the game winner for the Germans on the power play with under two minutes to play in the third period. The Germans seemed to save their best for last as they held Belarus scoreless in the final frame and came back from a one goal deficit to take the win. The relegation game had no bearing on future status as both teams knew going in that they will have to play in the qualifying round to get into next year’s World Junior Championships.
Nonetheless, both teams worked hard and gave the fans at Ralph Engelstad Arena something to cheer about.
Alexey Ugarov gave Belarus a two goal lead scoring twice in the first period, both times he was assisted by Konstantin Zakharov. Germany’s Fabio Carciola was able to cut the Berlarus lead to one with a goal at the 17:15 mark of the period. Carciola scored when his centering pass went off the skate of a Team Belarus defender and past goalie Stepan Goryachevskikh.
It was Zakharov hurting Germany again early in the second period as he put Belarus back up by two scoring 5:22 into the period. German goalie Youri Ziffzer was strong in net making ten saves in the period. Ziffzer finished the contest with 26 saves to his credit. The Germans were able to again cut the Belarus lead to one as Alexander Janzen scored on a one timer off of a nice feed from Marcus Kink.
The third period was the difference for the Germans as they seemed to wear down Team Belarus. Scoring on two of three power play opportunities the Germans finally got a victory in the tournament. Kink tied things up for the game for the Germans at the 13:44 mark of the third period. Taking a feed from Carciola Kink was able to get it by Goryachevskikh who finished the game with 24 saves. Germany finishes the tournament with a record of 1-5, as does Team Belarus who got their victory with an upset win over Team USA.
Belarus was led by player of the game Zakharov who finished with a goal and two assists, as well as Ugarov’s two goals.
For Germany, Garciola was the player of the game with a goal and an assist. Kink also played well for the Germans as he too scored a goal and had a helper.
At the end of the tournament the three top players from each team are recognized for their play. The top players for Germany were; Steffen Tolzer, Jens Baxmann, and Kink. For Belarus the top three were; Ugarov, Andrei Karev, and Andrei Kastsitsyn who did not play in the game versus Germany.
Russia 7, USA 2 ~ Jan. 2 /SEMIFINAL ROUND/RELEGATION
Russia moves on to play Canada for the Gold
.
Herald photo by Eric Hylden
USA'S Kevin Porther and Russia's Dmitri
Megalinski reach for the puck during
Sunday's World Junior Hockey Championsip
in Ralph Engelstad arena in Grand Foorks
Herald photo by Jacie Lorentz
USA players look at the clock as time winds down in the their defeat to Russia.
Posted on Mon, Jan. 03, 2005
By Brad E. Schlossman
Herald Staff Writer
Russia eliminates Team USA 7-2 in WJC semifinals
Repeat dreams die
This time there was no third-period rally for the Americans.
And this year, there will be no gold medal at the World Junior Championship for Team USA.
Team Russia ended the Americans' dreams of repeating as gold medal champions in the WJC with a 7-2 semifinal win Sunday before 9,024 fans in Grand Forks' Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Last year in the WJC at Helsinki, Finland, Team USA rallied for three goals in the third period to top Canada for the gold medal. Sunday night, the Russians rallied in the third period and blew open what had been a close game for two-and-a-half periods.
Russian stars Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, the top two picks in the 2004 NHL draft, each scored two goals and had an assist.
"I didn't think it was that easy," Malkin said. "For two periods it was an even game. I thought the power play was the difference. (The Americans) were also playing their second game in two days. Maybe that is why we were quicker than they were at the end."
Russia advances to play Team Canada in the gold-medal game at 7:08 p.m. Tuesday. Team USA will play the Czech Republic for the bronze medal at 3:08 p.m. Tuesday.
Russia avenged an opening-day 5-4 loss to the Americans by way of a four-goal third period. Two of the goals were empty-net goals and the final score came as time expired.
"We didn't come out as hard as we did in the first game," Team USA defenseman Jeff Likens said. "We got our wheels going in the first game. (Sunday) night was a little different. They came out with more jump and they were more ready than we were."
And the Russians had more gas in the tank than the Americans, too. Team Russia outshot Team USA 43-24 and was constantly pressuring American goaltender Al Montoya.
Montoya, who was named the Team USA player of the game, finished with 36 saves and kept his team in the game during the second period when the Russians peppered him with 17 shots.
But like the Christmas Day game, the Americans struggled to score after a quick start. Team USA scored both of its goals on the power play in the first period. For the last two periods Russian goaltender Anton Khudobin (22 saves) shut the door on Team USA's few chances.
On Christmas, the Americans and Russians combined for nine goals in the first 30 minutes. Nobody scored in the final 30 minutes.
"We deserved this win," said Team Russia forward Enver Lisin, who had a goal.
"We outplayed them the first time we played them. They just got the bounces. So we were confident coming into this game."
The Russians threatened to blow the game open early. Team Russia took a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game on power-play goals by Lisin and Ovechkin. Just minutes after Ovechkin's goal the Russians had a few chances to go up 3-0, including hitting a goal post.
But the Americans settled down and answered with a pair of power-play goals by Robbie Schremp and Patrick O'Sullivan to tie it in the first period. Schremp fired a wrist shot from the right circle, which hit Khudobin and trickled across the goal line. O'Sullivan scored on a slap shot from the point.
The Russians took the lead back before the end of the period. Sergei Shirokov skated in from the right side and fired a wrist shot top shelf for the goal.
After a scoreless second period, Malkin scored a key goal midway through the third. Coming in from the left wing, Malkin fired a wrist shot past Montoya to give Russia a two-goal cushion with 9:57 left.
Team USA's comeback efforts were hurt by penalties. O'Sullivan took a four-minute high sticking penalty after Malkin's goal. After he got out of the box, the Americans pulled Montoya for an extra attacker.
Then the Russians scored the clinching goals.
We just didn't come out and play our game," American captain Ryan Suter said.
"(The penalties) were a big factor. We didn't get the breaks we wanted."
"It's obviously disappointing," Team USA coach Scott Sandelin said.
Canada 3, Czech Republic 1 ~ Jan. 2 /SEMIFINALROUND/RELEGATION
Canada heads to 4th straight gold final
Canadian Press
1/2/2005
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (CP) - Canada advanced to the final of the world junior men's hockey championship for a fourth straight year with a 3-1 semifinal win over the Czech Republic on Sunday.
Canada has finished second at the last three tournaments, losing to Russia in 2002 and 2003 and the United States last year.
Jeff Carter of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Nigel Dawes of the Kootenay Ice and Patrice Bergeron of the Providence Bruins scored for Canada in front of a pro-Canadian crowd of 10,206 at the Ralph Engelstad Arena. Calgary Hitmen forward Ryan Getzlaf had two assists.
Rostislav Olesz scored a short-handed goal for the Czechs.
'I think we did well,' Carter told TSN. 'We were pretty tight defensively, we didn't give them many chances.'
Canadian starter Jeff Glass faced only 11 shots behind a smothering Canadian defence, while Czech counterpart Marek Schwarz, who plays for the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants, faced 42.
'We just tried to limit their opportunities and keep them to the outside,' said defenceman Shea Weber.
Canada will meet the winner of Sunday's later semifinal between Russia and the U.S. on Tuesday (TSN, 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt). Canada last won gold in 1997 at Geneva, Switzerland, capping a run of five straight years of gold medals.
'It's been a long time I've been thinking about (going for gold again),' said Carter, who was on the team which lost to the Americans last year. 'I'm just happy to get another shot at it.'
The Czechs have a dozen players in their lineup who play in the Canadian Hockey League and four of them are teammates of Canadian players. Zbynek Hrdel is Sidney Crosby's winger with the Rimouski Oceanic.
After Canada outscored the opposition 32-5 in the round robin, the semifinal felt close because Canada made defence a priority over offence.
Canada played with six defenceman because Cam Barker was sent home Friday with mononucleosis. Brent Seabrook has been battling a shoulder injury throughout the tournament, so he saw limited duty while Dion Phaneuf saw a lot of action on the blue-line.
The Czechs managed only two shots in each of the first two periods despite having five power-play opportunities.
With just over three minutes remaining in regulation, the Canadian bench was assessed a bench minor. Crosby had broken his stick and when he skated to the bench to get another one and it was thrown to him.
The Czechs failed to generate any quality chances during that span, as Canada closed out the win with ease.
Olesz, the first-round pick of the Florida Panthers, scored a short-handed goal on the Czechs' first shot of the third period on a two-on-one with Lukas Bolf , cutting Canada's lead to 3-1.
Glass's biggest challenge at this tournament has been to stay mentally in the game because he faces so few shots. There was not traffic in front of him, yet he was beaten on a shot from three metres out.
Bergeron scored Canada's third goal at 12:34 of the second period. Crosby fed him from behind the net. Bergeron was allowed to walked in, he got Schwarz to commit and then backhanded the puck in stickside on Schwarz.
Dawes backhanded home a rebound on Phaneuf's shot from the blue-line at 10:02 for a power-play goal and Canada's second goal at 10:02.
Just seconds after a Czech penalty ran out, Carter shovelled in his own rebound stickside on Schwarz for Canada's first goal at 18:38 of the first period. Defenceman Ladislav Smid had broken his stick just before Carter's goal and had to borrow one from a forward.
Slovakia 2, Belarus 1 ~ Jan.2 /SEMIFINAL ROUND/RELEGATION
Slovakia, Switzerland to play for seventh place;
Germany and Belarus knocked out of next year's tournament
Posted on Mon, Jan. 03, 2005
Kevin Fee
Herald Staff Writer
The qualifiers for the 2006 World Junior Championship have been decided.
Slovakia locked up a spot in next year's event with a 2-1 victory against Belarus in WJC relegation play Sunday in Grand Forks' Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Slovakia and Switzerland will be the seventh- and eighth-place teams in this year's tournament. Germany and Belarus lost their spots in the 2006 event, and will have to qualify next winter for the 2007 event.
But there are still relegation games to play. Belarus and Germany will meet for ninth place and Switzerland and Slovakia will play for seventh place today.
Slovakia needed a goal from Peter Olvecky with 3 minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the third period to get past Belarus.
Olvecky also had an assist for Slovakia, which improved to 2-0 in relegation play.
Konstantin Zakharov staked Belarus to a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal in the second period.
But Slovakia's Andrej Sekera tied it at 10:03 of the third period before Olvecky scored the winner.
Jaroslav Halak stopped 25 of 26 shots, including seven in the third period, for Slovakia.
Slovakia coach Dusan Gregor said he's pleased his team qualified for next year's tournament. "On the other side, I feel this team didn't achieve what it came here to acheive," he said.
Slovakia will have to settle for seventh or eighth place.
RYAN'S WORLD: U.S. fans pick it up a notch
Herald photo by Eric Hylden
USA fan Richard Schaffer of Grand Forks shows some patriotism during Saturday's
World Junior Hockey Chapionships in Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks.
Posted on Sun, Jan. 02, 2005
GrandForksHerald
Someone has to challenge those Canucks
When handing out the credit for Team USA's 8-2 Swedish smorgasbord feast Saturday night, don't forget Allen Orwick.
Allen who?
Allen Orwick of Michigan, N.D., that's who.
From attending other Team USA games, Orwick thought the Ralph Engelstad Arena crowd needed some prodding. So he plucked the American flag from outside his home. Other fans had the same thinking, as the red, white and blue was evident in larger numbers Saturday night at the REA.
But Orwick did more than add another visual aid to the atmosphere.
He produced karma. Karma straight from his garage.
You see, the U.S. flag was attached to a Christian Brothers hockey stick. The Christian clan includes Billy, who won Olympic hockey gold in 1960, and David, who won Olympic hockey gold in 1980.
For more karma, Orwick wore Zach Parise's No. 11 World Juniors jersey from last year. It was adorned by Parise's autograph. Parise, a UND player, was the MVP as the USA won the gold medal over Canada.
It was Canada's seventh straight silver, meaning the only place that has more weight in Silver is the Lone Ranger's barn.
Canadians are quite confident this streak will end. And their team hasn't given anybody any reason to think otherwise, either. But if the other teams seem humbled by the Canadian team's skill, it's nothing like the humbling the USA fans are taking at the hands of the Labatt Blue-swigging, Players chain-smoking hosers.
"They're schooling us," Orwick said. "They're educated fans and they're full of enthusiasm.
"We need to pick it up a notch to help the team pick it up a notch."
The fans picked it up, but certainly not as many notches as the team did. Their eight-goal outburst avoided another potential international incident between the United States and Russia.
You see, Russian referee Vyacheslav Bulanov didn't allow an apparent U.S. goal. In fact, he stubbornly refused to look at the instant replay, resulting in cascading blues. A few minutes later, while breaking up a scuffle, a linesman accidentally elbowed Drew Stafford in the head.
At least the officials got the crowd riled up. The only other time they got agitated was when the big screen showed Canadian fans cheering for Sweden. That image was met by loud boos.
Then, the camera panned to a USA flag waving and the words to "Born in the USA" blared over the PA system, eliciting even louder cheers.
But the Canadian fans once again got the last laugh, chanting "Bel-a-rus, Bel-a-rus," the otherwise winless team that upset Team USA.
It's unclear whether these pockets of Canadian fans really don't like the USA or they're just having fun with them. Or perhaps they're as yellow as the Swedish uniforms. Maybe they're rooting for USA opponents because they're scared of a repeat of last year's title game. Eh?
Whatever the motivation, it's clear that they are irritating the USA fans by taking USA Hockey's red, white and blue pom pons and plucking the blue streamers out of them.
Blue streamers cover the granite floor of the REA, meaning USA Hockey has supplied Canadians with red-and-white pom pons.
But Orwick's flag-on-a-(hockey)-stick invention also included one of those pom pons. And the Canadians hadn't gotten to its blue streamers ... yet.
I'm sure they stayed up all last night trying to figure out how to alter the USA Hockey towels handed out to fans before the game.
To recap, at least some Americans are putting up a patriotic fight. Scott MacMillan of Manvel, N.D., Donovan Larson of Fargo and Terri Moser of Devils Lake were sporting large flags. They all said they're trying to emulate the Maple Leaf-waving hosers.
"I think our crowd enthusiasm is picking up," MacMillan said. "But I don't think we'll catch up to them. They're awesome."
USA 8, Sweden 2 ~ Jan. 1 /RELEGATION
U.S. Advances to World Junior Championship Semifinal Round With Win Over Sweden;
Phil Kessel Notches Hat Trick, Assist
.
AL Montoya made 29 saves Saturday to help
Team USA top Sweden, 8-2.Herald photo by Jackie Lorentz
Sweden's Per Salvilahti-Nagander and USA's Drew Stafford
throw punches in the second period during Saturday's game.
Herald photo by Jackie Lorentz
Sweden's Per Salvilahti-Nagander and USA's Drew Stafford throw punches in the second period during Saturday's game.
USAHockey
January 1, 2005
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Phil Kessel (Madison, Wis./U.S. Nat’l Under-18 Team) scored three times and added an assist as the U.S. defeated Sweden, 8-2, to advance to the Semifinal Round of the 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship tonight. With the win, the U.S. is guaranteed a spot in the Medal Round.
Sweden took its only lead of the game, scoring at 4:20 of the first session before Kevin Porter (Detroit, Mich./Univ. of Michigan) lifted a Kessel rebound into the high corner to knot the score. The teams went to the locker room tied after one.
“We knew it was going to be tough game. We got behind but managed to battle back and get the lead,” said Head Coach Scott Sandelin. “I thought we got better as the game went on.”
Just over three minutes into the middle stanza, Drew Stafford (Faribault, Minn./Univ. of North Dakota) broke the tie with a glove-side shot through traffic.
Kessel then notched his first of the night, going coast-to-coast before firing five-hole on Sweden goalie David Rautio Berguv. The Swedes narrowed the U.S. lead to one at the midpoint, when Loui Eriksson maneuvered around Al Montoya, (Glenview, Ill./Univ. of Michigan) scoring low, glove-side.
Kessel struck again early in the third, skating around Sweden’s Johan Fransson and pushing the puck off the far post, to score the eventual game-winner. He completed the trick 3:06 later, when Patrick O’Sullivan’s (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mississauga Ice Dogs) shot hit the post and squirted out into the slot where a waiting Kessel jammed it in.
“Thank god we had Phil Kessel.” Sandelin said, “I thought he was the difference tonight. He just continues to get better.”
With the U.S. on the man-advantage, and Sweden opting for a goaltending change, Robbie Schremp (Fulton, N.Y./London Knights) bounced the puck over Christopher Heino-Lindberg’s pads for 6-2, USA. Ryan Suter (Madison, Wis./Milwaukee Admirals) tallied the second U.S. power play goal of the night, knocking in a hard slapshot from the high slot at 12:46, and T.J. Hensick (Howell, Mich./Univ. of Michigan) punctuated the U.S. win with a backhanded shot high to the stick-side with 15 seconds remaining.
The win sends the U.S. to a Semifinal matchup with Russia on Sunday, Jan. 2, at 7:38 p.m. CST (ESPN2). The winner of that game will advance to the gold medal game while the losing team will play for the bronze. Both games of the Medal Round are set for Tuesday, Jan. 4. If the U.S. reaches the gold medal game, ESPN will broadcast it live, beginning at 7:08 p.m. CST.
Czech Republic 3, Finland 0 ~ Jan. 1 /RELEGATION
Czech Republic moves on to the semifinals with 3-0 victory
Ralphsworldjr.com
January 1, 2005
The Czech Republic moved on to the semifinals of the World Junior Hockey Championships with a 3-0 victory over Finland on Saturday. Marek Schwarz earned the shutout in net for the Czech Republic stopping all 21 Team Finland shots. It was a game of missed opportunities for the Finns as they had numerous chances only to be stopped by Schwarz or the body of a Czech defender.
The Finns came out and played well early in the game with most of the action taking place in front of Schwarz. The Czech Republic turned the tide in the last ten minutes out shooting Team Finland 14-6 in what turned out to be a scoreless first period.
The other major factor in the first half of the game was Finland goaltender Tuukka Rask. Rask was sharp in the first and second period stopping the Czech attack time and again. Lukas Kaspar was robbed on two shots in a row late in the first, and Rask was again on top of things making key saves on a Czech power play early in period two.
“I was feeling pretty good. I was satisfied with two periods of the game. The whole game was pretty good. We played well as a team in the third period.” Said Rask.
The first goal of the game was scored almost seventeen minutes into the second period by Petr Vrana. Helped out by a screen from Rostislav Olesz, Vrana was finally able to solve Rask. Olesz gave the Finns trouble all night. His combination of size and speed had him dragging defenders with him all over the ice. Olesz put the Czech Republic up 2-0 at the 3:35 mark of the third period on a shorthanded goal. Waiting for the Finnish defender to commit, Olesz darted the other direction unleashing a quick shot that went over the shoulder of Rask and gave the Czech Republic a huge momentum boost.
“They played well. I thought we played pretty good defensively. In the second period we took too many penalties and gave them momentum. Giving up that shorthanded goal was bad for us, but lack of offense was the problem for us.” Said Finland assistant coach Petri Metikainen.
The Czech team also played good defense as well, limiting Finland to just seven shots in the first two periods. A reason for that low total was not that Finland wasn’t taking shots, more that the shots weren’t getting to the net. The Czech defenders were more than willing to throw their bodies in front of the puck throughout the entire game, with blocked shot totals well into the double digits.
Roman Cervenka got the final tally for the Czech Republic with just over two minutes left in the third period beating Rask through the legs with a slap shot.
The Czech Republic moves on in the medal round to play Team Canada on Sunday. Though Canada is the favorite, the Czech team will be ready to go in what will be their biggest test of the tournament.
“We know they are a great team, but every game starts 0-0, and every day is a new day. We will prepare them to do their best. Canada is the big favorite, but at the end of the game is what matters.” Said Czech coach Alois Hadamzcik.
Finland will play the loser of the United States versus Sweden on Monday.
by Andrew Oberle
Switzerland 5, Germany 0 ~ Jan. 1 /RELEGATION
Switzerland shuts down Germany 5-0 in first relegation match
Germans out of 2006 WJC
Posted on Sun, Jan. 02, 2005
By Kevin Fee
Herald Staff Writer
Coaches are always worried about how their team will perform in relegation play. Compounding the concern for Switzerland coach Jakob Kolliker was that his team was facing a rival.
But after some anxious moments the Swiss took control against Germany in the second period en route to a 5-0 victory Saturday in the World Junior Championship in Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Switzerland outscored Germany 3-0 in the second period on goals by Rafael Diaz, Marco Kaser and Beat Schuler.
Victor Stancescu scored the final two goals and was named the team's player of the game.
Switzerland goalie Michael Tobler finished with 19 saves for the shutout.
"It was a hard game for us," Kolliker said. "We know Germany very well. It was a little bit nervous."
Switzerland had a 46-19 edge in shots on goal. It also held Germany scoreless on six power-play chances.
Switzerland and Slovakia both have two points in the relegation round. If Slovakia defeats Belarus today, Switzerland will be guaranteed a top-eight finish in the tournament.
But Switzerland wants to finish seventh. It likely will need a victory against Slovakia on Monday to earn the spot.
"That's our goal," Kolliker said, "to be the best losers."
Either way, the Swiss are in good shape. They had scored 10 goals and allowed none in relegation. Their other victory was 5-0 over Belarus, as round robin games betweeen relegation teams carry over to the final standings.
"We want to win the final game against Slovakia," Stancescu said. "Seventh place would be a good result."
All top-eight finishers from this year's tournaemnt will qualify for next year's tournament in Vancouver, B.C. The ninth- and 10th-place teams will be replaced by Norway and Latvia.
Germany has been eliminated, meaning it must qualify in a Division I tournament next winter to get to the 2007 tournament in Sweden.
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/special_packages/world_juniors/10547827.htm
USA Hockey to earn profit from World Junior Championship
Posted: Saturday January 1, 2005 1:47PM
SI.com
Change of Events
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) -- USA Hockey says it will make money on the World Junior Hockey Championship for the first time in the four years it has hosted the international event.
Ralph Engelstad Arena Inc. guaranteed $800,000 to the hockey organization for the right to host the tournament in Grand Forks and Thief River Falls, Minn.
"This one's a whole different level financially compared to the other ones we've hosted," said Jim Johannson, senior director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, which also hosted the world championship in 1982 (Minneapolis), 1989 (Anchorage, Alaska) and 1996 (Boston).
When the event was held in Nova Scotia in 2003, it generated a record $3.7 million for hockey programs in Canada, where the sport is more popular. Officials south of the border are trying to raise awareness of the sport, and say national media coverage on ESPN of this year's tournament should help raise its profile.
The $800,000 guarantee to USA hockey, along with any other profits, will go toward amateur hockey programs, including the North Dakota Amateur Hockey Association and Minnesota Hockey.
USA Hockey is getting 80 percent of the profits from ticket sales, merchandise, sponsorships and television rights, said Chris Semrau, a spokesman for Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The tournament budget is $4 million, with about $225,000 coming from the city of Grand Forks and state of North Dakota. The arena is getting 10 percent of the gate profits, and revenue from concessions and merchandise sales. Those sales are setting records for the facility, said Earl Strinden, acting manager of the arena.
Strinden said the successful financial showing improves the odds of the tournament returning to Grand Forks in the future.
"Even though we won't make a windfall, we're going to do OK," he said.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/hockey/more/01/01/bc.hko.worldjuniors.mon.ap/index.html
Tough road for Team USA
Americans face Sweden in quarterfinals and a win brings Russia
Posted on Fri, Dec. 31, 2004
By Kevin Fee and Brad E. Schlossman
Herald Staff Writers
The United States will have to get back to the gold medal game the hard way.
After losing 3-1 to the Czech Republic on Thursday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena, the Americans are faced with winning two games in the medal round.
Team USA finished Group A in third place behind first-place Russia and the second-place Czech Republic.
But the Americans say they are feeling better about their game after a solid effort against the Czechs. At least Team USA played better than it did in a 5-3 loss to Belarus on Wednesday.
"I think we all felt a lot better tonight about our performance than we did the other night," U.S. coach Scott Sandelin said.
The United States will play Sweden at 7:38 p.m. Saturday in one quarterfinal. In Saturday's other quarterfinal, Finland will meet the Czech Republic at 3:38 p.m.
"They have a good team, like everybody who is here," Sandelin said of Sweden. "It's going to be another battle."
The semifinals are Sunday. The winner of the Finland-Czech Republic game will face Canada and the winner of the U.S.-Sweden game will meet Russia.
The United States had a 39-34 edge in shots on goal against the Czech Republic. The difference was Czech Republic goalie Vladislav Koutsky, who made 38 saves.
Koutsky actually is the team's No. 2 goalie behind Marek Schwarz.
"He's basically the reason we didn't win the game," U.S. forward Patrick O'Sullivan said of Koutsky.
Sullivan said the team feels much better about its chances in the medal round after the Czech game.
"Our mental state right now is as good as it's been in the tournament," O'Sullivan said.
As for Koutsky, he said Schwarz is the team's No. 1 goalie and should stay in the position in the medal round.
He said facing a lot of shots helped him against the United States.
"When a goalie faces a lot of shots, he's in a zone," Koutsky said.
Said U.S. forward Drew Stafford:"I think he won the game for them."
Canada has issues
Canada has some injury and illness issues.
Canada defenseman Cam Barker has been diagnosed with mononucleosis and will be sidelined for the rest of the tournament.
Barker will return to Winnipeg today.
He did not play in Thursday's 8-1 victory against Finland.
Forward Jeremy Colliton continues to be sidelined with a lower-leg injury, and defenseman Brent Seabrook has shoulder problems. Sutter said Seabrook should be ready for the semifinals.
No player can be added to the Canadian team, because Team Canada already had declared its 22-player roster.
Gretzky update
Word is that Wayne Gretzky will be in attendance at Canada's semifinal game.
Gretzky, arguably the best player in NHL history, will arrive either Saturday or Sunday, a source close to Gretzky said Thursday.
Also arriving Saturday will be the Stanley Cup, which will be on display in the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
Bourque is finished
American forward Chris Bourque, who plays with an edge and with high energy, has been lost for the tournament.
Bourque suffered a knee injury in Wednesday's 5-3 loss to Belarus in Grand Forks. He had been playing on the No. 1 forward unit with Patrick O'Sullivan and Drew Stafford.
Hockey minds pick top players
At every game in Grand Forks' Ralph Engelstad Arena, four hockey "experts" sit in the press box and analyze the action.
Two will pick the player of the game for the visiting team. Two will pick the player of the game for the home team.
Bill Lee, chair of the awards portion of the protocol committee, says all 16 who are selecting players of the game are knowledgeable about the sport.
Lee's lineup? Grant Paranica, Paul Ness, Jason Mack, Nick Bowen, Jay Panzer, Tim Skarperud, Mike Lamoine, Gary Purpur, Tony Palmiscno, Jim Scanlan, Bill Chase, Ross Perry, Serge Gambucci, Gino Gasparini, Matt Malm and Dave Hakstol.
It's kind of a who's who of Grand Cities hockey.
The fun part, Lee said, was calling the former coaches and players to ask if they would be interested.
"There wasn't a 'no' in the bunch," Lee said.
Lee says his player of the game scouts have enjoyed their time in the press box.
"They said we have the best job in the tournament," Lee said. "They get to sit and watch the games, which is their love, and they get to be active and make a difference."
Sweden 3, Slovakia ~Dec. 30
Sweden clinches medal round berth with 3-0 shutout over Slovakia
December 30, 2004
By Mike Lundgren
A 32-save shutout by David Rautio did two things Thursday: it clinched a World Junior Hockey Championship medal round berth for Team Sweden, and at the same time dropped Slovakia into the relegation round of the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation tournament for players under the age of 20.
Heading into the final round Group B pool play match-up at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls, Sweden needed a win to make the six-team medal round. Slovakia could also make it with a win or a tie, and would advance even with a loss - as long as they didn't lose by more than two goals. But with Rautio stopping everything in sight, the final 3-0 victory margin not only sent Sweden to Grand Forks with a shot at a medal, it sealed Finland's non-qualifying fate.
Johannes Salmonsson scored the only goal Sweden would need for the win 3:11 into the game.
Slovakia saw its medal hopes shattered during a space of 1-minute, 43-seconds in the second period when Carl Soderberg scored at 31:51 and Salmonsson came right back with his second goal at 33:34 to make it 3-0.
Slovakia pressed for at least a two-goal difference, but simply couldn't get the puck past Rautio.
Slovakia goalie Jaroslav Halak also played well, making 27 saves.
Not surprising, Rautio earned Sweden Player of the Game honors. His Slovakia counterpart was forward Marek Zagrapan.
http://ralphsworldjr.com/New2/index.php?page=news_In&dat=Dec30_4
Czech Republic 3, USA 1 ~ Dec. 30
Undrafted Vladislav Koutsky made 38 saves to give the Czechs a 3-1 win
that left the Americans with the third seed in the A Pool.
The Americans now play Saturday at 8:38 p.m. against Sweden, the No. 2 seed in the B Pool
The Swedes downed Slovakia 3-0 to grab that spot on the basis of goal differential.
December 30, 2004
The Czech Republic beat Team USA 3-1 Thursday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena. Czech goalie Vladislav Koutsky was outstanding stopping 38 American shots. The win vaults the Czech Republic to second place in Pool A. The U.S. finishes pool play in third. In an exciting game it was a second period goal by Lukas Kasopar that proved to be the game winner.
“This was a very tough situation for us. There was a lot of pressure on us playing the U.S. There are a lot of people watching at home. We have to go game by game now. This is very fun for our team.”, said Czech forward Jakub Petruzalek.
The Czech Republic got on the scoreboard first on a goal by Rostislav Olesz. Olesz took a sharp angle shot from near the boards that seemed to surprise American goalie Al Montoya. The remainder of the period was a back and forth affair with neither team creating much in terms of scoring chances.
Kaspar’s goal 57 seconds into the second period seemed to get the Americans into the game. From that point on it was all Team USA as the scoring chances came in waves towards Koutsky. The U.S. had several great chances as Jake Dowell had a partial breakaway, but Koutsky just got a pad on the shot to keep it out of the net. Finally the U.S. got to Koutsky when Dan Fritshe scored in the last minute of the period on a wrist shot that beat Koutsky up high.
“We played better than we did against Belarus. That was our goal. Their goalie played tough, I felt that we carried play. We kept the puck in their end. I feel we played a full 60 minute game.” , said U.S. forward Drew Stafford
The United States opened the third period much as it ended the second, with pucks coming at Koutsky from every direction. The Americans thought they the tying goal just 24 seconds into the period, but after a video review by referee Chris Savage it was ruled that the goal did not count.
“This was my first time ever in front of a crowd like this. It feels good to do well. It helps as a goalie when you face a lot of shots. It keeps you in the game.”, said Koutsky.
U.S. coach Scott Sandelin chose to pull Montoya in favor of an extra skater with over three minutes remaining in the third period. With the U.S. seeking first place in the pool and needing a win to secure that spot it was a move that had to be made. The Americans used the extra skater to their advantage keeping the puck in the Czech end for most of the last three minutes. It wasn’t until an empty net goal by Olesz with five seconds remaining that the Czech Republic secured the victory.
“We were tentative in the first half of the game. Their goalie was outstanding. We did everything but score. It’s disappointing to lose, but they are a very good hockey team.”, said Sandelin.
The U.S. will now play Sweden on Saturday in a quarterfinal match with the winner taking on Russia. The Czech Republic will play Finland on Saturday as well with the winner of that match playing Canada on Sunday.
by Andrew Oberle
http://ralphsworldjr.com/New2/index.php?page=news_In&dat=Dec30_3
Russia 6, Switzerland 1 ~ Dec. 30
Posted on Fri, Dec. 31, 2004
Russia romps over Swiss
Russians do their job in Group A
By Brad E. Schlossman
Herald Staff Writer
THIEF RIVER FALLS - Team Switzerland coach Jakob Kolliker knew his team might be in for a tough day Thursday.
"Russia plays at a level higher than us ... . or two, or three," Kolliker said.
Not only that, the Russians had something to play for. They were playing for a chance to win Group A at the World Junior Championship, if they also received some help from the Czech Republic.
It showed.
Team Russia cruised by Switzerland 6-1 in Thief River Falls' Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The win over Switzerland, coupled with the Czech Republic victory over the United States, gave Russia the Group A title, and a bye to Sunday's semifinal. The Russians will play the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal between Team USA and Sweden.
Russia's Enver Lisin, who had one point in the tournament coming into Thursday, chalked up four assists against Switzerland. And the Russians also got strong play from their two biggest guns, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin.
Ovechkin, the top pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, scored a pair of goals and added an assist. Malkin, the No. 2 pick behind Ovechkin, played well, too. He assisted on a goal and had a goal taken away from him because of a throwing-the-stick penalty that occurred prior to the goal.
"It's not just Ovechkin and Malkin," Kolliker said. "They have 20 guys who are very good players."
Team Russia goaltender Anton Khudobin stopped 16 shots to get the win.
"We shut them down with our defense," Khudobin said. "I got a lot of support in front of me. I credit the defense for doing a good job."
Dimitri Vorobiev put the Russians out front 4 minutes, 58 seconds into the game when he fired a wrister from the bottom of the left circle past Swiss goaltender Michael Tobler on the power play.
Later in the first, Dmitri Pestunov, who had a goal and two assists, provided the flashiest goal of the game. Pestunov, who was cutting in front of the Swiss goal, reached back behind him to catch a pass from Lisin. After getting his stick on it, Pestunov pushed the puck behind his back and into the net for the goal.
In the second period, Marco Kaser put Team Switzerland within one goal when he slid a backhand shot by Khudobin from the slot. But six minutes later, Ovechkin fired a one-timer from the top of the right circle into the net for a 3-1 lead. Goals by Alexander Galimov, defenseman Georgi Misharin and another by Ovechkin rounded out the scoring.
"Today's game was very important," Lisin said. "Our whole team was ready for this."
Team Russia assistant coach Sergei Gersonsky said his team has made adjustments throughout the tournament, but he's not sure how much they've improved.
"Time will tell," he said.
Canada 8, Finland 1 ~ Dec. 30
CANADA MOVES ON TO SEMI-FINALS WITH WIN OVER FINLAND
. . . .
Jeff Carter scored a hat trick
as Canada routed Finland 8-1
on Thursday Dec. 30.
#3 Dion Phaneuf (D) and Team Canada ran over Finland (#23 Kim Nabb) Thursday afternoon in their final match of the preliminary round. Winning 8-1, Canada moved to 4-0-0 and clinched their spot in the semifinals.
Preliminary Round
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Grand Forks, ND
Ralph Engelstad Arena
By Derrik T. Sovak
With a sea of red and white jerseys once again flooding the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. Canada’s National Junior Team faced Finland to finish out their preliminary play for the 2005 World Juniors.
Between the chants for Team Canada, the Winnipeg Jets, and Belarus – the team that defeated the U.S. last night – there were a lot of reasons to be a Team Canada fan as it handed Finland an embarrassing 8-1 loss. The win leaves Canada undefeated in this year’s WJC going into the medal round.
Finland set the pace early on in the game putting up three early shots. The game play was physical from the first drop of the puck, and Canada’s Ryan Getzlaf was whistled for hooking at the 1:50 mark of the first period.
“They came out hard. We had to come back on the other side for about half the first period,” said Jeff Carter after the game. “Then we started to play our game and get it low, and then we just warmed up.”
Canada’s penalty kill proved again why they are top-ranked in this year’s WJC to date. Canada didn’t give up a shot on the penalty. Still under the five minute mark, Finland received a penalty to Ville Mantymaa for interference.
Eight seconds after that infraction was called, Canada’s Corey Perry scored the first goal of the contest to make the score 1-0. He was assisted by Dion Phaneuf and Patrice Bergeron. “It was good to get the first goal out of the way,” said Perry. “We were skating well, everything was clicking.”
Game play remained physical throughout the first period and neither team had a true upper hand as the shots remained tied through much of the period. A charging penalty to Bergeron left the Canadian team a man short on the ice, but that didn’t stop the scoring.
At the 19:38 mark, Canada captain Michael Richards scored shorthanded to make Canada’s lead 2-0 heading into the first intermission. Canada’s domination of the Finns didn’t stop there.
The second period was all Canada as their prowess on the ice could not be matched by Finland. Carter was a key player in the period scoring three goals for a hat trick to help increase Canada’s lead. “We were just playing our game and suddenly I had a couple of points and [Richards] had a couple and we were on our way,” Carter said.
Shawn Belle added a goal and Perry added his second of the game to help Canada pull even further away from the Finns as they headed into their respective dressing rooms after forty minutes of play with a commanding 7-0 lead.
Even in the final period, physical play remained at the top of both teams’ agenda. Dion Phaneuf led the way for Canada: “I want to keep getting better every game and my game’s a physical style game that I have to play to be successful. I did that tonight, and I’ve tried to do that during the whole tournament.”
Canada kept pressing and added a shorthanded goal by Andrew Ladd to make the score 8-0.
“If we want to win we need to be a team that plays physical but also stays disciplined,” said Head Coach Brent Sutter. “We’re not going to get caught up with how other teams are playing.”
Three minutes past the halfway point, Canada was in penalty trouble as calls on Shea Weber and Belle gave a 5-on-3 advantage to Finland. The two man advantage led to Finland’s first goal of the game, a shot from the point by Juuso Hietanen, to pull to 8-1 at the 13:46 of the third frame.
The score remained the same to the final horn. Sutter felt his team played their best game so far. “I thought today was the day we came out and played like a focused hockey club. Right from the opening face off we played our style of hockey and came away with a win.”
Canada has now earned a bye through to the semifinals. As of press time, Team Canada’s opponent is yet unknown as quarter-final match-ups depend on the two late games as the round robin closes out.
CANADA TAKES 1ST PLACE IN GROUP B; MOVES ON TO SEMI-FINAL
Canada trounced Finland 8-1 to close out the round robin at the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship, and now goes straight through to the semi-final, which will go on January 2nd.
After killing off a penalty to Ryan Getzlaf to open the first period, Canada went on a powerplay and cashed in at 4:45. A Dion Phaneuf blast from the point bounced off the end-glass to the front of the net, where Corey Perry ‘singled’ it past Finnish goaltender Joonas Hallikainen.
Then while killing a penalty, Colin Fraser caused a turnover with some great forechecking, and Michael Richards sent a backhand shot by Hallikainen. Canada leads 2-0 through twenty minutes.
Jeff Carter kept the momentum going for Canada at 1:32, coming off the boards and firing a quick shot through the Finnish keeper. Carter was back at it at 14 :27, as he received a pass from Getzlaf, alone in front and outwaited the goaltender before pocketing his second of the game.
Shawn Belle left the point long enough to make it 5-0, on assists to Richards and Nigel Dawes. That marked the end for Joonas Hallikainen, who was replace by Tuuka Rask in the Finland net. Carter then got the hat trick, converting an Andrew Ladd pass at 17:29. Corey Perry added his second to make the score 7-0.
Andrew Ladd added a shorthanded marker in the third. Finland broke the goose-egg at 13:46, on a powerplay, as defenceman Juuso Hietanen beat a screened Jeff Glass. Canada also dominated on the shot clock with a 50-19 advantage.
CANADA MAKES IT 7-0 OVER FINLAND AFTER 2 PERIODS
Canada has the advantage through two periods, after scoring five goals in the middle frame, to take a 7-0 lead. Canada and Finland are battling for 1st place in Group B at the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship. Finland is fresh off an exciting comeback win over rival Sweden on Wednesday.
Jeff Carter kept the momentum going for Canada at 1:32, coming off the boards and firing a quick shot through the Finnish keeper. Carter was back at it at 14 :27, as he received a pass from Getzlaf, alone in front and outwaited the goaltender before pocketing his second of the game.
Shawn Belle left the point long enough to make it 5-0, on assists to Richards and Nigel Dawes. That marked the end for Joonas Hallikainen, who was replace by Tuuka Raask in the Finland net. Carter then got the hat trick, converting an Andrew Ladd pass at 17:29. Corey Perry added his second to make the score 7-0.
CANADA LEADS 2-0 OVER FINLAND
Canada and Finland are battling for 1st place in Group B at the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship. Finland is fresh off an exciting comeback win over rival Sweden on Wednesday
After killing off a penalty to Ryan Getzlaf, Canada went on a powerplay and cashed in at 4:45. A Dion Phaneuf blast from the point bounced off the end-glass to the front of the net, where Corey Perry ‘singled’ it past Finnish goaltender Joonas Hallikainen.
Then while killing a penalty, Colin Fraser caused a turnover with some great forechecking, and Michael Richards sent a backhand shot by Hallikainen. Canada leads 2-0 through twenty minutes.
Canada and Finland are underway in the game that will determine 1st place in Group B at the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship.
http://www.hockeycanada.ca/e/teams/mens/junior/2005/results/123004_canfin.html
Slovakia 5, Germany 0 ~ Dec. 29
Ruzicka scores natural hat trick; Halak posts second straight shutout
Posted on Thu, Dec. 30, 2004
By Brad E. Schlossman
Herald Staff Writer
THIEF RIVER FALLS - The offensive performances overshadowed Jaroslav Halak's defense.
Team Slovakia got a natural hat trick, the first of the World Junior Championship, from Stefan Ruzicka in the first period of Wednesday's 5-0 win over Germany in Group B play. And Slovakian captain Andrej Meszaros had two goals and an assist.
But all the players were talking about after the game was Jaroslav Halak.
The Slovakian goaltender made 11 saves in the shutout win against Germany in Thief River Falls' Ralph Engelstad Arena. It is the second straight shutout for Halak and the Slovakians, who blanked Team Finland 2-0 on Monday.
"Defense is what wins you tournaments like this," Slovakian defenseman Boris Valabik said. "You can have the goal scorers, but defense is what gets you wins. I think we played good defense and we have a very good goalie."
The win puts Team Slovakia in position to advance to the medal round. The Slovakians can clinch a place there if they top Sweden at 7:30 tonight in Thief River Falls. If the Slovakians lose by one or two goals, they can still get in if Canada beats Finland.
The Germans finish preliminary play 0-4 and will play in relegation.
"This was a big win for us," Meszaros said. "We had to win this game, and we played very good hockey."
Slovakia played well on both ends. The Slovakians had more shots on goal in the first period (14) than the Germans did all game (11).
"We played good defense against Finland, and we did against Germany, too," Meszaros said. "We have a good goalie and a good team."
Team Slovakia jumped to an early lead. Ruzicka broke in on German goalkeeper Thomas Greiss' right side and flipped a backhander top shelf for the goal.
At the 7:43 mark, Ruzicka scored on a wraparound for a 2-0 lead. He notched the natural hat trick at the 13 minutes, 50 seconds on his flashiest goal of the night. Ruzicka charged toward the net from the right wing with a defender just to his left. As he approached the goal, Ruzicka moved the puck to his left and pushed it by Greiss with one hand.
"We had a very fast start," Slovakia coach Dusan Gregor said. "From the beginning of the game, we played very good. We had a very good start, and we kept it up."
Germany assistant coach Uwe Krupp also praised the play of the Slovakians.
"Slovakia played very physical," he said. "They played a good all-around game. There's not a lot of holes in their game. They're a good team."
Belarus 5, USA 3 ~ Dec. 29
.
Herald photo by Nathan Berndt
USA forward Drew Stafford, right,
celebrates with teammate Nathan Hagemo
following his goal in the second period.
Herald photo by Jackie Lorentz
Referees break up a fight between Team USA and Belarus players at the end of the game Wednesday after Belarus defeated USA 5-3.
Posted on Thu, Dec. 30, 2004
By Virg Foss
Herald Staff Writer
So much for smooth sailing on home ice for Team USA in the World Junior Championship.
Tiny and winless Belarus pulled a major upset Wednesday night, stunning previously unbeaten Team USA 5-3 in front of 8,038 perplexed and disbelieving fans at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks.
Soft goals allowed by starter Cory Schneider and replacement Al Montoya allowed Belarus to race to a 5-2 lead after two periods and hand the United States its first loss in three games.
Even with the loss, the United States can finish first in pool B of the tournament by beating the Czech Republic tonight. Even if Russia beats Switzerland today in Thief River Falls and finishes pool play with the same 3-1 overall record as Team USA, the U.S. would win the tiebreaker based on its earlier win over Russia.
But after being outhustled, outplayed by Belarus and upstaged by goalie Stepan Goryachevskikh (39 saves), the U.S. hopes of repeating as gold medalist have been shaken.
"We'll have to play the entire game against the Czechs with the intensity we showed in the third period tonight," USA coach Scott Sandelin said. "And we need to eliminate all the turnovers we had."
Belarus was better at nearly every aspect of the game Wednesday, including holding the U.S. to 1-of-7 on the power play and offsetting that with a shorthanded goal by Alexi Efmienko at 9:14 of the first period.
His goal on a partial breakaway after an errant pass by Team USA in the offensive zone on the power play came against Schneider, who started in goal for the first time for Team USA. The freshman from Boston College gave up three goals on eight shots before being lifted for Montoya after Alexei Savin walked out from behind the net and whipped a shot through Schneider's legs just 2:10 into the second period.
Schneider also allowed a shot by Vadzim Karaha to trickle into the net off his arm at 15:38 of the opening period that extended the Belarus lead to 2-0.
Phil Kessel pulled Team USA to within 2-1 with his blast from the faceoff circle into the far corner of the net at 17:47 of the first period that narrowed the margin to 2-1.
But Savin's easy wraparound goal killed that momentum quickly in the second period.
If a shocking 3-1 lead for Belarus wasn't enough, Starhei Kukushkin greeted Montoya by beating him to the glove side from outside the blue line at 3:26 of the second period to make it 4-1. Then Andrei Kastsitsyn jumped on an errant pass off the wall from USA defenseman and team captain Ryan Suter to go the distance for an unassisted goal at 14:16, running the margin to 5-1.
That was more than enough to offset the third goal of the tournament by UND player Drew Stafford at 19:14 of the second period on a power play and Mike Brown's wrister from the right boards at 2:11 of the final period that closed the scoring.
Team USA outshot Belarus 21-10 in the third period and 42-26 for the game, but was upstaged by Goryachevskikh's goaltending and a three-point game from forward Kastisisyn, who had a goal and two assists and was named Belarus' player of the game.
"I had good luck," Goryachevskikh said through an interpreter.
Stafford, who now leads Team USA in goals with three one in each game chose not to dwell much on the stunner against Belarus.
"We've got to put it behind us and get ready for tomorrow," Stafford said.
Belarus had scored just four total goals in its first three tournament losses, then scored five in the first two periods against a U.S. team that most of the races to the puck and often mishandled the ones it did reach first.
Even a strong effort by Team USA in the first period wasn't enough to offset a four-goal deficit with the Belarus goalie, who came into the game with a 6.66 goals-against average in three tournament losses, making like a brick wall,.
"We need to come out for a full 60 minutes against the Czechs," Stafford said. "If we play like we did in the third period tonight for a full 60 minutes against the Czechs, I think we'll be fine."
Nobody from Team USA would say they overlooked Belarus, a team with minimal success in World Juniors play in any year.
"Any team can get goals and do well, especially in a tournament like this," Stafford said. "They got a lot of bounces, a lot of lucky bounces and took advantage of it."
When the game ended, a scuffle erupted between the teams with four players penalized, two from each side, with Andrei Karev of Belarus handed the a game misconduct and everyone else minors for roughing.
Belarus didn't miss a last chance to rub it in. As the last rumble was being broken up, a Belarus player looked at the U.S. players, pointed at his eyes, then up to the scoreboard where the final 5-2 margin of victory for Belarus told the true story of a battle won by tiny Belarus over the heavily favored U.S.
Finland 5, Sweden 4 ~ Dec. 29
Team Finland stays alive with four-goal rally
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Herald photos by Scott Fredrickson
Sweden's David Fredriksson slips a puck
in front of Finland goalie Tuukka Rask
as Jussi Makkonen defends.
Finland's Anssi Tieranta upends Sweden's Linus Videll with a check in Wednesday's World Juniors Championship game
Posted on Thu, Dec. 30, 2004
By Brad E. Schlossman
Herald Staff Writer
THIEF RIVER FALLS - When Nicklas Grossman's stick hit Finland forward Iivo Hokkanen in the face, it gave Team Finland hope.
Hokkanen and the Finns took full advantage.
Team Finland overcame a 4-1 third-period deficit, thanks in part to a five-minute major penalty on Grossman, to beat Sweden 5-4 in a game the Finns needed to win to stay in medal contention at the World Junior Championship.
Finland scored a pair of goals during the five-minute power play. Hokkanen, who came back after the vicious hit, scored the tying goal with 5 minutes, 50 seconds left in the third. Lauri Tukonen added the game-winning goal just 37 seconds later, capping the comeback Wednesday in Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The result means the Finns can still get into the medal round. Three teams - Finland, Sweden and Slovakia - are battling for the final two spots in Group B. Sweden plays Slovakia in Thief River Falls at 7:30 tonight, and Finland plays Canada, which has clinched a medal-round berth, today at 3:30 p.m. Here is what each team needs to do to get into the medal round:
• Finland can get in with a win or a tie against the Canadians. If the Finns lose to Canada, they can still get in if Slovakia beats Sweden or if Sweden wins by four or more goals.
• Sweden needs to beat Slovakia to advance.
• Slovakia can get to the medal round with either a win or a tie against Sweden. The Slovakians can also get in if they lose by one or two goals and Canada beats Finland.
"It's an amazing feeling," said Hokkanen, who later added he never considered staying out of the game after getting hit.
Instead, he returned with a large bandage above his upper lip. While he was getting checked out, his team used the five-minute power play to get jump-started and get back in the game.
Both coaches said the penalty was the turning point.
"That changed the game totally," Sweden coach Torgny Bendelin said. "Finland scored two goals on the power play. They got stronger, self-confident, and we got shaky."
In the first minute of the power play, Lauri Korpikoski and Jesse Joensuu scored 10 seconds apart to make it a one-goal game.
Hokkanen tied it eight minutes later when he flipped a backhander high to the left corner of the net from the slot. Tukonen's winning goal also came on a backhand shot.
"We had a bad game against Slovakia," Finland assistant coach Petri Matikainen said. "We haven't scored a lot of goals in the tournament. It all opened up against Sweden in the third period."
Finland pulled goaltender Tuukka Rask after the second period in favor of Joonas Hallikainen. Rask gave up two weak goals as the Swedes built their 4-1 lead. Hallikainen made 16 saves in the final period.
"(Hallikainen) played in the exhibition game against Canada, and he played well," Finland forward Lauri Korpikoski said. "It's nice to have two good goaltenders we can count on."
After the final buzzer sounded, a couple of Swedish players broke their sticks on the ice in frustration. Team Sweden forward Robert Nilsson, though, said he was happy his team still controls its own destiny.
"We should have won this game," Nilsson said. "Now it's a little harder. We just need to not think about this game too much. We still have something left to play for."
Czech Republic 5, Switzerland 2 ~ Dec. 29
Win sets up showdown with Team USA
December 29, 2004
By Kevin Fee
Grqand Forks Herald Staff Writer
Switzerland loses 5-2 to the Czech Republic
When the Czech Republic needed a goal, it turned to the youngest player in the World Junior Championship.
Czech Republic coach Alois Hadamczik said 16-year-old Michael Frolik's goal at 14 minutes, 9 seconds of the second period was the key play in a 5-2 victory against Switzerland on Wednesday afternoon in Grand Forks' Ralph Engelstad Arena.
"It's amazing that such a young player took it upon himself to accomplish that," Hadamczik said of Frolik. "He's an extraordinary talent, because of his age."
Frolik's goal gave the Czechs a 2-1 lead en route to a key victory. Switzerland could have done the United States a favor by defeating the Czechs.
The United States must defeat the Czech Republic tonight to gain the top seed out of Pool A. The top seed receives a bye into the semifinals. If the United States loses, it could drop to the No. 3 seed.
The Czechs and Switzerland were involved in a tight battle when Frolik scored. He walked around a defenseman, skated in front and beat goalie Michael Tobler to the far side.
Frolik said the goal helped both the Czechs and his own career. He noted that many NHL scouts were in the building.
"He's the future," Hadamczik said of Frolik, who also can be the present, as evidenced by his solid play against Switzerland.
The Czechs took a 1-0 lead at 5:13 of the first period. While being hauled down by a defender, Milan Hluchy shelved one past Tobler. Hluchy was named the Czech Republic's player of the game.
Stefan Hurlimann made it 1-1 in the second period, firing one high to the near side and past Marek Schwarz.
But the Czechs took control late in the period. After Frolik's goal made it 2-1, Petr Vrana put one in the short side from the faceoff dot at 16:41.
The teams traded early third-period goals, with Marek Kvapil scoring for the Czech Republic and Hurlimann scoring his second of the game for Switzerland. Rostislav Olesz provided the final margin with 30 seconds left.
Schwarz had a strong game in goal for the Czechs. He stopped 24 shots.
Switzerland coach Jakob Kolliker said his team maybe doesn't have as much skill and coolness as the Czech Republic.
"We work hard, we show good," Kolliker said. "But to beat a big nation, we're missing one little step ... . The last kick isn't here. We have to work for the last kick."
VOTE -- and view results
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Who will win the World Junior Championship?
Belarus 18 votes (2%)
Canada 576 votes (55%)
Czech Republic 28 votes (3%)
Finland 16 votes (2%)
Germany 6 votes (1%)
Russia 20 votes (2%)
Slovakia 10 votes (1%)
Sweden 23 votes (2%)
Switzerland 15 votes (1%)
United States 344 votes (33%)
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Russia 7, Belarus 2 ~ played Dec. 28
Ovechkin sparks Russia
Herald photo by Nathan Berndt
Russia defenseman Yakof Rylov (7) congratulates teammate Alexander Ovechkin after his goal on Belarus goalie Stepan Goryachevskikh during the first period of the World Junior Championships in Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls on Tuesday.
Herald photo by Nathan Berndt
Belarus forward Alexei Efimenko (27) shoots the puck past Russia goalie Andre Kuznetsov while teammate Grigori Panin defends during the second period of the World Junior Championships.
By Brad E. Schlossman
Grand Forks Herald Staff Writer
Top selection in NHL Entry Draft teams with Wild pick for 7-2 win
THIEF RIVER FALLS - Team Russia coach Sergei Gersonsky said what fans saw here Tuesday night was "typical Alexander Ovechkin."
For fans who wanted to see one of hockey's up-and-coming stars, it was a good thing.
For Belarus, it wasn't.
Ovechkin scored a pair of goals with pinpoint accuracy while leading the Russians to a 7-2 win in Pool A play at the World Junior Championship in Thief River Falls' Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The Russians can clinch at least the second seed with a victory over Switzerland on Thursday. If a win over the Swiss is coupled by a Czech Republic win over the United States by one or two goals, provided the Americans beat Belarus tonight, the Russians would win Pool A.
"I felt we dominated the game," Gersonsky said.
The Russians dominated early, let Belarus back in it for a while, then finished off the heavy underdogs midway through the third period.
Ovechkin, the top pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, gave Team Russia a 4-1 lead after two periods by scoring a pair of goals on perfect shots. Both goals rang off the inside of the post and went in.
"This is very typical Alexander Ovechkin," Gersonsky said. "He has a very fast, precise shot."
Said Ovechkin: "I just took the shot and hit the goals."
But Belarus was still in the game early in the final period.
Belarus cut the Russian lead to 4-2 on a goal by Viachaslau Shypila 43 seconds into the third.
"We let down a little bit," Russian forward Dmitri Pestunov said.
Shortly after Shypila's goal, Belarus went on a 5-on-3 power play for 1 minute, 16 seconds. But Belarus' Vadzim Karaha kicked the stick of a Russian player at the start of the 5-on-3 and was sent to the box.
"That was not a smart penalty," Belarus coach Mikhail Zakharov said. "Then, it was 4-on-3 and we couldn't score."
And once Team Russia got back to full strength, it closed out Belarus with three goals in 1:46. Minnesota Wild draft pick Roman Voloshenko scored the second of his two goals from a near impossible angle to give Russia a 5-2 lead.
A minute-and-a-half later, Alexander Radoulov took a feed from Evgeni Malkin and fired it past Belarus goaltender Stepan Goryachevskikh.
Twenty-one seconds after Radoulov's goal, Alexander Nikulin added yet another for Russia, making it 7-2.
"I'm not sure why it took so long for us to score the goals," Gersonsky said. "We had a lot of opportunities in the second period, and we didn't score. They were bound to come."
The back-to-back-to-back goals were the result of a defensive lapse and good play by Russia. "We didn't do a good job clearing the pucks out of the zone," Belarus forward Andrei Kastsitsyn said. "And our goalie made some bad mistakes."
Added the Belarus coach: "It's not just Ovechkin who has a great shot. All their players are good shooters."
Canada 9, Germany 0 ~ played Dec. 28
Canada has outscored its opponents 24-4 in three games.
AP
SportsIllustrated
Posted: Wednesday December 29, 2004 12:27AM
Canada outshoots Germany 52-17 en route to 9-0 rout
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) -- Goals by Clarke MacArthur, Sidney Crosby and Cameron Barker led Canada in a dominating first period performance that became a 9-0 victory Tuesday night over Germany in the World Junior Hockey Championship.
Canada outshot Germany 25-5 in the period and 52-17 for the game. Crosby and Anthony Stewart finished with two goals apiece for the Canadians.
Canada, a favorite to win the tournament, improved to 3-0 in preliminary games. Germany dropped to 0-3.
"It would be huge to finish undefeated," MacArthur said. "The Canada crowds have been so great. We can't let up."
Crosby's goals gave him a tournament-leading six.
"We have a lot of talented players to put on the ice," MacArthur said. "I think mentally, we just wanted to keep the pedal down."
The Canadians took nothing for granted.
"We wanted to make sure our preparation was very good," coach Brent Sutter said. "Germany has a history of knocking off teams. I think we did a good job of taking it one period at a time and playing our game."
Canada will play Finland on Thursday to close out the preliminary round of play.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Swiss family odyssey
Herald photo by Eric Hylden
Marcel and Janette Wick traveled from Switzerland to Grand Forks to watch their son, Roman, play in the World Junior Hockey Tournament in Ralph Engelstad Arena on Dec. 26
Posted on Tue, Dec. 28, 2004
Grand Forks Herald
An epic lesson: Make sure your taxi driver has a visa when he takes you across the border
Airline tickets? 1,500 Swiss francs.
Taxi ride? $175 Canadian.
Bus tickets? Free.
Watching your son score the first goal for Team Switzerland in the World Juniors? Priceless.
Memories of a gypsy-like journey to Grand Forks? Even more priceless.
Meet Marcel and Janette Wick of Zurich, Switzerland. Their son, Roman, scored the first goal in Switzerland's 5-0 win over Belarus Sunday. Mom and Dad were beaming from the stands.
How they got from Zurich to their seats is an even better story, however.
On Christmas Day, Marcel and Janette traveled for 15 hours to reach Winnipeg, with several airplane stops along the way. They bunked in Winnipeg that night, getting some much needed sleep.
Sunday - Canada's Boxing Day - they woke up early to get a rental car to take them to Grand Forks. None were available.
"I asked all the big companies at the airport, and they said there was no chance to get a car until the 28th," Marcel said. "Then we went back to the hotel and asked the front desk for help. They made some calls and still no chance."
So, Marcel and Janette did what any self-respecting hockey parents would do. They took a taxi.
"The price was $275 Canadian from Winnipeg to Grand Forks," Marcel said. "We thought that was good."
The taxi made it to the border, but no farther. "Our driver was from India, and he didn't have the right papers," Marcel said. "He wasn't allowed in."
After getting a $100 refund on their taxi fare, Marcel and Janette were marooned at the customs office. But, three hours later, a Greyhound bus came to their rescue.
"The border office said that it was OK to go on the bus for free," Marcel said. "The border people were friendly and cared about us. They made sure there was a ride for us to the hotel when we got to Grand Forks.
"It was no problem for us."
The Wicks are the only Swiss player parents in Grand Forks. They came here for two other reasons besides the World Juniors. They hadn't seen Roman since August, when he left home to play Junior A hockey in Red Deer, Alta. And, he turns 19 years old today.
It's also a chance for Marcel to relive his hockey days. Twenty-six years ago, he played in the World Junior Championship. He also played about 70 games for the Swiss national team.
"I was almost a professional," Marcel said.
They'll travel to Red Deer after the tournament to spend some more time with their son.
Having found a rental car in Grand Forks, they're hopeful that the trip to Red Deer won't be quite as eventful.
"It was a funny day," Marcel said about Sunday. "But, no risk, no fun."
That saying must be the Swiss equivalent of: "No pain, no gain."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bakken reports on local news and writes a column. Reach him at (701) 780-1125; (800) 477-6572, extension 125; or rbakken@gfherald.com.
USA 6, Switzerland 4 ~ played Dec. 27
World Junior Hockey: Americans fend off Swiss
Associated Press
December 28, 2004
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The United States matched Switzerland's four-goal outburst in the third period for a 6-4 victory Monday night in the preliminary round of the World Junior Hockey Championship.
The United States led 2-0 entering the third after goals by Ryan Callahan and Kevin Porter, but Switzerland tied it with two quick scores.
A goal by Drew Stafford, a University of North Dakota forward and former Shattuck-St. Mary's player, put the United States back in the lead, and Tim Hensick, Robbie Schremp and Wild draft pick Patrick O'Sullivan added scores to secure the victory.
"Give them credit, they came out and battled in the third period," said U.S. goalie Al Montoya, who stopped 31 shots. "They broke out, but we were lucky enough to come away with a win."
The United States, the tournament's defending champion, improved to 2-0. Switzerland fell to 1-1.
Other games
Sidney Crosby had two goals and Ryan Getzlaf a goal and two assists in Canada's 8-1 victory over Sweden in another preliminary game.
Sweden's Christopher Heino-Lindberg stopped 15 of 16 shots in the first period, but Canada scored four goals in less than 15 minutes of the second.
Canada, a favorite to win the tournament, improved to 2-0 in preliminary games. Sweden dropped to 1-1.
In Thief River Falls, Minn., Andrej Meszaros' empty-net goal with less than a minute remaining sealed Slovakia's 2-0 defeat of Finland.
Slovakia moved to 1-1 in the tournament, while Finland fell to 1-1.
Earlier in Thief River Falls, Russia took a 3-0 lead on goals by Alexander Radoulov, Sergei Shirokov and Evgeni Malkin and held on to defeat the Czech Republic 4-1. Both teams are 1-1.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/503/5157203.html
Slovakia 2, Finland 0 ~ played Dec. 27
Slovakia shuts out Finland 2-0: A perfect misfire
Posted on Tue, Dec. 28, 2004
By Brad E. Schlossman
Herald Staff Writer
THIEF RIVER FALLS - Tomas Bulik was thrilled he misfired.
The Slovakian forward found himself with the puck in the slot. He had a clear shot at the net.
"I was trying to go high ... . underneath the crossbar," Bulik said."It was a bad shot, but it turned out OK."
Bulik's first-period shot didn't get off the ground. Instead, it slid between Finland goaltender Tuukka Rask's legs and into the net for the game-winning goal as the Slovakian team topped Finland 2-0 in Group Bplay at the World Junior Championship in Thief River Falls' RalphEngelstad Arena on Monday.
Team captain Andrej Meszaros added an empty-net goal in the finalminute to secure the win for Slovakia.
"We were lucky to beat a team as talented and skilled as Finland," Slovakia coach Dusan Gregor said. "They play very, very good defensiveand disciplined hockey."
Slovakia played pretty good defense, too. Jaroslav Halak made 19saves to get the shutout victory.
"The defensive players helped me a lot," Halak said. "They clearedthe pucks out in front of me and made it easy for me."
The win was big for Slovakia. Finland, Slovakia and Sweden are battling for two of the three Group B spots in the medal round. Canadais a lock for the first spot.
"This game probably decided who will advance," Gregor said. "I want to thank all of our players for the extra effort they gave today."
The Finns had three straight power plays in the first period, but weren't able to capitalize on them.
"Slovakia, congratulations to them," Finland coach Risto Dufva said. "We didn't have enough emotion to beat Slovakia. Our offensive game was not strong enough. We had some power plays and we didn't score."
Bulik's goal came at the 4:35 mark in the first period. Off of a faceoff, Bulik passed the puck to Stefan Ruzicka, who passed it back to Bulik in the slot. That's when he misfired his shot, but still scored.
The Finns tried to put pressure on in the third period, but couldn't muster much offense. Slovakia outshot Finland 27-19 in the game.
Finland pulled Rask, who kept the Finns in the game,for an extra attacker.
But a puck got loose and slid along the left boards into the Finlandzone. Meszaros skated down the ice, collected the puck and had plenty of time to skate right up to the net and stuff in the clincher.
"Offensively, we played lazy," Rask said. "The Slovakian guys were tough on us."
"This was the most important win for us," Finland forward StanislavLascek said. "Our goal now is to get second in our group behindCanada. We have to play every game well and have good focus. We also need to get some goals."
The Slovakians will take them any way. Even if the shot doesn't gowhere it's intended.
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/special_packages/world_juniors/10510988.htm
Russia 4, Czech Republic 1 ~ played Dec. 27
Russians top Czech Republic
Russia's win sets up showdown between Team USA, Czechs
Posted on Tue, Dec. 28, 2004
By Brad E. Schlossman
Herald Staff Writer
THIEF RIVER FALLS - It was showtime for the other half of Russia's dynamic duo.
The top pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Alexander Ovechkin, scored a goal and had an assist in Russia's 5-4 loss to the United States on Saturday in the World Junior Championship.
Monday, it was Evgeni Malkin's turn to show what he can do. Malkin, the second pick of the 2004 draft behind Ovechkin, scored a goal and added two assists as the Russians topped the Czech Republic 4-1 in Group A play in front of 972 fans in Thief River Falls' Ralph Engelstad Arena.
"They have a good team," Czech forward Petr Vrana said. "They have a lot of playmakers and guys who can score."
Malkin was the flashiest of them against the Czech Republic.
"Compared to the first game, he played with more emotion," Russia coach Valery Bragin said. "He played poised and intense."
The Russian win means the United States has to beat the Czech Republic on Thursday to win Group A.
If the Czechs beat the Americans on Thursday, there will be a three-way tie between Russia, Czech Republic and United States for first in the pool, barring any major upsets. But in that case, the United States wouldn't win the tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker is goal differential in games played between the three teams. With the Russians' win over the Czechs, the Russians are plus-2. If the United States lost to the Czech Republic, the best the Americans could do is even, leaving the winner of the tiebreaker to either Russia or the Czech Republic.
The winner of each group gets a bye to the semifinals.
Team Russia got off to a fast start against the Czechs. It capitalized on its first two power plays in the first period for a 2-0 lead.
As the first power play was about to expire, Russia forward Alexander Radoulov got two whacks at a puck sitting at the top of the goalie crease. Czech goaltender Marek Schwarz made the initial save, but Radoulov scored on the second attempt.
"The first goal is always important," Malkin said. "It gives you an advantage and you become confident. It gets you running, it gets the legs going."
Midway through the first period, Malkin made a good pass from the bottom of the right circle to Sergei Shirokov, who was standing in the slot. Shirokov hit an open left side of the net for the 2-0 lead.
Malkin scored the third goal early in the second period. He stole a pass, walked into the slot and pushed a backhander by Schwarz.
The Russian penalty kill was impressive, holding the Czech Republic to a woeful 1-for-11 on the power play.
"You have to capitalize on the chances you have," Czech Republic coach Alois Hadamczik said, "especially when you are playing a good defense like Russia's."
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/special_packages/world_juniors/10510987.htm
Canada 8, Sweden 1 ~ played Dec. 27
Posted on Tue, Dec. 28, 2004
Canada routs Sweden
Team Canada in control of Pool B after 8-1 win
By Tim Campbell
Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeggers and Manitobans flocked across the international border Monday to make Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks Canada's home ice for a World Junior Championship matinee.
Team Canada showed its appreciation by making The Ralph a house of pain for Sweden, blitzing the Swedes 8-1 before a near sellout crowd of 10,739.
The mauling put Canada in the driver's seat in Pool B, now 2-0. Saturday's opening-day 7-3 victory over Slovakia -- at least a mid-game lapse -- hadn't been forgotten and the Canadians put their foot on the pedal for most of Monday's contest.
"That was our goal, try to play a full 60 minutes and try to see what we could do, what damage we could do if we put a full 60 minutes together," Team Canada captain Mike Richards said. "We played really well defensively."
The affair wasn't without its own adversity, as Canada ran into a rash of penalties and twice had to defend two-man disadvantages -- thanks to the work of Czech referee Milan Minar.
At 1-1 late in the first, Canada went down two men for 47 seconds, but Richards had the best chances from a partial breakaway and his own rebound.
Clarke MacArthur and Nigel Dawes scored early in the second period to make it 3-1 and the red-and-white clad fans were delirious when Canada killed a second 5-on-3 that lasted two full minutes.
Patrice Bergeron and Sidney Crosby pumped in goals later in the period as Canada took the game by the throat and didn't relent. Both of Crosby's scores came on power plays.
MacArthur said that Canada got a huge charge from Richards' big plays near the end of the first.
"That's why he is the leader," MacArthur said. "He set the bar really high tonight. That was a great play on the 5-on-3. It gave us a lot of energy going into the second.
"It's always tough with that many penalties against. It can make or break thegame. We had to refocus and did a great job recovering. For sure it was momentum."
Team Canada coach Brent Sutter has been pounding the drum about focus, wanting today to be the only thing on his players' radar screens. He's been demanding mental strength, attention to detail, insisting that his team's skill level will take care of business if those other items fall into place.
He got his wish against Sweden.
"From the opening faceoff right through, I thought our game was really complete," Sutter said.
Richards said that against Sweden, Team Canada saw clearly why Sutter's plan makes sense.
"Coach Sutter kind of addressed us and really put into our minds that every game in the tournament is going to be the biggest game," Richards said.
"Christmas Day is over and we came into tonight thinking tonight was the biggest game. With that mindset, everybody really brings it every night."
And unlike against the Slovakians, when Canada was comfortably ahead, it hammered on the Swedes to the finish.
Crosby, for instance, scored a gritty power-play goal 21 seconds into the third, sticking with his own rebound while he was being pestered by Sweden's Carl Soderberg.
"They were a good team," Crosby said. "I just think we played our game pretty much perfect tonight. You're never perfect, but we were in there getting pucks deep and everyone was skating and we're a deep team."
Crosby said Team Canada played with the edge it had been seeking.
"It was pretty chippy out there," he said. "For all the penalties we killed, too, to score eight goals and have to kill that many penalties, that's great for our team."
Swedish head coach Torgny Bendelin said the game was right where his team wanted it -- 1-1 through 20 minutes -- before mistakes ruined their day. "I'm really satisfied with the way the team played the first period, but weshould have used the five-on-three chances we had in the first period to put more pressure on Canada," Bendelin said. "But simple mistakes in the second period made the game switch around totally." Too many players we have aren't used to playing at this level. I have five or six players playing regularly in the Elite League at home but the level there is not as high as here. We played against absolutely the best junior level in the world today.
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/special_packages/world_juniors/10512003.htm
Sweden 6, Germany 0 ~ played Dec. 26
Posted on Mon, Dec. 27, 2004
By Brad E. Schlossman
Herald Staff Writer
THIEF RIVER FALLS - Johannes Salmonsson said there's a different feeling around Team Sweden this year.
The Swedes finished eighth and seventh, respectively, in the last two World Junior Championships.
"We have a much better team this year," the Swedish forward said. "Everything feels much better."
Especially after Sunday's 6-0 rout of Germany in Team Sweden's World Junior Championship opener before 955 fans in Thief River Falls' Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The offense clicked, scoring six goals. The defense played well, not allowing the Germans many good scoring chances. And Swedish goaltender Christopher Heino-Lindberg (25 saves) shut the door on Team Germany when it did get chances.
"We knew the Germans were very hungry after their loss (Saturday)," Team Sweden coach Torgny Bendelin said. "I'm really proud of our team. It was a very important game for us."
The Germans dropped to 0-2 in Group B play. The Swedes are 1-0.
Germany kept the game close through two periods, but Sweden broke it wide open in the third.
"We were only up 1-0 after one period and 2-0 after two periods," Bendelin said. "That's nothing. In hockey anything can happen. When we scored our third goal at the start of the third period, I felt better."
Sweden scored four goals in the third period, including two on the power play.
Linus Persson and Salmonsson both scored two goals and Robert Nilsson added a pair of assists for Sweden. The line of Salmonsson, Nilsson and Kalle Olsson (one assist) was explosive.
"We shut them down for two periods," German forward Kai Hospelt said. "But we were not able to do it for 60 minutes. And you have to do it for 60 minutes."
As was the case in Saturday's 4-1 loss to Finland, the Germans were plagued by penalties. Germany was in the box for 30 minutes against Finland and 32 minutes against Sweden.
"We spent way too much time in the box," Germany coach Uwe Krupp said. "I think there were some calls because our team did what you would call undisciplined things. There's lots of room for improvement there. I thought the refs did a good job."
Germany's best chance to break up the shutout came with less than two minutes left in the game. There was a scramble in front of the net, but Heino-Lindberg made a pair of sprawling saves to keep the puck out of the net.
"I'm always happy and proud to get a shutout," Heino-Lindberg said. "This was an important win."
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/special_packages/world_juniors/10504529.htm
Switzerland 5, Belarus 0 ~ played Dec. 26
Last update: December 26, 2004 at 10:50 PM
Associated Press
December 26, 2004
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) - Kevin Romy scored twice and Michael Tobler made 19 saves to help Switzerland defeat Belarus 5-0 on Sunday in its opening game of the World Junior Hockey Championship.
Tobler made four difficult saves in the first five minutes as Belarus controlled play, but Switzerland took a 1-0 lead in the first period on Roman Wick's wraparound goal.
"Getting the lead was very important because (Belarus) had already played a game and you usually have the most difficulty in your first game," Switzerland coach Jakob Kolliker said. "Our goalie had good positioning and he stayed cool."
In the second period, Romy scored a short-handed goal, and Victor Stancescu and Marco Kaser also scored to give Switzerland a 4-0 lead.
Romy's second goal was the only score of the third period.
Goryachevskikh made 32 saves for Belarus, which fell to 0-2.
"We would never think that we could have such a bad game," Belarus assistant coach Aliaksei Shcheblanow said.
It was the tournament opener for Switzerland, which plays 1-0 United States on Monday.
Linus Persson and Johannes Salmonsson scored two goals each as Sweden opened the tournament with a 6-0 win over Germany in Thief River Falls, Minn.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/683/5155018.html
Finland 4, Germany 1 ~ played Dec. 25
Posted on Sun, Dec. 26, 2004
Power play fuels Finland
Finns top Germans 4-1
By Brad E. Schlossman
Herald Staff Writer
THIEF RIVER FALLS - Germany took penalty after penalty to start the game. And eventually those penalties took the Germans out of the game.
Finland used three power-play goals to top Team Germany 4-1 in Pool Bplay at the World Junior Championship in Thief River Falls' Ralph Engelstad Arena.
"We knew the first game the refs would be calling a lot," Finland coach Petri Matikainen said. "So we have been working on that in practice quite a bit."
The combination of Jussi Makkonen and Antti Nokelainen on the top power play unit clicked for Finland on Saturday. Both players had a goal and two assists.
"I think we are getting better and better all the time," Nokelainen said. "We are starting to come together. We have practiced the power play a few times and that was good. I'm happy for that."
"We have good speed on the power play," Makkonen added.
In the first four minutes of the game, the Germans took four penalties. Finland took a 1-0 lead when Makkonen drove to the net from the right side and flipped a backhand by German goaltender Youri Ziffzer. But Team Finland was kept out of the net the rest of the first period thanks to Ziffzer, who made 14 stops in the first.
But the Germans got into more penalty trouble in the second when back-to-back penalties gave Finland a 5-on-3 power play. Defenseman Otto Honkaheimo beat Ziffzer with a slap shot from the top of the left circle.
Finland took a 3-0 lead about seven minutes later when Nokelainen scored on yet another Finland power play.
"We came out emotional and we wanted to play physical," German coach Uwe Krupp said. "We asked them to play physical and they did. We weren't prepared for being in the box all the time. You can't win when you do that."
Germany did a better job of staying out of the box in the third period and it showed. Finland outshot Germany 31-11 in the first two periods. In the third, the Germans outshot Finland 13-5.
"We played much better in the third," Krupp said. "The Finnish team can be beaten and we were prepared to beat them."
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/special_packages/world_juniors/10499922.htm
USA 5, Russia 4 ~ played Dec. 25
Posted: Sunday December 26, 2004 10:11AM;
Updated: Sunday December 26, 2004 10:11AM
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) -- Dan Fritsche scored twice -- including a tiebreaking short-handed goal -- to lead the defending champion United States team to a 5-4 victory over Russia on Saturday night in the opening round of the World Junior Hockey Championship.
Fritsche's second goal, scored midway through the second period, was the winner. The Americans took leads of 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3 against Russia, the tournament champion in 2002 and 2003.
Robbie Schremp, Chris Bourque and Drew Stafford had the other goals for the United States, which got 30 saves from Al Montoya of Michigan -- a first-round draft pick of the New York Rangers.
Montoya made 12 saves in the third period.
"For us, it was a great start to the hockey tournament and a very exciting game to watch," U.S. coach Scott Sandelin said. "It was a good game for us because it kept us on our toes."
Fritsche snapped a 4-4 tie when he scored on a 2-on-1 break while the United States was short-handed in the second period. Kevin Porter led the rush down the left side before sliding the puck to Fritsche, who stretched out to tip it past goalie Anton Khudobin.
"I thought it might be a 9-8 game the way that first period was going," Sandelin said.
Dmitri Pestunov, Alexander Ovechkin, Sergei Shirokov and Yakov Rylov scored for Russia. Ovechkin was taken No. 1 overall in this year's NHL draft by the Washington Capitals.
The Americans will have a tough time repeating as champion because Canada has emerged as the tournament favorite.
Patrice Bergeron and Sidney Crosby combined for seven points to help Canada beat Slovakia 7-3 in its opening game.
Canada jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind two goals each by Bergeron and Crosby -- and outshot Slovakia 36-23. The Canadiens then had to hold on to win.
"All in all it was the kind of game that was in and out for us," Canada coach Brent Sutter said. "I think you're going to have bumps in the road along the way ... but in the end, it's a win."
Clarke MacArthur also scored two goals -- including one on a penalty shot -- for Canada, which has finished second in the tournament in each of the last three years.
"I thought we played a pretty solid game for the first game of the tournament," MacArthur said. "We still have some things to work on."
In other opening-round games, Petr Vrana scored three goals to lift the Czech Republic to a 7-2 victory over Belarus, and Finland got three points from Antti Nokelainen and two from Jussi Makkonen to beat Germany 4-1.
Bergeron, who played in the 2004 World Championship, scored the first goal on a breakaway at 3:55 of the first period after taking a long pass from Crosby. Canada scored three more unanswered goals, the last by Crosby at 9:52 of the second period.
Crosby will likely be the first player selected in the next NHL draft.
Peter Olvecky's goal pulled Slovakia within 5-3 early in the third period, but the team failed to capitalize on three power plays down the stretch.
Slovakia had a two-man advantage for 1:18 with less than five minutes remaining. Canada killed off both penalties and added two late goals by MacArthur, the last on a penalty shot with seven seconds remaining.
Vrana scored in a variety ways for the Czech Republic to notch the tournament's first hat trick. He had an even-strength goal in the first period, then added short-handed and power-play tallies in the third period.
Michael Frolik, Michal Kvapil, Petr Petruzalek and Rostislav Olesz added goals for the Czechs.
The United States is in a pool with Russia, the Czech Republic, Belarus and Switzerland. Canada is the other pool with Sweden, Finland, Germany and Slovakia for the tournament that runs through Jan. 4.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/hockey/more/12/26/bc.hko.worldjuniors.saturday.ap/index.html
Czech Republic 7, Belarus 2 ~ played Dec. 25
Posted on Sun, Dec. 26, 2004
Power outage for Belarus
Czech Republic scores two shorthanded goals, pulls away
By Brad E. Schlossman
Herald Staff Writer
THIEF RIVER FALLS - Belarus hoped a third period power play would get it back in the game.
Instead, Belarus was finished off during it.
The Czech Republic scored back-to-back shorthanded goals at the start of the final period in a 7-2 win over Belarus in Pool A play at the World Junior Championships in Thief River Falls' Ralph Engelstad Arena.
"That was the turning point in the game," Team Belarus coach Mikhail Zakharov said.
For the first half of the game, Belarus looked as if it could hang with the Czech Republic.
Later, though, the Czech Republic showed why it was expected to easily top Team Belarus on Christmas Day.
Linemates Rostislav Olesz and Petr Vrana both scored two goals and had an assist for the Czechs.
"We kept an eye on those guys," Zakharov said about Olesz and Vrana. "But they are very good. They are very physically, tactically and technically sound. They were too strong."
Behind the play of Olesz and Vrana, the Czech Republic turned a 2-1 lead into a 6-1 lead in less than 20 minutes.
"It was our first game," Olesz said. "I was a little nervous, but it got better and better as the game played on."
Team Belarus' Alexey Ugarov scored a power-play goal with 8 minutes, 46 seconds remaining in the second period to cut the Czech Republic lead to 2-1. That seemed to awaken the Czechs.
Less than a minute after Ugarov's goal, Michal Kvapil put the Czechs in front 4-1 when he top-shelved a power-play goal from the left circle. Then the Czech Republic put away Belarus while down a man.
Olesz and Jakub Petruzalek scored shorthanded goals a minute and a half apart to open a 5-1 lead.
Two minutes after the Czechs got back to full strength, Olesz added his second goal of the game when he skated in on Belarus goaltender Stepan Goryachevskikh from the right circle, faked him and put it into the left side of the net.
"We were watching Belarus play and we made adjustments," Czech Republic coach Alois Hadamczik said.
Canada 7 , Slovakia 3 ~ played Dec. 25
Posted on Sun, Dec. 26, 2004
Despite some struggles, Canadians roll past Slovakia
By Tim Campbell
Winnipeg Free Press
While Canadians everywhere were busy dissecting every ice shaving of Team Canada's 7-3 romp over Slovakia on Christmas Day, one native son was already fitting the victory into the big picture of hockey's World Junior Championship.
"At the end of the night it's a win," Canada head coach Brent Sutter said after his team got off to a positive start in its bid to recapture gold-medal status that it hasn't had since 1997. "But you look at some of the negatives and it's a little bit of adversity and it's how you deal with it.
"We're going to have some along the way. Everything's not going to be a great ride every shift of every period of every game. It's how you respond, when you have a bad shift, on the next shift."
That Team Canada allowed the Slovakians three goals and the game was 5-3 at one point in the third period at Ralph Engelstad Arena might have provided a few unnerving moments. But killing a late pair of penalties that overlapped into a 78-second 5-on-3 for Slovakia helped Canada jog to the final buzzer, adding a pair of late goals by Clarke MacArthur for punctuation.
"It's not like we played all that bad either," Sutter said. "I think expectations are ... you guys are looking at January and right now I'm looking at December 25."
Canada's next opponent is Sweden on Monday in Grand Forks. Before 7,540 fans Saturday, Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron and MacArthur provided pairs for Canada, while Jeff Carter had a single. Canada was ahead 4-0 by the game's halfway point.
"When you get up 4-0, it's easy to make bad plays or mental errors," said Crosby, who scored both goals during power plays, each with soft hands near the net. "We did that a couple of times, but we're going to learn from that. We realize you can't get into bad habits in a short tournament like this.
"We got into some penalty trouble and whenever that happens, usually the momentum changes."
Canada had three penalties in a short span in the second period, opening the door for Marek Zagrapan and Stanislav Lascek to get Slovakia on the board. But once Peter Olvecky made it 5-3 early in the third, the Canadians pressed back down on the accelerator.
"It's nice to get the first one done and with a win," Crosby said. "I think a few guys are nervous in there for sure and with it being the first game and all and now we know what we're made of. We played a good team on the other side and we'll build off this.
"How can you not be (nervous)? This is a big tournament. I don't think there aren't guys in there who aren't going to have little butterflies. It's perfectly normal, but I think we did good, coming out and playing intense. We didn't sit back."
The top three teams from each five-team pool will advance to the medal round, which begins Jan. 1.
"Obviously we've got some work to do," Carter said. "We'll have a good practice (today) and clean some things up and be ready to go."
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/special_packages/world_juniors/10499908.htm
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW -- TEAM-BY-TEAM AND PLAYERS
December 21, 12:00pm ET
Team-by-team look at key areas and players of all 10 teams
http://www.forecaster.ca/hockeynews/hockey/extras.cgi?wjc2005-preview
TOP 10 PLAYERS LIST -
This week's Top-10 List looks at the players most likely to finish atop the scoring list of each of the 10 teams participating in the 2005 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS:
http://www.forecaster.ca/hockeynews/hockey/extras.cgi?wjc2005-top10-offleaders
POLL -- Vote and view results...
Click appropriate link to vote
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/special_packages/world_juniors/
View results
http://forums.prospero.com/n/mb/viewpoll.asp?webtag=kr-gfsports&vote=0&msg=27.1&ctx=4096
Who will win the World Junior Championship?
Belarus - 16 votes (2%)
Canada - 432 votes (52%)
Czech Republic - 26 votes (3%)
Finland - 15 votes (2%)
Germany - 4 votes (0%)
Russia - 8 votes (2%)
Slovakia - 8 votes (1%)
Sweden - 0 votes (2%)
Switzerland - 14 votes (2%)
United States - 276 votes (33%)
829 people have voted so far
Results as of 10:00 CT Dec. 28
The "Ralph" crew readies Ralph Engelstad Arena for its Dec. 25 close-up.
U.S. Defeats Germany, 6-3 in World Junior Championship Exhibition
Will Face Russia In World Junior Championship Opener,Dec. 25
December 23, 2004
Courtesy of USAhockey.com
Thief River Falls, Minn. - Dan Fritsche (Parma, Ohio/Sarnia Sting) notched two goals including the game-winner as Team USA won its final exhibition game over Germany, 6-3, on Wednesday night. With the score tied at three and just seven minutes remaining in regulation, Fritsche fired a spinning puck over the right shoulder of German goalie, Thomas Greiss. Kevin Porter (Detroit, Mich./Univ. of Michigan) and Chris Bourque (Topsfield, Mass./Boston Univ.) would seal the win for the U.S., scoring the final goals with
less than five minutes remaining.
Following a scoreless first period, team USA Captain Ryan Suter (Madison, Wis./Milwaukee Admirals) broke onto the scoreboard to start what would be a six-goal period, putting a hard shot from the point into the German net just four minutes into the second stanza.
Germany responded quickly, scoring three goals within 67 seconds to take a two-goal lead. First, Kai Hospelt capitalized on a U.S. penalty, scoring the equalizer from down low. Next, Marcus Kink would go stickside off a pass from Steffen Tolzer for Germany's first
lead. The final German goal of the frenzy came on an Andre Reiss breakaway with just over 13 minutes to play in the second period.
The German lead wouldn't last long. Robbie Schremp (Fulton, N.Y. / London Knights) started the U.S. comeback, firing a hard shot from the circle at 13:34. Just over four minutes later, Fritsche brought the teams even, turning a pass from Porter into a nifty backhanded score at 17:54.
Al Montoya (Glenview, Ill./Univ. of Michigan) started the game for the U.S. before trading with Cory Schneider (Marblehead, Mass./Boston College) at the 10 minute mark of the second. Germany also switched netminders at the midpoint with Youri Ziffzer relinquishing duties to Thomas Greiss. Schneider and Greiss each were creditted with the decision. Ziffzer was named Player of the Game for Germany, while Fritsche recieved the honors for the U.S., which
faces Russia on Dec. 25 in the team's tournament opener at 7:35 p.m. at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
GER 0 3 0 3
USA 0 3 3 6
First Period: Scoring: None. Penalties: GER, Busch
(tripping), 1:27; GER, Schopper (hooking), 12:59; USA,
Weller (slashing), 18:19.
Second Period: Scoring: 1, USA, Suter (Stafford),
4:57; 2, GER, Hospelt (Busch), 5:41 (PP); 3, GER,
Tolzer (Kink), 6:20; 4, GER, Reiss (Blank), 6:47; 5,
USA, Schremp (Likens, Dowell) 3:34. Penalties: USA,
O'Sullivan (slashing) 5:14; USA, Suter
(Cross-checking) 7:23; GER, Carciola (tripping) 9:31;
USA, Pineault (roughing) 11:46; GER, Kapzan (roughing)
11:46.
Third Period: Scoring: 7, USA, Fritsche (Hagemo),
12:55; 8, USA, Porter (unassisted), 15:51; 9, USA,
Bourque (Fritsche), 19:25 (PP). Penalties: USA, Borer
(holding) 1:49; GER, Schopper (roughing) 7:11; USA,
Callahan (roughing) 7:11. USA, Schremp (roughing)
14:21. GER, Blank (roughing) 14:21. USA, Stafford
(roughing) 14:21. GER, Reiss (roughing) 14:21. USA,
O'Sullivan (roughing) 17:31. GER, Reiss (roughing)
17:31. GER, Blank (Cross-checking) 17:31.
Goaltending:
GER, Greiss (29:21), 9-4-DNP--13; GER, Ziffzer
(31:39), DNP-10-10--20. USA, Montoya (29:21),
6-1-DNP--7; USA, Schneider (31:39) DNP-2-11--13
Canada's chomping at the bit to get going
Posted on Wed, Dec. 22, 2004
By Tim Campbell
Winnipeg Free Press
WINNIPEG - It's still 13 days until any team will have a chance to play for the gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship, but Team Canada set a definite tone with its first exhibition game Monday night.
A 6-0 victory over Team Finland put the bar at quite a level for a first outing together.
"We wanted to come in and play our game," Team Canada's Dion Phaneuf said about Monday's victory. "That's what we did. They're a team that's in our pool and we wanted to send a message. Right from Day 1 at camp we wanted to come in and be a tough team to play against and I feel that's what we were (Monday night).
"That's where the bar is set for us now. Anything less than that is unacceptable. We know that."
After Tuesday's practice at MTS Centre, where they will play Team Switzerland tonight, Canadian players and head coach Brent Sutter expressed no interest in a cruise-control kind of approach until the WJHC's medal round in Grand Forks.
"(Monday) was a good place to start," said defenceman Shawn Belle. "Every day, we've said as a team, we want to get better and improve as a team. We set the bar and we expect to top that."
Captain Michael Richards of Kenora said that work continues on Team Canada's game and that Monday's domination of the Finns will be an important reference point in days to come.
"I think that's where we want it," Richards said. "We don't want to go out there thinking we can just stay the same or just slosh around the ice for 60 minutes. We went out there (Monday) and really took it to them and really gave us something to shoot for every night."
Canada, after three silver medals in a row at the World Junior, begins the tournament Saturday afternoon against Slovakia. Sutter, when he started to talk about areas in which his team might continue to improve, wound up reciting a longer list of positive items from Monday's game.
"The way we played (Monday) night, I thought we played well but at the same time, you can say it's the bar and we have to build off that," Sutter began.
"Still, we need to work on being better in certain areas. But all in all, our intensity and our commitment to team play, how we drove to the net, protected pucks, well, we only gave up 10 shots and we want to be a solid team that plays well without the puck and yet we want to make things happen when we have it.
"We want to be a puck-possession team and to do that, you have to win faceoffs and I thought we did a good job of that (Monday), too."
Team Canada has 12 returning players to this year's squad - Phaneuf, Belle and Richards among them - all of whom have strong memories of the disappointment after last year's gold-medal game loss to the U.S. in Helsinki.
The dynamic dozen is the core of an experienced, forceful-looking team for this year's tournament, one that appears to be very focused at this stage.
"I think everybody's just ready to go," Belle said. "We don't like battling against each other that much. Everybody's just chomping at the bit here."
Czech players learn what Hockeytown USA is all about
Herald photo by Jackie Lorentz
Gordon (Ginny) Christian (left), United States 1956 Olympic Team Silver Medal winner, talks to Vackav Jachim, the Czech Republic Hockey Association in The Gardens in Warroad, Minn. Jachim has collected over 4,000 NHL autographs over the years and knew of Christian and other Warroad hockey players.
Posted on Wed, Dec. 22, 2004
By Ryan Bakken
GrandForksHerald Staff Writer
WARROAD, Minn. - The mystery of having to travel 2 hours in 30-below wind chills to play an exhibition game was solved soon after going through the doors of The Gardens hockey arena Tuesday.
"We asked why go so far to a city not so big," Czech Republic general manager Petr Misek said. "Now, we know."
They soon found out why Warroad bills itself as Hockeytown USA. A look at the wall in The Gardens lobby told them. So did the fact that a crowd of 1,150 in a town of just 1,800 paid $10 apiece to watch two teams without a recognizable name on a frigid wintry night.
But all they really needed to understand was the significance was a history lesson from Vaclav Jachim, the team's media representative.
The lobby wall has photographs and short bios of Warroad's six USA Olympic hockey players who have won medals. Jachim, a hockey historian/nut who has autographs of more than 3,000 former National Hockey League players, knew about all six.
Jachim also arrived hoping that he would meet Henry Boucha, an Olympic silver medalist in 1972 who still lives here. He was barely through the front door when he recognized Boucha in the lobby.
With Grand Forks resident Laddie Novak helping to translate, Jachim asked Boucha for an autographed photograph. Boucha (pronounced: Boo-shay) went to his vehicle and came back with two photographs of himself in a Detroit Red Wings uniform and wrote personal inscriptions on them.
"I was a little stunned," Boucha said. "He came up and said 'Are you Boo-ka? Are you Boo-ka?' I figured out he meant me. That was a little surprising, but I still get a lot of fan mail from Europe."
Jachim, a 34-year-old who speaks broken English, was asked what he knew of Boucha. "Good defense, good people," he said.
Christian brothers
Few know the world hockey scene better than Jachim. He was thrilled to meet Gordon "Ginny" Christian, who dropped the ceremonial puck for the start of the game between Germany and the Czech Republic. Even through the language barrier, the two spoke at length about international hockey back in 1956, when Ginny won a silver Olympic medal.
"I only won silver while Billy, Roger and Dave (Christian) won gold," Ginny told Jachim of his two brothers and nephew. "In this country, only gold counts."
Ginny ,77, talked in detail of playing three times in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Then, he showed Jachim the framed Czech flag from when the Czech National Team played the Warroad Lakers amateur team in 1960.
The lobby tour continued with a look at the four seats from the hockey arena in Squaw Valley, Calif., where the United States, with Billy and Roger Christian, won its first gold medal in hockey. Jachim looked at the seats as though they were a shrine.
"This is all something special," Jachim said.
Coach Cal
He was disappointed that the other medalists weren't there he also has autographs of more than 400 Olympians. And he was saddened to learn that Cal Marvin whom he called "Coach Cal" recently had died.
"That big building coming into town? Was that Coach Cal's?" he wondered about Marvin Windows and Doors.
Same family, wrong guy. Cal's fame came from hockey, not windows, including the ability to attract national teams from Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Norway, Canada and the United States to play in Warroad.
When the Czechs left town in 1960, the height of the Cold War, the FBI spent a week in Warroad inquiring about their activities. The most damning thing they discovered was that the Czechs had sung their national anthem in the high school.
"Tradition," said USA Hockey's Art Berglund, when asked why Warroad held a game. "I arranged this with Cal two years ago. People know what international hockey is around here."
Warroad had no trouble making its $5,000 guarantee. "It was a mystery how many we'd get," said Mike Marvin, Cal's son. "The school is busy, the Park Board kids are busy, and this isn't the USA or Canada."
But it is hockey.
And Warroad is known for hockey and walleyes. It held up both ends of its reputation here Friday night. After the game, the Germans and the Czechs were fed a meal of walleye, fried potatoes, baked beans and coleslaw.
"It's shore lunch," Marvin said.
OT -- Zamboni explodes, destroys arena
Battling the fire
Associated Press
After the fire
Bob King, Associated Press/Duluth News
Matt McKinney, Star Tribune
December 21, 2004
Zamboni explosion stokes theories, but no answers
Duluth MN - A day after a Zamboni exploded at a Duluth ice arena, injuring broomball players and sparking a devastating blaze, men who use the machines to groom ice at rinks around the state said they have little fear of clambering back up onto their rigs.
"Zambonis don't just blow up," said Walt Bruley, a longtime driver who works the ice at the Duluth Entertainment and Civic Center. "No one should ever fear that there will be an outbreak of exploding resurfacers."
Investigators have yet to determine what caused the Sunday night blast at Duluth's Peterson Arena.
"When I first heard about it I thought it was a mistake," said Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson. "How the hell does a Zamboni start a building on fire?"
Witnesses said they suspected the explosion came from a room containing an ice-grooming machine. Bruley, left to speculate as investigators piece together what happened, said he suspects a leak of some kind in the Zamboni's propane tanks sparked the blaze. But even that explanation leads to more questions, he said.
"Generally, if that happens, you can smell that," he said.
Duluth Fire Chief John Strongitharm said the initial blast in the room was followed by at least two explosions. He thought they were caused by propane tanks stored near the ice groomer.
Ice-grooming machines, commonly known by the brand name Zamboni, typically use the flammable gas as fuel. (The machine that exploded was a propane-fueled Zamboni model that hails from the '70s, according to Bruley.)
"I would think it is very fortunate that the explosion happened when the people were away from that door and they all had the sense to drop their broomball sticks and get out," Strongitharm said.
Strongitharm estimated the damage to Peterson Arena was more than $600,000, which doesn't include any ice-making or other arena equipment.
Bergson said his staff has already determined the city's insurance will not cover the cost of replacing Peterson Arena.
"Even if you started on raising money on building in the spring, you'd be really lucky to have something ready for next season," he said.
The investigation into what caused the initial blast could take several days or weeks, though city officials are sure it was an accident. "We don't expect to find that there was any foul play," said Bergson.
A modern version of the Zamboni relies on electric batteries, as opposed to propane or compressed gas tanks, but many arenas use older versions of the machines because updating to a newer model is too expensive. Still, safety problems with the older Zambonis are few and far between, many operators said.
"I've played hockey for 20 years and have never heard of anything like that," said William Dieleman, who helps maintain the ice at the Plymouth Ice Center. "That's not an issue."
A Zamboni at Braemar Arena in Edina caught fire in 1980 just five days after it arrived, according to arena manager Larry Thayer.
"It was literally five days old, and a fire did start from the electrical wire harness," he said. "We had our fire extinguishers right on it." Thayer, who has no direct knowledge of the Duluth blast, said his best guess is that a similar fire started within the unit's electrical system and somehow jumped to the fuel lines.
"I just can't imagine where that spark would come from," he said.
The exploding Zamboni was the talk of the day for driver Travis Larson, who maintains the ice at Xcel Energy Center. He fielded calls from concerned friends and family all day on Monday, but he told all of them the same thing: "It's very safe; it was just a freak accident."
Larson said he dimly recalls hearing of a Zamboni fire in another state, a long time ago.
"But I've never heard of one exploding here in Minnesota," he said. "It shouldn't be blown out of proportion by any means."
The loss of one of its two indoor hockey facilities is a major blow to the Duluth Amateur Hockey Association and its 800 youth hockey players, according to executive director Clarke Coole. "This is going to impact our program enormously," he said.
With reporting from The Associated Press
SCHEDULE/RESULTS Date Gm# Time(CENT) Location Matchup PRELIMINARY ROUND Dec. 25 1 3:30 pm Grand Forks SVK 3 - 7 CAN 2 4:00 pm Thief River Falls BLR 2 - 7 CZE 3 7:30 pm Grand Forks RUS 4 - 5 USA 4 7:30 pm Thief River Falls GER 1 - 4 FIN Dec. 26 5 6:00 pm Grand Forks SUI 5 - 0 BLR 6 6:00 pm Thief River Falls SWE 6 - 0 GER Dec. 27 7 3:30 pm Grand Forks CAN 8 - 1 SWE 8 4:00 pm Thief River Falls CZE 1 - 4 RUS 10 7:30 pm Thief River Falls FIN 0 - 2 SVK 9 8:00 pm Grand Forks USA 6 - 4 SUI Dec. 28 11 7:00 pm Grand Forks GER 0 - 9 CAN 12 7:00 pm Thief River Falls RUS 7 - 2 BLR Dec. 29 13 3:30 pm Grand Forks CZE 5 - 2 SUI 14 4:00 pm Thief River Falls FIN 5 - 4 SWE 15 7:30 pm Grand Forks BLR 5 - 3 USA 16 7:30 pm Thief River Falls SVK 5 - 0 GER Dec.30 17 3:30 pm Grand Forks CAN 8 - 1 FIN 18 4:00 pm Thief River Falls SUI 1 - 6 RUS 19 7:30 pm Grand Forks USA 1 - 3 CZE 20 7:30 pm Thief River Falls SWE 3 - 0 SVK . QUARTERFINAL ROUND/RELEGATION Jan. 1 21 12:00 pm Grand Forks GER 0 - 5 SUI 22 3:30 pm Grand Forks FIN 0 - 3 CZE 23 7:30 pm Grand Forks USA 8 - 2 SWE SEMIFINAL ROUND/RELEGATION Jan. 2 24 12:00 pm Grand Forks SVK 2 - 1 BLR 25 3:30 pm Grand Forks CAN 3 - 1 CZE 26 7:30 pm Grand Forks RUS 7 - 2 USA RELEGATION Jan. 3 27 12:00 pm Grand Forks BLR 3 - 4 GER 28 3:30 pm Grand Forks SUI 2 - 3 SVK 29 7:30 pm Grand Forks FIN 4 - 3 SWE MEDAL ROUND Jan. 4 30 3:00 pm Grand Forks (Bronze) FIN 3 - 2 USA 31 7:00 pm Grand Forks Gold) CAN 6 - 1 RUSSee complete schedule for all dates of Tournament The tournament is set for December 25, 2004 through January 4, 2005 Schedule - http://www.forecaster.ca/hockeynews/hockey/extras.cgi?wjc2005-index , http://www.usahockey.com/2005wjc/shcedule/main/schedules/ , http://ralphsworldjr.com/New2/index.php?page=SGtickets Ralph Engelstad Arena Events - http://www.ralphsworldjr.com/ Ralph Engelstad Arena, Thief River Falls - http://www.ralphengelstadarenatrf.com/ Team-by-team look at key areas, players - http://www.forecaster.ca/hockeynews/hockey/extras.cgi?wjc2005-preview USAHockey - http://www.usahockey.com/2005wjc/main_site/main/2005wjc// HockeyCanada - http://www.hockeycanada.ca/e/teams/mens/junior/2005/index.html TV Coverage - http://ralphsworldjr.com/New2/index.php?page=news_In&dat=Dec17 Grand Forks Herald - http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/special_packages/world_juniors/
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