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Toppy Vann
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TheLionKing wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 12:38 am
Canada meets Finland in Wednesday's quarter finals.
Canada should win against the Fins but didn't the Fins make them look bad in their pre-tourney game?

I was at the Russia- Switzerland game and the Swiss got two quick goals on the passionless but talented Russians who eventually caught fire and racked up a 7 to 4 win over the less talented Swiss side.

Watched the Russia - Canada game last night and again this morning I re-looked at the bizarre Michael Buffer imitation by Captain Maxime Comtois that caught even his own team mates off guard. Last night pre-game I found it hard to follow what was going on.

Comtois is a great player and clearly a more experienced senior leader in his team but unlike their HC Tim Hunter who liked the Buffer stuff and had nothing to say on the diving behaviour - I view this in a young hockey team as a distraction when you're about to begin a tough game and to be actually in a tough game.

Canada needs Comtois to be this player in the big games (he doesn't need to score all the goals or make all the assists though):
For its part, Comtois had started the season in the National Hockey League with a staggering seven points in ten games. A knee injury, however, sent him to the infirmary for a few weeks.
The Canadians had to learn the lesson that the easy wins and loss to the Fins in pre-tourney action should have taught them:
“No,” said winger Owen Tippett, who had a one-timer opportunity bounce over his stick in the dying seconds. “Every team faces adversity in these tournaments. We’re just happy it came when it did — nor during the elimination round.”

“We’re not eliminated. It’s a free lesson,” stressed head coach Tim Hunter. “We learned the same lesson last year when we lost to the U.S. in a shootout at the outdoor game (at Buffalo). We should have won that game going away, but we stubbed our toe. But we learned a lesson from it. That’s what we’ll do tonight — and tomorrow.”
The Russians clearly came out on fire for the start to the end of this game something they hadn't showed in other games entirely but they knew when to peak:
“We played with emotion,” said Vitali Kravtsov, whose line with Grigori Denisenko and Klim Kostin was, for much of this game, too much for Canada to handle. “We knew with a win we would win the group. Finish the year with beauty, and start the next one with strength.

“We played for our country.”
Mark Spector, Sportsnet on the game - above:

It's tough to put a team of stars together for any coach for a short tournament as these aren't all personalities the coaches know that well.

But I'm with Jeff O'Neil even more - cut that diving stuff out. That's not the right kind of leadership.

It can also affect referees calls - although it'd be a stretch to suggest that diving led to Nick Suzuki's uncharacteristic two penalties - matching his entire season to now record in penalty minutes.
Canada struggled at the start of the New Year's Eve showdown against Russia and Cody Glass believes he knows why. ''It felt like we were yelling at the ref quite a bit, especially myself'', the top-line centre said. ''The game was getting in our head a little bit ... maybe we haven’t played in front of a crowd like that with that type of emotion.'' The Winnipeg native hopes the adversity will help his team be ready for Wednesday's quarterfinal.

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My colleague @odognine2 has had his computer bag go missing in downtown Vancouver. There’s one item in the bag — his gold medal from the 1995 WJC — that he would like to get back. If anyone should come across it in their travels, its return would greatly appreciated. Thx.
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TheLionKing
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Canada and Finland scoreless after one period. No finish (no pun intended) on the power play. Canada has scored only 3 times on the power play in the tournament.
TheLionKing
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Canada leading 1-0 after two periods. Canuck draftee DiPietro playing lights out in goal. Hope it continues for another 20 minutes.
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KnowItAll
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I can hear Cherry saying I told you so.
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TheLionKing
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With the exception of the first game, Canada had trouble scoring in the tournament. The defence had only 2 goals. Power plays resulted in 3 goals. Not good enough.
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Toppy Vann
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Yes, TLK - scoring was an issue but goal keeping sure wasn't.
If someone told this was how the game outcome was decided would believe them?
* team was winning 1 to 0 until 46.2 seconds left in the game with your goalie playing brilliantly for the entire game.

* that the tying goal would be scored by an opposing player who was skating past the net but the pass out from the side of the net by his team mate would change course off his skate and trickle into the net.

* that in OT your top practice shootout person would get a penalty shot and miss

* that in the OT your guy had an open net only to have his stick explode as he was shooting

* that the guy your player would have been checking if he had a stick then went down the ice and scored on your defenceless GK.

Overall that was a well played game and these young players gave their all. Highly entertaining.

I criticized Maxime Comtois for being a bit of a diversion vs Russia and that didn't set this game up like I'd have hoped where the team was peaking off a Russia win versus having your captain take a diving penalty and your players start chirping at the refs. Meanwhile Russia who let the Swiss get up on them 2 goals quickly came out and played at a high level for the entire 60 minutes. It did seem in this game a bit that Comtois was more focused on winning personal one on ones (granted he did great on a PK holding the puck in the boards) than playing like the player he's been overall.

What I'd like to know is if Canada was sitting some players until mid game as it sure seemed that top line was out there a lot. When the game was end to end and played well it seemed like there was more of the others noticeable. IF Canada had shortened the bench earlier, I think that was an error.

EDITED:

Just saw some TSN commentators say that in second guessing the Comtois PK shooter that Morgan Frost has scored a breakaway goal vs this same GK this year and Owen Tippett who I thought was very good again tonight scored 4 times against the Finn GK this year - so that will lead to some suggesting that despite Comtois being best in shootouts/PKs in practice maybe one of the others might have been good choices. BUT again a PK is not the same as a shot in a regular game.

https://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada/video/ ... ng~1576702
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Canada had their chances in the 3rd period but can't capitalize. Leason missed on a breakaway. Canada messing up on a 3 on 1 break.
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Without a doubt the most bad luck I have seen by a team . A flukey tying goal, a stop on the penalty shot, a broken stick with an open net in overtime and another flukey goal on a deflection. I didn't think the Canadian team looked all that great this tournament but you can't really fault them on the way the last 10 minutes of play went. There was little they could do to stop what happened there. A lack of scoring cost them over all but it was brutal the way it unfolded.
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The winning goal was scored by a Canuck pick on a Canuck pick
Toni Utunen
Born: April 27, 2000
Birthplace: Kokkola, FIN
Shoots: Left
Draft: 2018 VAN, 5th rd, 6th pk (130th overall)
.
Michael Dipietro
Born: June 9, 1999
Birthplace: Windsor, ON, CAN
Catches: Left
Draft: 2017 VAN, 3rd rd, 2nd pk (64th overall)
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Toppy Vann
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D wrote:
Thu Jan 03, 2019 7:36 am
The winning goal was scored by a Canuck pick on a Canuck pick
Toni Utunen
Born: April 27, 2000
Birthplace: Kokkola, FIN
Shoots: Left
Draft: 2018 VAN, 5th rd, 6th pk (130th overall)
.
Michael Dipietro
Born: June 9, 1999
Birthplace: Windsor, ON, CAN
Catches: Left
Draft: 2017 VAN, 3rd rd, 2nd pk (64th overall)
Quite interesting the connections between the players in the tourney and existing and possibly future NHL teams.

While the loss was disappointing I think James Duthie says it best - it's good for the international game that more teams actually have a chance to win this tournament.

I did like the responses of the HC and players as it looks like they understand that a loss is not how you are defined. Comtois who I was critical of for diving says he'll no doubt miss other big shots in future - the key is that the player has to take the risk to shoot.

I tried to find how many actually make the NHL from World Juniors players and all I could see was this 2014 article by Hockey Canada:

https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/ ... hl-rosters
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Toppy Vann
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Talk about freaking losers - attacking a junior player for missing a PK shot. WTF.

Anyone who has been in sport knows that someone often makes a crucial error that leads to a score or critical game changing play.

This is what the new Quebec Premier is protesting???? Can't see it being racist or anti-francophone IF this is what was said and triggered his response:
Instagram user @snacc_hyman wrote "The captain of the Canadian hockey team shouldn't dive like an Italian soccer player and come up with such a pathetic attempt on an overtime penalty shot."
Sadly diving is not just Italian players lol and Comtois' diving in the Worlds should have been prevented by a HC who knew his history and who should have said - don't do it period!


Hugh Campbell finding a dejected Dave Cutler who missed a winning FG attempt said something like:

Never be so arrogant to think one play or one player wins or loses a game!

https://www.tsn.ca/politician-agency-fi ... -1.1235310
"Ability without character will lose." - Marv Levy
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Toppy Vann
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Semi-Final 1:

USA beats Russia 2 -1 in semi final one in Russia's prime time TV viewing versus putting the USA in less than prime time here.

Russia had some Canadian crazy non-goals that seemed sure goals over the course of the game and missed tying the game.

Russia goal called back early and somewhat oddly. Later the US was able to sweep the puck off the goal line after a Russian took a swipe at it but his stick went over it.

The USA clearly plays well together and when they got the puck in their zone off the boards they didn't have to find a player to pass to - there was a guy there always. Even if they didn't get a shot on the Russia net, it got them to safety and didn't lead to wild rushes.

Semi-Final 2 at 5 pm:

Go Switzerland go in game two vs Sweden. Saw them live vs Russia so I'm pulling for them.
"Ability without character will lose." - Marv Levy
TheLionKing
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Looks like it's going to be the United States and Finland in the Gold Medal game. Finland leading Swiss 6-1 in the 2nd period.
TheLionKing
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Finland defeated the United States for the Gold, USA wins the Silver and Russia for the Bronze
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Toppy Vann
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USA gets 4 of 5 Power Plays relatively early in the game and get nada. That many PPs vs a team like Finland normally would be game over.
"Ability without character will lose." - Marv Levy
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