Posts Tagged ‘2012 world junior hockey championships’
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
For the first time since 1981, Team Sweden has won the Gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship.
On Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Mika Zibanejad, a prospect of the Ottawa Senators, scored the game winning goal at 10:09 of overtime to give Sweden the 1-0 victory. In what could be considered a dominant performance by Team Sweden, they outshot Russia 58-17. Swedish goaltender Johan Gustafsson recorded the shutout, while Russian goaltender Andrei Makarov, who plays his junior hockey with the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League, made 57 saves.
But if you look at the game a little further, Sweden might have played a very stingy game defensively, but they didn’t really generate a lot of key and significant scoring chances throughout the contest. I felt Makarov wasn’t tested with any real dangerous Swedish scoring opportunities. Out of the 57 saves Makarov made, none of them you would say, “Oh my God! I can’t believe he stopped that!”
That said, the Oilers should be pleased with Oscar Klefbom. He led Team Sweden with a +8 and was third on the team with 23 shots.
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, andrei makarov, johan gustafsson, mika zibanejad, oscar klefbom
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
It might not have been the medal that Team Canada had hoped for, but the Canadian National Junior Hockey team salvaged some hardware Thursday afternoon in Calgary with a 4-0 win over Finland at the World Junior Hockey Championships at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
In winning the game, Team Canada won the Bronze medal and recorded a medal at the World Junior Hockey Championships for a 14th consecutive year.
Canadian goaltender Mark Visentin made 27 saves for the shutout, including an outstanding save on a penalty shot in the second period and a remarkable glove save early in the third period. Quinton Howden of Oakbank, Manitoba scored twice, while Tanner Pearson and Mark Scheifele, who each play for the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League, recorded a goal and an assist.
Freddie Hamilton of the Niagara IceDogs also recorded a multi-point game with two assists.
Team Russia plays Team Sweden for the Gold medal this evening at 6pm.
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, freddie hamilton, mark scheifele, mark visentin, quinton howden, tanner pearson
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
A comeback for the ages was just one goal short for Team Canada on Tuesday night at Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome. Trailing 6-1 with 11 minutes left, Team Canada scored four unanswered goals before losing 6-5. Team Russia got three goals and one assist from Washington Capitals prospect Yevgeni Kuznetsov and four assists from Nail Yakupov, who is expected to be selected very high in the 2012 National Hockey League Entry Draft.
The top Canadian in the hockey game was Brendan Gallagher, who scored a goal and two assists. With the win, Russia will look to win back-to-back World Junior Hockey Championships since 2003.
Team Russia’s opponent Thursday will be Team Sweden, who will be looking to win their first World Junior Hockey Championship since 1981. Tuesday afternoon in Calgary, Team Sweden came back from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to beat Team Finland 3-2 in a shootout. Sebastian Collberg and Max Friberg each scored for the Swedes who won in dramatic fashion for the second consecutive game. On Christmas Eve, Team Sweden came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat Team Russia 4-3.
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, brendan gallagher, max friberg, nail yakupov, sebastian collberg, yevgeni kuznetsov
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Monday, January 2nd, 2012
Team Russia will now play Team Canada and Team Finland will now play Team Sweden in the semi-finals of the World Junior Hockey Championships at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Tuesday.
On Monday, Team Finland beat Team Slovakia 8-5 in a game where the goaltending was very poor. Finland, scored four unanswered goals in the second period to blow a 2-2 first period tie wide open. Mikael Granlund led the way with a goal and three assists, and his younger brother Markus, a draft pick of the Calgary Flames scored two goals and one assist.
Finland also got great production from their youngsters. Rasmus Ristolainen, a young 17 year-old defenceman was excellent on the Finnish blue line and picked up two assists. Aleksander Barkov, a 16 year-old forward, scored the game winner.
On Monday night, Russia defeated the Czech Republic in overtime in a game with brilliant goaltending at the junior level. Andrei Vasilevski made 38 saves in a 2-1 Russian overtime win. Petr Mrazek responded with 43 saves for the Czech Republic. With the score tied 1-1, and the Russians moving up ice following a Russian penalty late in the third period, Grigori Zheldakov scored on a pass from Nikita Kucherov to send Russia to the semi-finals.
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, aleksander barkov, andrei vasilevski, grigori zheldakov, markus granlund, mikael granlund, nikita kucherov, petr mrazek, rasmus ristolainen
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Saturday, December 31st, 2011
We now know who will play in the quarterfinals at the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championships in Calgary.
In two dramatic games at Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome New Year’s Eve, Sweden beat Russia 4-3 in overtime and Slovakia came roaring back to beat Switzerland 6-4.
Both Sweden and Switzerland made outstanding comebacks. Sweden was once down 3-0, while Slovakia was down 4-2 in the third period.
The results mean that Sweden finishes first in Pool A with a record of two regulation wins and two wins in extra time (one in regulation and one in a shootout) for ten points. Russia finishes in second place with three regulation wins and an overtime loss, for ten points, but finish in second place behind Sweden because of their loss to them in the standings. Slovakia then finishes in third place with a record of two wins and two losses. Switzerland and Latvia are both out.
Slovakia will now play Finland (second place in Pool B) on Monday in one quarterfinal (TSN, 3pm) with the Czech Republic (third place in Pool B) playing Russia in the other quarterfinal (TSN, 7pm).
The Slovakia-Finland winner will play Sweden in one semi-final on Tuesday (TSN, 3pm) with the Czech Republic-Russia winner playing Canada in the other semi-final (TSN, 7pm)
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships
Posted in Home |
Saturday, December 31st, 2011
What was supposed to be one of the biggest hockey games in quite sometime for the city of Edmonton, in actuality has no meaning whatsoever at all. When Team Canada faces Team United States at Rexall Place tonight (TSN, 6pm) the Canadians know they will be going directly to the semi-finals of the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship, while the Americans are going to the relegation round.
Still, there are a couple of important factors that will come into play. First, it is important that Canada doesn’t get into any bad habits. Team Canada has been a little bit undisciplined at times through their first three games and it is important the team carries their momentum they have now into Tuesday by playing a complete sixty minutes after deciding to take parts of the third period off against Denmark Thursday night.
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Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, ales hemsky, andrei vasilevski, dallas cowboys, denver broncos, Edmonton Oilers, eric decker, henrik sedin, kansas city chiefs, ladainian tomlinson, los angeles kings, miami dolphins, new york giants, new york islanders, new york jets, nikita usev, oakland raiders, petr mrazek, reggie bush, san diego chargers, Steve Tambellini, teemu pulkkinen, tim tebow, tony romo, Vancouver Canucks, yevgeni kuznetsov
Posted in Amateur Sports, Home, NFL, NHL |
Friday, December 30th, 2011
What I love about the World Junior Hockey Championships is the remarkable unexpected. Nobody, and I mean nobody, would have thought at the beginning of the tournament that the Christmas Eve game between Canada and the United States would be absolutely meaningless and that the United States would not be playing meaningful games when they get to Calgary next week.
But that is what happens when you lose two round robin games to competitive teams. On Friday, the Americans lost 5-2 to the Czech Republic. Don’t be mistaken. The Americans were the better team. But Petr Mrazek, a draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, stood on his head and literally stole one. The Czech netminder made 52 saves. That is how you beat the Americans.
With the win, the Czechs will now play Finland for second place tomorrow afternoon on TSN at 2pm. While Canada has now clinched first place in Group B and get a bye to the semi-finals.
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, petr mrazek
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Thursday, December 29th, 2011
I know Team Switzerland is only 0-2 at the World Junior Hockey Championships, but in my opinion, they have been the biggest talk of Group A action so far in Calgary.
In their two losses to date, they have lost two games where they have been in contention throughout the 60 minutes against Russia and 65 minutes plus a shootout against Sweden.
Team Switzerland, who finished fourth two years ago in Saskatoon and fifth last year in Buffalo, are the true darkhorses of the Championships and are more than capable of pulling off a significant upset somehere down the line.
In their 3-0 loss to Russia, they actually outshot the Russians 40-30 and in their 4-3 loss to Sweden, they actually scored two third period goals to force overtime.
Offensively, Switzerland so far has been led by Joel Vermin, an undrafted right winger out of SC Bern and defenceman Dean Kukan, who plays in Sweden. They each notched a pair of points against the heavily favoured Swedes.
Expect Team Switzerland to pound Latvia and beat Slovakia in their two remaining round robin games before giving their quarterfinal opponent Monday a significant test.
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, dean kukan, joel vermin
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Thursday, December 29th, 2011
Team Canada got a significant amount of offense from their defense on Day Four of the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championships at Rexall Place Thursday night.
Scott Harrington, Brandon Gormley and Ryan Murray all recorded multi-point games as Canada defeated Denmark 10-2. Harrington, a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins out of the London Knights, recorded one goals and three assists, Gormley a first round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes out of the Moncton Wildcats, recorded two goals and one assist, and Murray of the Everett Silvertips, recorded two assists.
If there was one area of concern for Team Canada, it was their overall team discipline. They took eight minor penalties, including five that involved unnecessary stick work. Brett Connolly and Jonathan Huberdeau, two players Team Canada is counting on offensively, each took a penalty with less than five minutes left. However, even though Denmark scored on the power play, Canada got shorthanded goals from Connolly and Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants and draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens.
But the bottom line is Team Canada needs to better behaved to win the Gold medal. The schedule gets a lot tougher the rest of the way than it did tonight. Team Canada’s next game is Saturday against the United States.
In other World Junior Hockey Championship news, Michael Futa, the Director of Amateur Scouting with the Los Angeles Kings, might have just become one of the richest scouts in professional sports this week. How? Well, he won $87,000 last night in the 50/50 during Canada’s 5-0 win over the Czech Republic.
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, brandon gormley, brendan gallagher, brett connolly, jonathan huberdeau, los angeles kings, michael futa, ryan murray, scott harrington
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
Team Canada is now 2-0 at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Edmonton. Winnipeg Jets’ prospect Mark Scheifele of the Barrie Colts scored twice and New Jersey Devils’ prospect Scott Wedgewood made 26 saves as Canada defeated the Czech Republic by a score of 5-0.
But despite the convincing 5-0 win, there were some areas for concern regarding Team Canada’s play.
First, their powerplay needs to be better organized. Team Canada scored twice with the man advantage, but there were times when the powerplay unit just simply looked out of sync.
Second, is don’t expect to see the other favourites in the tournament–the Russians, Swedes and Americans–make the same defensive mistakes as the Czechs. Other than Oiler draft pick David Musil, the Czech blueliners seemed to be out of position on a regular basis.
Thirdly, they need to finish more consistently. Team Canada could have won this game 8-0 or 9-0 if it wasn’t for the outstanding play of Czech goalie Petr Mrazek. Also, Brett Connolly missed a wide open side in the second period on a play he should have scored.
Canada (2-0) now plays Denmark (0-2) on Thursday night at 6pm (TSN).
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, david musil, mark scheifele, peter mrazek, scott wedgewood
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Monday, December 26th, 2011
According to TSN, and an update to a situation I blogged about earlier this evening, Devante Smith-Pelly has broken his foot in Canada’s 8-1 win over Finland and will be out for the remainder of the World Junior Hockey Championships.
Smith-Pelly broke his foot by blocking a shot. He will be out of the Anaheim Ducks’ lineup for four to six weeks.
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, anaheim ducks, devante smith-pelly
Posted in Amateur Sports, NHL |
Monday, December 26th, 2011
Team Canada got off to an excellent start at the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championships in Edmonton and Calgary.
Mark Stone of the Brandon Wheat Kings, a draft pick of the Ottawa Senators notched a hat trick and Jonathan Huberdeau, the reigning Memorial Cup MVP, notched a goal and four assists as Canada pounded Finland by a score of 8-1.
Mark Visentin was solid in between the Canadian pipes making 24 saves on 25 shots.
The play of Stone was very impressive in this one, as twice he took passes from Huberdeau, standing behind the Finnish net and accurately placed the puck past Finnish goaltender Christopher Gibson.
Ryan Strome also was prolific offensively with a goal and three assists.
If there was one weakness Monday in Edmonton, it was the play of Oil King Mark Pysyk. The local defenceman didn’t so much in blocking the shot from Alexander Ruuttu (son of former Buffalo Sabre Christian Ruuttu) who scored Finland’s only goal, and took a dumb hooking penalty in the third period.
The Canadian team is also anxiously waiting to hear the status of Devante Smith-Pelly, who left the game in the second period after blocking a shot.
Canada next plays the Czech Republic on Wednesday night.
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, jonathan huberdeau, mark stone, mark visentin, ryan strome
Posted in Amateur Sports |
Saturday, December 24th, 2011
It may be the Christmas season, but it is a very big weekend on the world sport stage. On Boxing Day, the sports world will be focused on Alberta for the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship. The event is significant because it is the first time that Edmonton and Calgary, two bitter provincial rivals have joined forces to host a world class sporting event. Edmonton will host all of Team Canada’s round robin games, with Calgary hosting the medal round.
Team Canada’s first game is Monday at 1:30pm against Finland (TSN). Both teams have something in common. They both lost to Russia in the medal round at the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo. Finland lost 4-3 to Russia in the quarterfinals, while Canada lost 5-3 to Russia in the Gold medal game.
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Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, Aaron Rodgers, amare stoudemire, anaheim ducks, antwan barnes, atlanta falcons, Blake Griffin, boston celtics, brent celek, brett connolly, carmelo anthony, caron butler, chauncey billups, chicago bears, chicago bulls, chris paul, Cleveland Cavaliers, dallas cowboys, dallas mavericks, darrelle revis, detroit lions, devante smith-pelly, devin ebanks, dirk nowitzki, dougie hamilton, dwight howard, Edmonton Oil Kings, Edmonton Oilers, freddie hamilton, golden state warriors, green bay packers, henrik sedin, joakim noah, jordan eberle, kevin durant, kevin garnett, khloe kardashian, Kobe Bryant, lamar odom, lesean mccoy, Los ANgeles Clippers, los angeles lakers, Mark Pysyk, Miami Heat, mike brown, new orleans saints, new york giants, new york jets, New York Knicks, niagara icedogs, oklahoma city thunder, orlando maic, pau gasol, paul pierce, philadelphia eagles, ray allen, richard hamilton, romeo crennel, san diego chargers, san francisco 49ers, seattle seahawks, shane battier, shawn marion, tampa bay lightning, Toronto Raptors, Vancouver Canucks
Posted in Amateur Sports, Home, NBA, NFL, NHL |
Friday, December 23rd, 2011
Jaden Schwartz (Wikimedia Commons)
According to the Canadian Press, Jaden Schwartz has been named captain for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Calgary and Edmonton that starts Boxing Day.
Schwartz, a winger, is one of four returning players who are seeking redemption this time around. Last season Team Canada had a 3-0 lead heading into the third period of the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championship Gold medal game in Buffalo, New York, only to lose 5-3 to Russia.
Last year, Schwartz broke his left ankle during the tournament and only was able to play just over one game where he scored one goal and two assists. The 19 year-old native of Melfort, Saskatchewan also experienced personal turmoil in the last calendar year, as his 23 year-old sister Mandi died of leukemia in April. Mandi also played hockey, as she was attending the University of Yale, and was considered one of Canada’s rising talents in the women’s game.
Schwartz, is the only player on Team Canada that plays in the NCAA, as he can be found suiting up regularly for Colorado College. Schwartz is also a first round pick, 14th overall, by the St. Louis Blues in 2010.
Canada opens their quest for Gold Monday in Edmonton against Finland.
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, colorado college, jaden schwartz, st. louis blues, women's hockey, yale university
Posted in Amateur Sports, University Sports |
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