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Final Individual Scoring - Top 12
Tournament Awards Most Valuable Player - Carey Price, G, Canada All-star team Goaltender: Carey Price, Canada Defencemen: Erik Johnson, U.S., Kristopher Letang, Canada. Forward: Alexei Cherepanov, Russia; Patrick Kane, U.S.; Jonathan Toews, Canada. IIHF Best Player Awards Goaltender: Carey Price, Canada Defenceman: Erik Johnson, U.S. Forward: Alexei Cherepanov, Russia
Overall Finish: 1. Canada, 2. Russia, 3. USA, 4. Sweden, 5. Czech Republic, 6. Finland, 7. Switzerland, 8. Slovakia, 9. Germany (relegated), 10. Belarus (relegated) * relegated team's will not take part in the 2008 WJC's tournament. 2008 World Junior Championship's The Czech Republic will be the host country for next year's tournament. It will be held in Liberec, Czech Republic. For a History of the WJC's check out TSN.ca's site. Obviously Canada is the focus but it's still very good. Corrections: Gord Miller, a very good play by play man, stated some wrong facts during Team USA's Bronze Medal game against Sweden. He stated that this would be Team USA's first ever Bronze Medal. He must not have had history beyond 1995 because this was actually the third Bronze Medal the Americans have ever won in WJC's play. Team USA's first ever medal in the WJC's came in 1986 when they won the Bronze in Hamilton, Can. In 1992, current New York Islanders backup goaltender Mike Dunham led Team USA to a Bronze Medal in Fussen, Germany and was named to the tournament all-star team. Peter Ferraro, the top center for Team USA, was also named to the tournament all-star team. Of course Team USA won their first ever Gold Medal in Helsinki, Finland in 2004. Team USA now has their third Bronze Medal and fifth total. islesinfo.com's final synopsis: I just never had time to write a preview of the tournament, but here were my prediction before it started: 1. USA, 2. Canada, 3. Czech Republic. Obviously I wasn't close but hit at least two medal winner. I love this tournament. To be honest, Canada should probably never not win a medal. Every year they have an amazing team. And on each team are a few young players who show a preview of how they will be key pieces the following year like Sam Gagner and Karl Alzner. Angelo Esposito and John Tavares will most likely make the team next year so Canada will once again be the favorites to possibly four-peat in 2008. Team USA also should always medal but they are never really that far ahead of the other powers and it's always possible they could finish in fourth or fifth if they don't play to the top of their game or meld together in a short period of time. Ryan O'Marra I think had one of his best performances in the Gold Medal Game. He made a great pass that happened so fast you almost didn't see it on Cogliano's goal. It's too bad though that he didn't record a goal in 12 career WJC games dating back to last years tournament. He still has yet to truly break out in the OHL offensively. He may not turn out to be a huge scorer in the NHL but will hopefully be well rounded at all aspects. If he doesn't ever make the Islanders top two lines, he most definitely should develop into a mainstay as the third line center. He will be watched closely as he rejoins Saginaw. Can he step up his game and lead the Spirit to an OHL title and possibly the Memorial Cup tournament? Kyle Okposo had a disappointing tournament offensively. Just 1 assist in 7 games. He was counted on heavily after his breakout with the Univ. of Minnesota so maybe the hype was a bit unfair. It wasn't completely bad for Okposo as he generated a ton of offensive chances, but just couldn't finish as witnessed by a few missed breakaway's. Commentator Pierre McGuire had a lot of good things to say about Okposo. He stated Kyle was not to far removed from being an NHL player. Univ. of Minnesota coach Don Lucia compared Okposo to current Buffalo Sabre's player Thomas Vanek, who also played in the USHL and with the Minnesota Gophers. The question is, will Okposo be with the Islanders in 2007-08, or will he get a second chance with another year under his belt, to make a better impression at the WJC's in Liberec next year? As for Marcinko and Joensuu I think both are good long term prospects. Marcinko was a very good player on a poor team. Most of his points came in a 9-0 win in relegation over Belarus. On a better team he could possibly have done more. Would like to see him and Joensuu in Bridgeport within the next couple of years. Islanders Prospects Statistical Look
Team USA controversy's: If Team USA had not allowed a goal with 14 seconds remaining in their final preliminary game against Sweden they would have finished second in Pool A and faced the Czech Republic. Nothing major there. Now the real controversy. In the overtime between USA and Canada of the semifinal game, a USA player was cut by a high stick and the officials awarded a 2 minute power play and not 4 minutes. The Americans should have received a 4 minute power play because the Canadian player drew blood on the American. The rules in this tournament may have been different but that is usually how it works. Second controversy: Tournament officials admitted the next day they made a mistake in the shootout. International shootout is different from the NHL shootout in that after the first three scorers shoot, they can repeat the same shooters as many times as they wish. Since Canada was given the right as the home team because of a better record, they were given the opportunity to shoot first in the shootout. But the rules call for the sides to switch up after three, and from round 4-6 the Americans were suppose to shoot first. Someone missed this and Canada continued to take the first shot in the shootout throughout the entire thing. January 5, 2007: Medal Games Canada beats Russia 4-2 in gold medal game Canada won its third straight gold medal at the world junior championship with a 4-2 win over Russia on Friday in Leksand, Sweden. Canada got goals from Andrew Cogliano, Bryan Little, Jonathan Toews and Brad Marchand to overcome the Russians. "It's unbelievable, a great feeling," Canadian forward Jonathan Toews told TSN. "Tonight was a battle from start to finish. The Russians are a great team but we came out hard and finished hard, too." Team Canada goaltender Carey Price was named tournament MVP and its best goaltender. ''It's not just me. I had a lot of help,'' Price said. ''We're 22 brothers and we stuck together the whole tournament.'' The first three goals came in a 2:27 span late in the first period. Cogliano finished a beautiful passing play with Marc Staal and Ryan O'Marra, one-timing a shot past Semen Varlamov into the Russian net to open the scoring at 15:35. ''I hope, looking back as I get older, that this was the start of another great era,'' said O'Marra. Less than two minutes later, Little swept in a powerplay goal to give Canada a two-goal cushion. Thirty-three seconds after that, Toews went upstairs on Varlamov for another powerplay goal to make it 3-0 for Canada. Marchand made it 4-0 six minutes into the second period, converting a feed from Toews after Steve Downie took a hit to set up the play. "The guys that we knew could score came through for us tonight," said Canadian head coach Craig Hartsburg. Canada, however, soon got into penalty trouble and that helped the Russians break through. Pavel Valtenko scored a powerplay goal for Russia at 11:25 of the second period. His point shot appeared to deflect off traffic in front of Carey Price and found the back of the net. Gennady Churilov scored another powerplay goal late in the second period to bring the Russians within two goals heading into the final frame. Russia went 2-for-4 on the powerplay in the second period. The fast-paced game featured several scoring chances for both sides. ''People back home might not understand how hard it is to win over here,'' said Hartsburg. ''At the same time, it's been very rewarding. You'd have to win a Stanley Cup to feel like this.'' Early in the first period, Price stopped Igor Makarov on a breakaway, with some help from Ryan Parent's speed on the back-check. Canada's first good chance came with Churilov in the penalty box. The puck came to Sam Gagne on a rebound, but it bounced over his stick in front of a wide open net. Andrey Kiryukhin's wrap around attempt in the middle of the first period looked dangerous, but was stopped calmly by Price. Kris Russell helped Price out early in the third period by sweeping the puck from the goal-line after a long shot had slipped through the Canadian goalie's pads. Kiryukhin got robbed again late in the second period. With Russia on a powerplay, he had Price down and out but found nothing but leather. Anton Krysanov had a brilliant chance to get Russia within one when he broke in alone on Price while Canada was on a two-man advantage early in the third, but his shot was stopped cold. "We got that quick start and it made it easier for me to play," said Price. It is the third straight year, and the sixth time since 1999, that Canada and Russia were playing for gold in this tournament. Last January in Vancouver, Canada put on a dominating display to win the gold medal with a 5-0 win over the Russians. It was the second straight gold medal win for Canada. "Winning in Europe is unbelievable," Staal said. "From the start (of the tournament) we just kept it simple. We clogged up the middle, teams got frustrated and turned it over." Russia beat Canada for gold in 2003, 2002 and 1999. About 300 fans were among the announced crowd of 5,223 at Ejendals Arena to cheer on the defending champions. A large group of them in the standing section of rink began chanting "We want gold" 10 minutes before the puck dropped and "You've got nothing" when Canada took a 4-0 lead. They were joined by several Swedes, including a Swedish drummer, because the Canadians had cheered for their country in a 2-1 loss to the U.S. in the bronze-medal game earlier. Following the game, the arena announcer specifically thanked the Canadian fans who were in Sweden for their enthusiasm throughout the tournament. Prime Minister Stephen Harper watched the game from Ottawa. During a brief phone with Hartsburg carried live on TSN, he said the team had made all of Canada proud. "You had the whole country cheering for you," said Harper. "I think everybody has taken an early weekend to watch the game." Earlier today, Erik Johnson scored the game-winner as the United States claimed the bronze medal with a 2-1 victory over Sweden.
Americans beat Sweden 2-1 for bronze medal USA Tops Sweden To Win Bronze at World
Junior Championship LEKSAND, Sweden (AP-CP) - Erik Johnson scored the winning goal and assisted on another as the United States beat Sweden 2-1 to win the bronze medal at the world junior hockey championship Friday. The medal is the United States' first since beating Canada for gold at the 2004 tournament in Helsinki, Finland. This year, the Americans recovered from a 2-1 shootout loss to Canada in the semifinals to claim some hardware. "We weren't going to come all the way over here and not show nothing for it," said American defenceman Jack Johnson. "Might as well come get a medal. It wasn't too hard to get jacked up to win a bronze medal. "There's never been a U.S. team before that's won a bronze-medal game, so we wanted to leave our mark here." The game was tied 1-1 when Erik Johnson beat goalie Joel Gistedt with a wrist shot at 12:34 into the second period, his fourth goal of the tournament. Sweden, playing before a partisan crowd, had a two-man advantage for more than a minute in the final period, but rarely threatened American goalie Jeff Frazee.The Swedes managed just six shots in the final frame and 26 in all. The Americans had 22 shots. "It was a tough loss the other night (to Canada), pretty emotional loss, but all the guys bounced back," said American forward Pat Kane. "We have a lot of character in that room." Seconds before the end of the first period, a shot by Erik Johnson rebounded to Kane, who scored from a tough angle to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead. It was Kane's team-high fifth goal of the tournament. Sweden's Patrik Zackrisson tied the score on a quick wrist shot from close range nine minutes into the second period. "It's good to get a win in a tough environment against the home team," said Kane. "It's good to see the guys all happy in there.
islesinfo.com Medal Games Preview Ryan O'Marra will get a chance to win his second straight WJC's Gold Medal Friday when Canada faces Russia in what will be a rematch of the 2006 Finals. The Canadians have a balanced attack. Last year they found a way to beat the Russians by playing a physical game. The Russians are extremely strong puckhandlers and skaters, but they don't like the physical play. Keep an eye on Alexei Cherepanov, who many are predicting is a sure fire top 5 pick in the 2007 draft. Kyle Okposo will have one more attempt to make the 2007 WJC's a positive lasting memory for him and Team USA. The team that won Gold in Helsinki, Finland in 2004, Team USA lost a heartbreaker to Canada in the shootout despite outplaying the Canadians for most of the game. Sandwiched around the Gold Medal from 2004, Team USA has 3 fourth place finishes. They lost last year to Finland and will look to come away with the Bronze in 2007. It won't be easy though as they face Sweden, who Team USA defeated 3-2 in OT on Dec. 31st to qualify for the quarterfinals. Sweden is coming off a 4-2 loss to Russia in the other semifinal game. They are also the host country so they might look to that for momentum. Coming up later this week, islesinfo.com will have a WJC's review. Here is an early draft of what you will see. It will most likely be revised. (pre Medal Games thoughts): As the tournament has gone on I have become more and more impressed with Pat Kane. He really started to get hot when the U.S. put him on a line with Kyle Okposo. If the Islanders come draft time could find a way to draft him, even if they had to trade up it would be an unbelievable pickup I believe. I think he's going to be one of the next great American players, possibly in the line of a LaFontaine or Modano.I know the Islanders could use a defenseman, but Karl Alzner will probably go very early. Keaton Ellerby and Nick Petrecki didn't even make their junior teams so the books are still out on them. As is with Mark Katic who is reportedly rising up the ranks. Another thing about Kane, awesome on the power play. He's killing the OHL with the extra man. As far as Okposo and O'Marra, have been a little disappointed in them. Kyle does have the "bull in a china shop" mentality that everyone praises. But what I saw in this tournament is that he tries to do too much and is often moving too fast for his own good. He loses the puck a lot and was never able to get down in low, where he is most effective. O'Marra has played well defensively but I expected more offense from him this year being his second tournament. Plus he was playing on Canada's second line with Jonathan Toews, who to me looks like the next Joe Sakic. 3 for 3 in the shootout. Unbelievable. I've heard and seen some comments from fellow Americans that they didn't even know there was a game. It's really a shame the U.S. team doesn't get the support that the Canadian team does. All tournament there were Canadian fans in the seats, booing Jack Johnson and cheering like crazy when they scored in the shootout. The U.S. who amazingly tied up the shootout 5 times....dead silence when they scored. That's too bad. But congrats to Canada.
January 3, 2007: Semifinal WJHC: Canada defeats USA 2-1 in shootout LEKSAND, Sweden (CP) - Canada's dream of a three-peat at the world junior men's hockey championship is still alive thanks to goaltender Carey Price. The 19-year-old from Anahim Lake, B.C., kept his nervous teammates in a semifinal against the U.S. long enough to get into a shootout and pull out a 2-1 win Wednesday. Canada goes for a third straight gold medal in the tournament Friday, but will try to win it in Europe for the first time in a decade. For the third straight year, Canada's opponent for gold will be Russia, which was a 4-2 winner over host Sweden in the other semifinal. The U.S. and Sweden will play for bronze Friday. "No Canadian team wants to play for the bronze medal," forward Andrew Cogliano said.Price stopped 34 of 35 shots, including 12 in overtime when Canada was a man down for two minutes because of a high-sticking penalty by captain Kristopher Letang. The dramatic seven-round shootout ended with Price stopping U.S. forward Peter Mueller. Price pumped his fist in celebration and the Canadians exploded off the bench to swarm their goaltender like they'd already won gold, while chants of "Car-ey, Car-ey" rained down from the Canadian fans at Ejendals Arena. "The reason we even had a chance to go to overtime and the shootout was Carey Price," defenceman Kris Russell said. "Goalies can steal games and he definitely stole one there for us." University of North Dakota forward Jonathan Toews scored three times in the shootout, including the winner, on American goaltender Jeff Frazee. Michigan's Cogliano and Bryan Little of the Barrie Colts also scored in extra shots. Moncton Wildcats defenceman Luc Bourdon scored a power-play goal at 12:19 in the third period to deadlock the game 1-1. Canada trailed for the first time in the tournament when U.S. captain Taylor Chorney was credited with a power-play goal at 5:04 of the second period, although it appeared Nathan Gerbe got lumber on the winning shot. Canada had beaten the U.S. 6-3 last week, but it was the only round-robin game the defending champs hadn't controlled from start to finish. The Americans had a terrible start to the tournament, but gained momentum with three wins in four days before facing Canada. The Canadians were visibly tense about playing the U.S. a second time as they held onto the puck too long or it bounced off their sticks. The U.S. defence was relentless as it gave Canada no room down low in the offensive zone even-strength or with a man advantage. On six consecutive power plays, the Canadians took countless shots from the blue-line that glanced off American legs and sticks until Bourdon's knuckler sailed over Frazee's shoulder in the third period. His goal revived the 300-odd Canadian fans among the 2,376 at the game. They had fallen silent wondering when, and if, their team was going to score a goal. "We looked uptight," Canadian head coach Craig Hartsburg said. "It was the first time we really had to face some adversity in this thing and I'm certainly proud of how they battled through it." The defining moment of the game for Canada was killing off the penalty in overtime. Price, of the Tri-City Americans, had lost his stick in a goal-mouth scramble right before Letang was slapped with the minor. Price says at that moment he remembered advice from a future Hockey Hall of Famer. "We got a phone call from Stevie Yzerman saying we were going to face adversity and we can't let it get to us," Price said. "That's the mentality we took going into this tournament. We never really faced adversity until that moment. "When we battled and fought it off, that was a huge turning point in that game." His performance in overtime gave Canada the confidence it needed heading in the shootout. Toews had scored a penalty shot against the U.S. last week, so he was a natural to be among the first three Canadians Hartsburg chose for the shootout. "I'll be honest, I'm not that great of a shootout player, especially with my club team," said the 18-year-old from Winnipeg. "We have a shootout competition every week at UND and I rarely win that thing." The shootout wasn't without controversy as U.S. head coach Ron Rolston said after the game there should have been video review on a shot by Pat Kane of the London Knights. Price clenched his pads on the puck and slid back onto the goal-line. Swedish referee Ulf Ronnmark decided he didn't need video review to see if the puck crossed the line, but the International Ice Hockey Federation felt otherwise. Chief referee Peter Andersson of Sweden and tournament chairman Frank Gonzalez of Spain reviewed it after the game and deduced from two camera angles, including one from overhead, that the puck did not enter the net. If their finding had been otherwise, the tournament directorate, which includes a representative from all 10 participating countries, would have then decided what to do about it. One option would have been holding the shootout over again. Another mistake was letting Canada continue to shoot first in the order after the first three shooters from each team had finished. According to IIHF rules, the order should then have been reversed to let the U.S. shoot first. CP player of the game - Carey Price. Tri-City Americans goaltender and Montreal Canadiens' prospect stole a win for his team that was outplayed by the U.S.
CAN 2 - USA 1 (SO) U.S. Falls in Heartbreaker to Canada in Semifinals of WJC; Canada Takes Victory in Seventh Round of Shootout LEKSAND, Sweden -- The United States lost to two-time defending champion Canada, 2-1, in a seven-round shootout in the semifinals of the 31st annual International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship here today. Team USA played on 18 hours rest after it defeated Finland in quarterfinal action Tuesday evening, while top-seeded Canada hadn’t played since New Year’s Eve. “We gave a gutsy effort,” said U.S. Head Coach Ron Rolston (Fenton, Mich.). “I couldn’t have asked our guys to do more. Their goaltender made some keys saves and our goaltending was just excellent as well. Our players can hold their heads high. They did everything we asked of them.” Team USA will play for the bronze medal Friday at 4 p.m. (10 a.m. EST) against host Sweden. The teams fired 20 shots on goal in the opening period -- 11 by the United States -- but both goaltenders were solid. U.S. netminder Jeff Frazee (Edina, Minn./University of Minnesota) made a big save on a Steve Downie power-play attempt from the side of the goal midway through the period and also stopped Darren Helm on a shorthanded break late in the period. Team USA got the only goal of the second period. It came at 5:04 on the power play when Taylor Chorney’s (Hastings, Minn./University of North Dakota) pass from the bottom of the left circle across the crease intended for Nate Gerbe (Oxford, Mich./Boston College) hit Marc Staal’s skate and deflected past Canadian netminder Carey Price. Frazee was again outstanding in goal. While Canada had only six shots, he made two huge stops in the period, including one in which he slid across to rob Bryan Little on a rebound of Downie’s original attempt. Frazee also stoned Downie on a break down the right side with just more than four-and-a-half minutes to go in the period. Canada tied the game on its fourth-straight power-play opportunity at 12:19 of the third period when Luc Bourdon’s shot from the point sailed over the shoulder of Frazee. It was the only goal of the period. In the 10-minute overtime, which was played with the teams skating four-on-four, Team USA dominated. The U.S. had a 12-2 shots advantage, including several great chances on a power play midway through. Perhaps Team USA’s best chance came just after the power play expired when Erik Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./University of Minnesota) made a nifty backdoor pass to Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y./London) from the left point, but Kane’s deflection from the side of the net went over the cage. That set the stage for what turned into a dramatic seven-round shootout. After Canada’s Downie and the United States’ Kane were both stopped to start the shootout, Little gave Canada a 2-1 lead. Peter Mueller (Bloomington, Minn./Everett), however, tied the shootout, but Jonathan Toews put Canada ahead 3-2 forcing the U.S. to score. It did just that, thanks to Jack Johnson’s (Ann Arbor, Mich./University of Michigan) blast to the stick side. Little failed in the fourth round, meaning a goal by the U.S. would send it to the gold-medal game. Kane made a slick move in front, but Price made a save that carried him partially back into his own net with the puck squeezed between his pads. Toews scored in the fifth round to give Canada the advantage, but Mueller went high under the cross bar to even the shootout again. Andrew Cogliano of Team Canada started the sixth round with a shot that beat Frazee low to the glove side, but again the U.S. answered as Jack Johnson put one up high on the stick side of Price to force a seventh round. Toews scored again, before Mueller’s attempt to send the shootout to an eighth round was turned aside. Frazee finished with 26 saves, while Price had 34 stops. NOTES: Jeff Frazee (Edina, Minn./University of Minnesota) was named the U.S. Player of the Game ... During the first intermission of the Sweden-Russia semifinal, the IIHF conducted a press conference to clarify the situation relating to Patrick Kane’s second shootout attempt (4th round). The question centered around why the referee did not use video replay to review the play as it appeared Canada netminder Price may have carried the puck back over the goal line with him into the net. The IIHF said that the play was reviewed following the game and there was no evidence that showed the puck crossing the goal line.
January 2, 2007: Quarterfinal Finland 3 - USA 6 Team USA Downs Finland, 6-3, To Advance To
Semifinals; Rematch With Canada On Tap With Winner Going To Gold-Medal
Game The win propelled the United States into the semifinals against Canada tomorrow (Jan. 3). Opening faceoff is set for 4 p.m. (10 a.m. EST) at Ejendals Arena in Leksand, Sweden. “We’re obviously very happy,” said U.S. Head Coach Ron Rolston (Fenton, Mich.). “I didn’t think we necessarily played our best game, but we got the job done. We have an extremely short turnaround now to get prepared for Canada, but we’ll be ready.” Team USA held a 1-0 lead after the opening period. The goal came at 11:28 when defenseman Erik Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./University of Minnesota) put home a second rebound from the side of the right circle. Ryan Stoa (Bloomington, Minn./University of Minnesota) and Taylor Chorney (Hastings, Minn./University of North Dakota) picked up assists on the play. U.S. netminder Jeff Frazee (Edina, Minn./University of Minnesota) was outstanding in the period, including a huge glove save of Oskar Osala from point blank range as well as several good saves on two Finland power plays. Just 2:11 into the second period, Team USA extended its lead to 2-0 as Erik Johnson held the puck in at the point, moved around a defender and and fired a shot at the net. While the puck didn’t go in, Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y./London) was there to put home the rebound high over Tuukka Rask from the left circle. Finland rallied to tie the game before the end of the period. Jesse Joensuu squeezed one past Frazee from just above the goal line off a rebound as time expired on a Finland power play at 6:38. Then Osala made a nifty move in front to beat Frazee at 10:01. In a penalty-filled third period, five power play goals were scored, including four by the United States. Team USA took a 3-2 lead just :23 into the final stanza when Erik Johnson’s shot from the right point went off Jack Skille’s (Madison, Wis./University of Wisconsin) shin pad in front and into the net. Just 1:15 later, Osala scored a power play goal of his own as he beat Frazee from the side of the left faceoff circle. Peter Mueller (Bloomington, Minn./Everett) gave the U.S. the lead for good when he blasted a shot from the high slot home at 7:53 with Team USA enjoying a two-man advantage. After Finland’s Timo Seppanen inadvertently shot the puck out of play from his own zone to give Team USA another two-man advantage, Trevor Lewis (Murray, Utah/Owen Sound) was the recipient of a nice pass across the goal mouth from Kane and he quickly got the puck out of his skates and past Rask for a 5-3 lead at 9:00. Team USA was forced to kill off three straight penalties after that, including one minute of five-on-three power play time. Jack Johnson (Ann Arbor, Mich./University of Michigan) fired home a shot from the slot at 19:40 with Team USA up two men to finish the scoring.
December 31, 2006 USA 3 - Sweden 2 (OT) USA Beats Sweden, 3-2, In Overtime Thriller; Win Propels Team USA To Quarterfinal Game vs. Finland on Tuesday LEKSAND, Sweden -- Defenseman Jack Johnson’s (Ann
Arbor, Mich./University of Michigan) power play blast from the side of the
left circle propelled the United States to a 3-2 overtime victory
over Sweden today in preliminary-round play at the 31st annual
International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. Team USA started the night knowing that it needed a win
to advance to the quarterfinal round.
Canada 3 - Slovakia 0 SUMMARY: LEKSAND, Sweden – Kris Russell is on a record-setting performance at the World Junior Hockey Championship and Canada is benefiting from it. Russell scored twice in a 3-0 win over Slovakia on Sunday and he now holds the record for the most goals (4) by a Canadian defenceman in a single world junior tournament. The Canadians now have won four straight games in this sleepy Swedish town and the National Junior team program has 16 consecutive wins to its credit, dating back to the 2005 WHC in North Dakota. Canada's next game is Wednesday and the opponent will be decided on Tuesday when the quarter-final games are to be played. Forward Steve Downie scored his third goal in four games while goalie Carey Price made 32 saves to register his second shutout. The Canada-Slovakia game meant nothing to either team in the standings as Slovakia was already headed to the relegation round. The game didn't have a lot of flow to it, mostly because of the constant parade of players to the penalty box. And once Canada took a 2-0 lead in the first period, the penalty parade began in earnest. islesinfo.com comment: Had a chance to see this game. Ryan O'Marra has missed wide open opportunities in each of his last two games. He only has an assist in his first 4 games and 3 assists in 10 career WJC games. Came away impressed with the game of Tomas Marcinko for the Slovaks. Slovakia didn't really do much the entire game but they did manage to keep it close. The Slovaks had four 5 on 3 opportunities in this game. The Slovaks were using Marcinko as a point man on the power play. There was one chance late in the second period where the puck was fed back to him at the point from down low and Marcinko ripped a shot wide. He also had a breakaway early in the game that drew a penalty.
December 30, 2006 USA 6 - Slovakia 1 USA Downs Slovakia, 6-1, In World Junior Championship; Team USA Must Win Tomorrow vs. Sweden To Advance To Medal Round LEKSAND, Sweden -- Team USA used outstanding special teams play and solid goaltending on the way to a 6-1 victory over Slovakia today in preliminary-round play at the 31st annual International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. In what was a must-win game for the United States if it hoped to have a chance to move onto the medal round, Team USA came alive with three power play goals and held Slovakia scoreless on its 10 man-advantage chances. The United States held a 2-0 advantage after the opening period. Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y./London) wristed a shot from the top of the right circle and past Slovakia netminder Jakub Macek with Team USA on the power play at 6:51 for a 1-0 edge. Captain Taylor Chorney (Hastings, Minn./University of North Dakota) and Jack Skille (Madison, Wis./University of Wisconsin) drew assists on the play. Defenseman Jack Johnson (Ann Arbor, Mich./University of Michigan) made it 2-0 at 14:45 with a delayed penalty on Slovakia in effect. Peter Mueller (Bloomington, Minn./Everett) found Johnson at the side of the left circle and his shot sailed over the glove of Macek. Nate Gerbe (Oxford, Mich./Boston College) also assisted on the play. Getting his first start of the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship, U.S. netminder Jeff Frazee (Edina, Minn./University of Minnesota) was strong in the opening stanza, including a solid stop off an opening-faceoff two-on-one rush. Frazee also made two big stops in less than a minute midway through the period, first on David Buc and then on Juraj Valach. Team USA scored two more power play goals in the second
period to gain a 4-0 advantage after 40 minutes. Kane had one of the
tournament’s most spectacular goals at 4:15 as he came from the side
wall, stick-handled through traffic and roofed one into the upper corner
of the net on the near side from just outside the goal crease. Then at
9:00, defenseman Erik Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./University of Minnesota)
wristed one from the center point that beat Macek and sent him to the
bench in favor of Branislav Konrad. Team USA must defeat Sweden tomorrow, either in regulation, overtime or a shootout to advance to the medal round. Sweden has already clinched a spot in the medal round ... Patrick Kane, who had two goals and an assist, was named the U.S. Player of the Game.
December 29, 2006 Germany 1 - Canada 3 LEKSAND, Sweden – The first goal on the road to gold at the World Junior Hockey Championship has been achieved by Canada's National Junior Team. A 3-1 win over Germany on Friday clinched first place in Group A and with the victory Canada earned a bye to the semifinal. "This means a lot to the guys," said Steve Downie, who scored Canada's second goal. "But we're not there yet." "We are all excited to get to this stage" said Marc Staal. "That's huge for us." Canada's next game and final preliminary round game is Sunday against Slovakia and the two-time defending world champions will be looking for their fourth straight win. "We'll treat the game like Slovakia like it is a medal round game. We do not want to develop any bad habits," said Andrew Cogliano. Canada now sits atop the Group A standings with 9 points. Germany follows with five points, while Sweden is third with three points. The United States is fourth with one point and Slovakia is running out of time to register its first point. In Friday's other game, Russia beat Belarus 6-1 for its third straight win and secure at least second place in Group B. Finland, Switzerland and Belarus are knotted at three points apiece while the Czech Republic has yet to register a point. Canada opened the scoring against the Germans at 7:04 of the first period when Kris Russell ripped a shot over goalie Timo Pielmeier's stick-side shoulder. The Germans tied it at 12:26 of the second when two Canadians were in the penalty box serving minors. Felix Schutz beat Carey Price from close in. But Downie chased any thoughts of the Germans pulling off a second major upset when he scored at 14:42 of the second to pull Canada ahead 2-1. The Germans opened the world junior championship with a 2-1 upset win over the United States. Russell iced the win with his second goal of the game, on a low slap shot, at 10:34 of the third period. The Germans played a smothering defensive style of game and the Canadians did not have much room to get their flow game on track. Coach Craig Hartsburg was happy with the result but feels there is room for improvement. "We have taken some big strides since we started this process but there is a whole other level coming and we had better be ready," said Hartsburg. The semifinal is set for Wednesday.
December 27, 2006 Canada 6 - United States 3 MORA, Sweden – Jonathan Toews scored his second goal of the game on a third period penalty shot to pace Canada to a 6-3 triumph over the United States at the World Junior Championship on Wednesday. Toews was awarded the shot after U.S. defenseman Erik Johnson threw his stick at the Canadian forward while Toews was on a breakaway. Toews scored what proved to be the winning goal on a wrist shot at 9:13 that caught the upper left corner of the net. Darren Helm then followed with a pair of goals late in the final period to help Canada to its second straight win. Steve Downie and Tom Pyatt scored in the first period to stake Canada to a 2-0 lead. Toews then made it 3-0 at 1:55 of the second but the United States struck for a goal shortly after, with Eric Johnson cutting Canada's margin to two at 2:24. Johnson's goal ended Canada's shutout steak at the world junior championship at 234 minutes 14 seconds. The win over the U.S. came a day after Canada beat Sweden 2-0 to open the tournament. Canada's next game is Friday against unbeaten Germany. The Germans are 2-0 following a 4-2 win over Slovakia earlier Wednesday. “I was proud of our effort overall,” said U.S. Head Coach Ron Rolston (Fenton, Mich.). “We battled back and kept coming until the end. I told our guys afterward to stay positive and stay together. This team has not yet reached its potential and we’ll work hard in practice the next two days to work on some areas that need to be addressed.” Team USA will have two days off before battling Slovakia
in the third of its four preliminary-round games on Saturday (Dec. 30). December 26, 2006 Sweden 0 - Canada 2 LEKSAND, Sweden – Luc Bourdon’s (Shippagan, NB/Moncton, QMJHL) blast from the point in the first period stood as the game-winner as Canada shut out Sweden 2-0 to open the 2007 World Junior Championship on Tuesday. Bourdon scored at 14:22 of the first at the tail end of a Team Canada power play. Kristopher Letang (Ste-Julie, QC/Val d’Or, QMJHL) sent a pass across to Bourdon, who one-timed the puck past Sweden’s goaltender, Joel Gistedt. Ryan O'Marra also assisted on the goal. Sweden outshot Canada 31-18 in the game, forcing Carey Price (Anahim Lake, BC/Tri-City, WHL) to stand tall in Team Canada’s net. Price was outstanding throughout the game, but especially in the second period, when Sweden took over control of the game. Team Canada extended its lead late in the second period with another power-play goal. Letang earned his second assist of the night when he streaked down the right side, took a shot and watched as Brad Marchand (Hammonds Plains, NS/Val d’Or, QMJHL) put away the rebound. Letang and Marchand are teammates with the Val d’Or Foreurs of the QMJHL. Andrew Cogliano (Woodbridge, ON/Michigan, CCHA) earned the other assist. Team Canada sits in first place in Group A with three points after Day 1 at the World Junior Championship. Germany pulled off a major upset earlier in the day when it defeated U.S.A 2-1 in overtime. In Group B action, Belarus beat Finland 4-3 and Russia beat Czech Republic 3-2. Canada returns to action on Wednesday, when it faces U.S.A in a matchup of Group A powers. The game is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. ET and can be seen live on TSN and RDS. Wednesday’s other games have Slovakia taking on Germany and Switzerland facing Belarus.
Germany 2 - USA 1 (OT) Germany Beats U.S. National Junior Team In Overtime; Team USA Continues Play Tomorrow vs. Canada LEKSAND, Sweden -- Mercel Muller jammed the puck home from the side of the net at 1:51 of overtime to give Germany a 2-1 victory over the United States today in the opening game for both teams at the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. Team USA outshot Germany by a 39-16 count in the contest.
Germany nearly took the lead less than two minutes later, but Zatkoff made a spectacular glove save on a chance in front by Schutz.
Exclusive Team USA World Junior Media Guide: Kyle Okposo's Bio COLLEGIATE PLAYING EXPERIENCE: As a Freshman (2006-07): Playing his first season at the University USA HOCKEY PLAYING EXPERIENCE: Making his first appearance with the U.S. National Junior Team. ADDITIONAL PLAYING EXPERIENCE: 2005-06: Played with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United PERSONAL: Son of Michelle and Kome Okposo … Selected by the New York Islanders in the first round islesinfo.com comment: If you haven't seen the Team USA Media Guide yet, it is filled with photos of current and former New York Islanders. Besides Kyle Okposo's bio, you can find photos of former Team USA members Rick DiPietro (2), Mike Dunham, Richard Park, Andy Hilbert and Bryan Berard. 2007 WJC's Stats Through Jan. 5th: 7GP 0-1-1 12 PIM's -1 15 shots vs. Sweden Dec. 31st: Okposo named player of the game in Team USA's 3-2 overtime win over Sweden. In the second period, Okposo stole a cross ice pass from the Swedish defense. He fed the puck up to Patrick Kane who buried the puck in the net to tie the score 1-1. The win helped Team USA to qualify for the Medal Round. They will face Finland in the Quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The Lowdown on Ryan O'Marra: Selected 15th overall by the New York Islanders in 2005, O'Marra already has plenty of international experience. O'Marra helped Canada win the Gold at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Vancouver, BC. Previously, he was selected to represent Canada at the 2005 Under-18 World Championships in the Czech Republic. O'Marra also played for Canada at the Under-18 Junior World Cup in 2004 and helped Team Ontario to a Gold Medal at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Stats through Dec. 5: 19 GP, 10 G, 8 A, 39 PIM 2007 WJC's Stats Through Jan. 5th: 6GP 0-2-2 8 PIM's +1 6 shots
2007 WJC's Stats Through Jan. 4th: 6GP 1-1-2 14 PIM's -2 10 shots Recap: Joensuu recorded an assist in Finland's tournament opening 4-3 loss to Belarus. Down 4-2 with minutes left in the game, Finland pulled goaltender Tukka Rask for an extra attacker. Finland was also serving a penalty. Mikko Lehtonen scored to make it 4-3 with assists to Joensuu and Perrtu Lindgren. vs. USA Jan 2nd: Scored a goal in the second period to cut Team USA's lead in half to 2-1. You may remember Joensuu waited until the Bronze Medal game in the 2006 Tournament to have a big game when he tallied two goals to help Finland take third place. History wouldn't repeat itself in 2007 as Team USA scored 4 power play goals in the third period to win 6-3.
2007 WJC's Stats Through Jan. 4th: 6GP 1-3-4 16 PIM's -2 12 shots Recap: Marcinko assisted on Slovakia's first goal in their second game, a 6-3 loss to Sweden. The goal came in the first period and tied the score 1-1. The goal was scored by Vladimir Mihalik and was assisted by Marcinko and Julius Sinkovic. vs. USA Dec. 30th: Despite Slovakia losing to Team USA 6-1, Marcinko was named Slovakia's player of the game. This was also despite the fact that he sat out for 12 minutes of the second period after taking a 2 minute hitting from behind penalty along with a 10 minute misconduct. vs. Belarus (Relegation Jan 4th): Marcinko had his best game of the tournament against a poor Belarus team that managed to beat Germany in their first relegation match. Entering the game 0-5 in the tournament, Slovakia got a goal and two assists from Marcinko in a 9-0 rout. Marcinko assisted on a shorthanded goal midway through the first period to make it 2-0. He then scored midway through the second period on the power play to make it 4-0. He added another assist less than four minutes later on the power play to make it 6-0.
Dustin Kohn Cut by Canada Dec. 15: For the second year in a row Dustin Kohn was one of the final cuts from the Canadian National Junior Team. Kohn was released late yesterday along with defenseman Brendan Mikkelson, which means Karl Alzner and Cody Franson make the team as defensemen who were not on last years Gold Medal winning squad. C Ryan O'Marra officially made the team. The Lowdown on Dustin Kohn: Selected 46th overall by the New York Islanders in 2005, Kohn has been invited to Canada's selection camp. In 2005 Kohn was invited to the selection camp, but did not make the team under former coach Brent Sutter. Once again he has some tough competition under new head coach Craig Hartsburg, who has invited 12 defensemen to the selection camp, including 5 who are returning from last years championship team. There are some good undrafted players in camp like Karl Alzner, Keaton Ellerby and Drew Doughty. Stats through Dec. 5: 26 GP, 2 G, 26 A, 39 PIM
Dec. 25th: Winger Robin Figren was on the Swedish Team's preliminary roster but he did not make the final cut. His Calgary Hitmen teammate Freddie Petersson did make the team. Figren will probably remain with the Swedish Team as a reserve. More Likely to Come... Look for RW Jesse Joensuu to make his second straight appearance for Finland when they announce their roster in the next week or so. As for the Swedes, there are a few candidates. RW Robin Figren will most likely get named to the Swedish Team. Fellow 2006 draftee goaltender Stefan Ridderwall is also a candidate for the Swedish team. C Tomas Marcinko is a strong candidate for the Slovakian team. Update: Figren, Joensuu and Marcinko have all been added to their country's preliminary rosters released Thursday. Team USA not Enough Spots.... After a good showing during the summer evaluation camp, Denver Pioneers RW Rhett Rakhshani was not named to the U.S. National Junior Team. Rakhshani has played well for the Pioneers this season but may have not lit the lamp enough times to garner consideration by Team USA. In 14 games played he has scored 3 goals and 13 points. Also passed over were second year RW Shea Guthrie and Harvard freshman C Doug Rogers. New Competition Replacing Latvia and Norway in this years tournament will be Germany and Belarus. Dec. 14th Canada Update Canada made some cuts today
from their selection camp. Three of the cuts were defensemen. With 9
remaining in camp vying for six spots, Islanders prospect Dustin Kohn is
still one of them. Keaton Ellerby, Drew Doughty and Patrick McNeill were
released. Canada plans on making 6 more cuts by Friday which could include
2-3 more defensemen.
Standings
Format: Top three teams in each division advance to Quarterfinals with top seed receiving a bye to the Semifinals. Each team plays four games in the round robin against the teams within their division. Starting in this years tournament, there will no longer be ties. The WJC tournament is adopting an NHL style format with overtime's and a shootout if needed (shootout structure is also the same as the NHL). Point structure is different: winner in regulation receives 3 points. If game is won in OT the winner receives 2 points and the loser receives one. Same with the shootout results. For playoff format, see below.
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