USA and Canada play a thriller in the WJHC
Sadly I had to miss this game while at work, but team USA gave Canada all they could handle in their semifinal game today. This TSN article suggests that the US outplayed Canada. The US went up 1-0 at the 5:04 mark of the second period. The USA hockey website has a good description of the first goal:
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.
The Canadians responded a little over 27 minutes later at the 12:19 mark of the third period. Luc Bourdon scored a power play goal to knot the game at one goal apiece. It would stay that way through regulation and overtime. The US had a power play opportunity and almost ended the game and sent team USA to the gold medal game. Here is the recap from the TSN article.
The defining moment of the game for Canada was killing off the penalty in overtime. [Team Canada goaltender Carey] 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.
So the game ended up being decided by the shootout. The shootout took 7 rounds before the game was finally decided. Michigan forward Andrew Cogliano scored a goal during the shootout for Canada, but Wolverine teammate Jack Johnson responded and scored a shootout goal for the US. Jonathan Toews scored the game clinching goal in the 7th overtime and sent team Canada on to the gold medal game.
Team USA will play team Sweden again for the bronze medal. Jeff Frazee and Casey Price were both named the players of the game for their respective team and it makes sense as they combined to stop 60 of 62 shots during regulation and overtime for an incredible .967 save percentage.
Andrew Cogliano Canada Casey Price Jack Johnson Jeff Frazee Other Sports Taylor Chorney USA World Junior Hockey Championship1 Comment(s)
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[…] Both teams also feature players who were prominent players in the World Junior Championships in Sweden this winter. JMFJ was one of the top defensemen in the tournament while Johnathan Toews scored the shootout goal that put team Canada past the United States team and into the gold medal game that the Canadians also won. They also had two impressive wins against the Gophers in Minneapolis on January 26th and 27th. […]