IIHF Tournament 2011

[TenPenny]

Well, we're going to get to see Canada play Finland. Woo hoo!!

Nice game so far, boys. Especially Murray, he's awesome with those deflections, those first 3 goals were great.

 

[55Mercury]

Is it just me, or did anyone else hear the crowd yelling "go Leafs go" during Canada's second period meltdown?

More polite than outright booing, I suppose. lol

My brother just said "for two weeks I've been dreaming about Canada winning a gold medal".

I replied "what a wasted two weeks!"

It's pretty much a fait accomplis right now at 6 - 2, Russia.

Woohoo! 6 - 4!

Go Leafs Go!

6 - 5

Unbelievable!

If they pull it off it'll be the greatest comeback in series history.

alas, t'was not to be

they should've brought their end game to the first 2 periods.

 

[gopher]

Russia wins 6-5 over Canada --- a very exciting match

Russian first line had tremendous speed, puck handling skills, and great wrist shots which found the back of the net. Canadians were too chippy, lost their composure, and their blades were far too high.

What a tournament!

 

[gopher]

Gee, whatever happened to all the talk about this tournament?

Earlier today Canada defeated Finland 4-0 in what was easily a one sided contest for the Bronze medal.


And just now Sweden defeated Russia 1-0 in overtime in what had to be one of the greatest games of the past few years for the Gold. Swedes took about 70 shots on goal but Makarov fended off all until the very end. A great game - one for the ages.

Makes we wish we had major juniors here in the States instead of puny college hockey.

 

[Kreskin]

Wow, 1-0 in OT. That's crazy. Goaltenders must've stood on their heads.

 

[talloola]

Wow, 1-0 in OT. That's crazy. Goaltenders must've stood on their heads.

check shots on goal, slightly in favour of sweden, hope russian goalie was mvp of the tournament.

 

[gopher]

Russians took only about 17 SOG's as Swedish defenders were incredibly fast, got back to their blue lines quickly, and bottled up Russian forwards so that they took weak shots.

Russian captain Evgeni Kuznetsov was voted MVP of the tournament. Dunno who won tonight's mvp for the game.

 

[talloola]

Russians took only about 17 SOG's as Swedish defenders were incredibly fast, got back to their blue lines quickly, and bottled up Russian forwards so that they took weak shots.

Russian captain Evgeni Kuznetsov was voted MVP of the tournament. Dunno who won tonight's mvp for the game.

hope it was the russian goalie for tonights game.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

I think Swedes planned to win this tourney. A number of their players are in the Swedish Elite League, they are 19 and mature. Many of the Cdn players were 17-18, too young to compete. Sweden massively outshot Finland in their semi-final match, we moderately outshot Finland in the Bronze medal game. This will a tough tourney for us to win in the future.

 

[talloola]

I think Swedes planned to win this tourney. A number of their players are in the Swedish Elite League, they are 19 and mature. Many of the Cdn players were 17-18, too young to compete. Sweden massively outshot Finland in their semi-final match, we moderately outshot Finland in the Bronze medal game. This will a tough tourney for us to win in the future.

if many of the top juniors who are eligible for this tournament are kept in the NHL, then
canada will have to accept that the tournament will be difficult, but thats OK, there
are lots of canadians to go around, and if they don't win, but play well and make it into
the semi finals and finals, and win now and then, good, that is good for the tournament,
it will keep more countries interested, and hopeful that they can compete, and do well.

There is a bigger picture in this situation than 'canada' always having to win. We should
feel confident in our program to know how deep our talent is, and how good the top
juniors are and just enjoy it, the fact that we have more good juniors playing than
anyone else, and we lead the way, and the junior hockey is growing in other countries too.

I would like to see teams like latvia, slovakia etc. grow and improve.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

if many of the top juniors who are eligible for this tournament are kept in the NHL, then canada will have to accept that the tournament will be difficult, but thats OK, there are lots of canadians to go around, and if they don't win, but play well and make it into the semi finals and finals, and win now and then, good, that is good for the tournament, it will keep more countries interested, and hopeful that they can compete, and do well.

There is a bigger picture in this situation than 'canada' always having to win. We should feel confident in our program to know how deep our talent is, and how good the top juniors are and just enjoy it, the fact that we have more good juniors playing than anyone else, and we lead the way, and the junior hockey is growing in other countries too.

I would like to see teams like latvia, slovakia etc. grow and improve.

We can't win gold all the time, but we should.

What we have in quantity, other countries must make up in quality. We lose top juniors to the NHL, but have more good players to pick up the slack we think. This team from what I heard from the radio was a bit too small and when they needed to win against a bigger team like the Russians, they couldn't. Canada was close with Russia, but Sweden totally dominated Russia, with 57 shots, Russia got 18 shots, 4 shots in the first two periods.

I pick Sweden to win gold next year. We're not likely to win anymore unless we can use juniors that play in the NHL. Sweden essentially uses pros from their Elite League and 17 year olds are out of their depth.

 

[TenPenny]

That was an awesome game. Sweden had, what, 58 shots on net? Russia had 17. I thought Russia was going to put it in the net in those last 30 seconds of regulation, but Sweden held on. And that play by the Swede to steal the puck to get the win was awesome. Just about 6" ahead of the Russian's stick.

And there weren't many penalties at all in the game. Hockey at its finest.

 

[#juan]

Both medal games were excellent. I think Canada missed the gold medal game by a hair and 4 - 0 was a convincing win
over Finland. Canada has been consistantly in the medals for about a dozen years. We seem to want a gold medal every
year but we should be more than happy with our team's performance.

 

[talloola]

We can't win gold all the time, but we should.

What we have in quantity, other countries must make up in quality. We lose top juniors to the NHL, but have more good players to pick up the slack we think. This team from what I heard from the radio was a bit too small and when they needed to win against a bigger team like the Russians, they couldn't. Canada was close with Russia, but Sweden totally dominated Russia, with 57 shots, Russia got 18 shots, 4 shots in the first two periods.

I pick Sweden to win gold next year. We're not likely to win anymore unless we can use juniors that play in the NHL. Sweden essentially uses pros from their Elite League and 17 year olds are out of their depth.

The swedish team was the best team there, great skaters, and they deserved the gold.

We can't win gold all the time, but we should.

What we have in quantity, other countries must make up in quality. We lose top juniors to the NHL, but have more good players to pick up the slack we think.
____________________________________________________________________________________
those top juniors 'could' play in the tournament, their respective teams will not let them
go for that amount of time.

apparantly one of those players was a 'healthy' scratch in games during that period, whereas
he could have been playing with the juniors.

They all would be 'older' juniors, which would make the team more competetive, and
any of those juniors would have top skills, or they would not have been chosen
from their NHL training camps to stay with their NHL teams.

 

[Mowich]

Wow, 1-0 in OT. That's crazy. Goaltenders must've stood on their heads.

The goaltenders were absolutely outstanding though Makarov - the Russian goalie faced far more SOGs than did his counterpart for the Swedish team. The Russians didn't get a single SOG until late in the first period and it took them well into the 2nd before they got another - that's how well the Swedes defended their zone.

As the third period was winding down, I was praying hard for the Swedes as one goal at that point would take it all. The kids hung on and when Mika Zibanejad stole the puck from Nikita Gusev and slipped one past Makarov, I was beyond happy for the Swedish team. What a game - definitely one for the history books. I was almost as happy for the Swedes as I would have been for our kids had they made it to the final. I did feel sorry for Makarov as he more than 'stood on his head' for the Russians who really played a sloppy game compared to the Swedes - he alone kept them in the game and into OT.

I cheered for the Swedes because it had been 30 years since they had won gold whereas the Russians were last year's champs and I believed a Swedish win would be a good thing for the rest of the IIHF teams who didn't make it either.

Great game. Great win. Congrats to the Swedish team.

there are lots of canadians to go around, and if they don't win, but play well and make it into
the semi finals and finals, and win now and then, good, that is good for the tournament, it will keep more countries interested, and hopeful that they can compete, and do well.

There is a bigger picture in this situation than 'canada' always having to win. We should feel confident in our program to know how deep our talent is, and how good the top juniors are and just enjoy it, the fact that we have more good juniors playing than anyone else, and we lead the way, and the junior hockey is growing in other countries too.

I would like to see teams like latvia, slovakia etc. grow and improve.

My thoughts exactly, talloola.........our kids showed a lot of character by winning the Bronze when they could have hung their heads like the Russians - who grabbed their silver medals as if they were just another piece of metal during the presentation. Our kids played a good clean game and they have much to be proud of, as I am of them.

Very happy that the Swedish team won the Gold - it is great for the tournament as it shows other teams that with hard work and dedication, they too can take it all. Great tournament and I look forward to next year.

Both medal games were excellent. I think Canada missed the gold medal game by a hair and 4 - 0 was a convincing win
over Finland. Canada has been consistantly in the medals for about a dozen years. We seem to want a gold medal every
year but we should be more than happy with our team's performance.

We have won a medal in every IIHF tournament for the last 14 years, juan. I don't care about the color of the medal as long as I see that we play as good a game as we can and can walk away with heads held high.........very proud of our guys for their Bronze.

P.S. Our kids may not have brought Gold home but Canada did not exactly go without the precious metal as all of the refs in the Swedish vs Russian final were Canadian and all got a Gold medal for their efforts.

 

[TenPenny]

We have won a medal in every IIHF tournament for the last 14 years

It's so easy to just see the 'not winning the gold', and forget that we've got a 14 year streak going.

 

[Mowich]

It's so easy to just see the 'not winning the gold', and forget that we've got a 14 year streak going.

So right, TP.........that's why I am so proud of our teams......it speaks well for the character of our players and coaching staff. Don Hay and crew deserve many kudos for their handling of our team this year.

Brandon Gormley was picked as a defenceman for the tournament all-star team and was chosen the top defenceman by the IIHF directors - no small accomplishment considering some of the great defensive players seen in the tournament.

​

 

[gerryh]

It's so easy to just see the 'not winning the gold', and forget that we've got a 14 year streak going.

So right, TP.........that's why I am so proud of our teams......it speaks well for the character of our players and coaching staff. Don Hay and crew deserve many kudos for their handling of our team this year.

Brandon Gormley was picked as a defenceman for the tournament all-star team and was chosen the top defenceman by the IIHF directors - no small accomplishment considering some of the great defensive players seen in the tournament.

​

It also speaks well to the over all level of our hockey programs across Canada.

 

[Mowich]

It also speaks well to the over all level of our hockey programs across Canada.

It does that too, gerry..........just before the tourney started I found a new book in our local library about the evolution of the Canadian World Junior Hockey organization and the excellence with which the program is viewed, not only in Canada but around the world. The worth of our program is evidenced by the fact that 40 of the players in the tournament from various teams, including 6 from the Russian team, chose to come to Canada and train here.

The 2012 IIHF Bronze Medal Team - Our Canadian Juniors! :canada:
​

​

 

[talloola]

It seems, what they do have to do in canada, is raise the level of the goaltending, at the minor level, and make sure they approach the preparation of players at
that position more seriously all the way through the age groups, like the fins do and
other european teams as well, canada is lagging behind at that position.