Last night I was trying to follow Detroit's game against the Stars in Dallas, but that was easier said than done with the drama that unfolded on another channel, the final of the Junior World Champs. After a while of swithing back and forth between the channels I decided to stay with the juniors, or rather, I had to. That 3rd period was some of the sweatiest hockey I have ever seen.
The first two periods showed a dominating Canada while Sweden looked a little nervuos and disorganized. Heading in to the final period with a 2-0 lead, Canada looked certain to grab their forth straight title as world champions. However, Sweden weren't quite done and the fat lady was suddenly no where to be seen. I can't remember the last time I saw a team being as dominated as much as Canada was in these final 20 minutes. I would have to go back my earliest memories of Sweden getting humiliated by the Sovjet hockey machine in the early 80's.
Sweden made it 2-1 and the Canadian juniors looked increasingly nervous. As the period and the game entered the last shivering minutes there was no mistaking the fear in their eyes. I know what kind of pressure these boys are under from back home and the way Sweden was playing now, it seemed the game was slipping out of their hands.
With 38 seconds left it happened. Canada had been desperately trying to defend their lead for 20 minutes straight (I honestly can't remember they ever being in the offensive zone for more than 5 seconds), but in the end it wasn't enough. Sweden outshot Canada 14-3 and with Steve Mason down, Tomas Larsson trickled the puck into the net. Talk about drama!
About this time Detroit led Dallas 1-0.
The 20 minute OT started just like the 3rd period ended. Sweden dominated Canada, who seemed to have a lot of respect for their opponents after that unbelievable 3rd period. But Canada is not like most other teams. They have a way of winning even when they are outplayed. Nothing in that early stage of OT pointed to Canada, yet somehow Matt Halischuk beat Ehnroth (I'm still not sure how the Swedes could let him get through like that). It wasn't the pretties of goal, in fact none of Canadas goals against the Swedes were, but it won them the game and their forth straight title.
So, congratulations to Canada for a great tournament, but also, hats off to the Swedish boys for their valiant effort.
2 comments:
Now that was a cool article. Probably the most objective piece of writing I've seen coming out of Sweden the past few weeks.
I've now seen the game in its entirety myself. The Swedish effort was awesome. The Canadians were in control of the game until around the 45-minute mark when Sweden scored. After that, it was all Sweden and they could've won this game with some more luck.
At the same time, I'm not so surprised the Canadians all of a sudden broke down mentally considering what the Swedes did in the round-robin game against Canada. It was deja-vu all over again it seemed. Most of all, even though they are all great players, one should not forget that they are also teenagers and thus still kids. At that age, only a few players like Jonathan Toews and Robin Figren stand out with Björn Borg-like nerves of steel.
BFox
I couldn't agree more, luck was certainly a huge factor in the outcome of this great game. And while watching these games one do tends to forget the fact that these are kids playing.
The fact that Canada didn't buckle under the pressure as Sweden came back from yet another 2-0 deficit speaks volumes for Canada.
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