WJC Finals Feature Canada Against Russia

from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,

Backed by a loud sellout crowd that was almost all Canadian, the Americans found themselves under siege on their own turf and surrendered that all-important first goal two minutes and 38 seconds into the game, which paved the way to a 4-1 win for Canada and a spot in Wednesday?s gold-medal game against Russia. It is the first time in the nine years since the tournament adopted this format that two quarter-finalists, rather than a team with a bye to the semi-final, made the championship game.


The importance of that first goal cannot be under-emphasized. Throughout the tournament, Canadian head coach Dave Cameron was questioned about how to combat his team?s habit of starting slowly and having to fight back from an early deficit. Part of that was the goaltending, which was average at best, and the defence, which looked increasingly slow and mistake-prone against quick teams like Sweden.


?Our starts haven?t been the best,? said Canadian forward Ryan Johansen, who was a force on a line with fellow bruisers Zack Kassian and Marcus Foligno. ?We wanted to make sure we came out playing our game and not get fancy.?


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Source: http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/wjc_finals_feature_canada_against_russia/

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