Tag Archives: Team Russia

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Prospects

Watch BLH’s Hockey Game of the Night: McDavid and Nurse Bring Home Gold at 2015 World Juniors (Jan.5, 2015)

In 2015, future Edmonton Oilers Darnell Nurse and Connor McDavid guided a star-studded Team Canada to the Gold Medal Final in Toronto where they faced Ivan Provorov, Pavel Buchnevich, and the rest of Team Russia.

The last time the Canadians had won the Gold was back in 2009…

Click the pic and find the NHL94 player from your team!

It’s funny. You don’t really notice how influential the fans are to a hockey game until you watch a gold medal final from a Canadian-based city that features Team Canada and one of Team Russia or Team USA. Speaking from experience, my best friend Nick and I went to the 2012 tournament but could only afford to watch one Canadian game, the opening game of the tournament where they played Finland. When Canada scored the first goal… F*ck me…  I thought I was going to go deaf. The bloody roof nearly lifted off that place! And that was against the Finns! I can only imagine what it would sound like in Montreal or Toronto during a gold medal final…

Not having fans in the seats at these home games will be very interesting to see how that plays out for Team Canada…

I hope you enjoy BLH’s Game of the Night!

The following write-up on the game is courtesy of CHL.ca,

After a wild game of momentum swings and intense competition, Canada clinched gold for the first time since 2009, defeating Russia 5-4 at the Air Canada Centre. The Canadians posted a quick 2-0 lead and were up 5-1 at one point on the relentless Russians, who battled back to make for a tense finish in a sold out building.

Russian goaltender Igor Shesterkin’s night lasted just 2:32 as he was beaten on two of the three shots he faced out of the gate. Anthony Duclair (New York Rangers/Quebec Remparts) snapped a high wrister under the crossbar 23 seconds into play as he and Max Domi (London Knights) combined to register a quick chance off the forecheck. A shift later, Nick Paul (North Bay Battalion) used his long reach to get a stick on a centering pass from Brayden Point (Moose Jaw Warriors) to deflect the puck past Shesterkin and make it 2-0.

Russian coach Valeri Bragin made a move that has worked for him in the past, swapping goaltenders as he did in Buffalo during the 2011 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship gold medal game as his squad overcame a 3-0 deficit to claim gold over Canada. Hopeful for a similar result, Ilya Sorokin took over in the crease and the Russians quickly turned things around. Defenceman Dmitri Yudin found the back of the net at 9:20 from Anatoli Golyshev and Alexander Dergachev, stepping into a slapshot that beat goaltender Zachary Fucale (Quebec Remparts) through a screen inside the far post.

Canada came out of the gate fast in the second, with Connor McDavid (Erie Otters) making the score 3-1 5:08 into the period on an assist from Josh Morrissey (Kelowna Rockets). Morrissey caught the Russian defence making a line change to find McDavid busting through the middle, sending him in alone to beat Sorokin through the legs.

Max Domi would snap a wrister under the arm of Sorokin at 7:22 before setting up linemate Sam Reinhart (Kootenay Ice) for a tip on a long shot from inside the point that snuck through the legs of the Russian netminder at 12:30. Canada led 5-1 and was in full control just beyond the midway point of the second.

A Bragin timeout seemed to get the attention of his players following Reinhart’s goal to make it 5-1 for Canada. Three of his top shooters, Ivan Barbashev (Moncton Wildcats), Sergey Tolchinsky (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) and former Sarnia Sting forward Nikolay Goldobin would respond by scoring three goals in a span of 3:16, shocking the capacity crowd at the Air Canada Centre to bring Russia within a goal down 5-4. Russia outshot Canada 10-5 in the second and would embark on the third period with a powerplay.

Head Coach Benoit Groulx and his club came out for the third and calmly killed off Russia’s early powerplay, wrestling back some momentum before effectively neutralizing their dangerous offensive attack. Darnell Nurse (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) and the Canadian defensive corps played a sound third period game to limit Russian opportunities and hold on for a 5-4 victory as the ACC erupted.

Nurse was named Canada’s Player of the Game, being credited for his rugged play inside the defensive zone as he and defensive partner Shea Theodore (Seattle Thunderbirds) played the entire tournament without surrendering an even strength goal against.

Canada’s 16th gold medal in tournament history was certainly one to remember, overcoming a worthy Russian adversary that didn’t back down until the final buzzer sounded.

If you’re enjoying the series, check out this week’s previous games below!

Monday: The Punch-up in Piestany
Tuesday: 16yr old Wayne Gretzky Destroys Czechs in ’78
Wednesday: The 2005 Canadian Juggernaut That Took Out the Russians for Gold

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Watch BLH’s Hockey Game of the Night: Ovechkin and Team Russia Get Obliterated by Canadian Juggernaut at 2005 World Juniors

There’s nothing better than a Canada/Russia match-up at any hockey competition and for BLH’s Hockey Game of the Night, we’ve got for you a proper classic. The 2005 World Juniors Gold Medal Final between Sidney Crosby’s Team Canada and Alexander Ovechkin’s Team Russia.

Click the pic and find the NHL94 player from your team!

To set up this game I found this blurb from Sports Illustrated by Ken Campbell,

The night is always darkest just before the dawn, and Canada’s greatest anguish on the World Junior Championship stage came one year before its greatest triumph.

Flash back to Helsinki, Finland, 2004. Canada desperately wanted to be crowned hockey’s best under-20 nation after six long years in the cold. Since a five-year run of golds that ended in 1997, the Canadians had finished eighth, second, third, third, second and second, with each heartbreak worse than the last. They blew a 2-1 lead to Russia on Canadian ice to lose the 2003 final. Then, in Helsinki, the nightmare continued. Canada led upstart U.S. 3-1 entering the third period of the gold medal game. The U.S. stormed back to tie it and, with less than five minutes remaining in a 3-3 contest, Canada goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s clearing attempt bounced off teammate Braydon Coburn and into his own net. The Americans won their first world juniors ever. Canada’s drought reached seven years.

Whoa…

Here’s the boxscore if you want to check it out!

If you can, please check out our Youtube channel, BEER LEAGUE HEROES.

I hope you enjoy the game!

What I found really interesting is that Sidney Crosby and Corey Perry were lighting up their respective Junior leagues and Patrice Bergeron had already spent a year in the NHL, yet coach Brent Sutter chose to put the trio together and deploy them as Canada’s shutdown line. Very much like Wayne Gretzky back in 1978, Perry only made the club due to the injury of another player. What luck!

As this is mostly an Oilers blog, I feel compelled to mention that this game featured five players who would go on to play for the Edmonton Oilers later in their careers. Those individuals being Shawn Belle (CAN), Colin Fraser (CAN), Cam Barker (CAN), Danny Syvret (CAN), and the great Anton Belov (RUS).

If you’re enjoying the series, check out this week’s previous games below!

Monday: The Punch-up in Piestany
Tuesday: 16yr old Wayne Gretzky Destroys Czechs in ’78

Give us a follow on the socials!

Get your “Stanley” today!
Beer League Hero, Prospects

The BLH 2015/16 World Junior Hockey Championships Group B Preview

Can the Russians bounce back from last year’s loss to Canada to win gold in Finland?

Yesterday we looked at the teams in Group A of this year’s World Junior Hockey Championship. If you missed that one you can check it out here. Today we’re going to look at Group B. This group of teams include the hosts, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Belarus. It definitely looks to be the more competitive of the two.

The Teams

Russia

Last year the Russians put on a good show in the elimination round but just barely made it there after a 3rd place finish in the group stage. In the end they fell short to the Connor McDavid-led Canadians. This year they’re back in full force! Leading the charge will be defenceman Ivan Provorov (PHI) and goaltender Ilya Samsonov (WAS). Returning from last year’s squad are the aforementioned Provorov, Vladislav Kamenev, and man mountain Alexander Dergachyov.

I’m not that high on the Ruskies, I’m just not convinced of their defence. Their forwards are as skillful as always with Guryanov (DAL) and Svechnikov (DET) but from what I’m hearing and reading, they’re just not being regarded as tournament favorites unless you’re talking to Craig Button. With that said, you can never ever count them out.

Belarus

Bela-who? Honestly… Belarus has taken an eight year hiatus from the IIHF’s top U20 division. Can I be frank? This team is going to get their asses handed to them. The only notable player on their roster is a 6’7″ monstrosity named Stepan Falkovsky who plays for the Ottawa 67s in the OHL. Belarus’ best players aged out of the tournament leaving them bereft of any quality.

Player(s) to keep an eye on: You won’t miss Falkovsky. He’ll be the biggest player on the ice. He’s eligible for the draft this year so I imagine that will give scouts reason to watch him.

Notable draft eligible(s): Falkovsky…

Slovakia

After equaling their best ever showing at the tournament and winning a bronze medal in the process this breaking a 15 year medal drought, the Slovaks are back for more but this year but they’ll be without two key players from last year’s roster, forward Martin Reway and goalie Denis Godla.

Returning however are the hulking Radovan Bondra, Erik Cernak, Christian Jaros, and Matus Sukel. The offense will come from a player plying his trade in the QMJHL, Kristian Pospisil.

Player(s) to keep an eye on: Erik Cernak(LA) is a beat of a defender. He’s very physical right-handed shooter. This will be his third World Junior Hockey Championships so the Slovakian team will be relying on him heavily.

Notable draft eligible(s): Krisitan Pospisil went undrafted last year but a great tournament and a solid year in the ‘Q’ could change thata quickly. Slovakia always has a player that makes some noise offensively, I reckon that player this year will be Pospisil.

Finland

The spotlight will definitely be on the hosts this year not only for being the hosts but they’ve also got two players who could go in the top 5 of the upcoming NHL entry draft, Jesse Puljujarvi and Patrick Laine. To add to those two are NHL/AHL loanees Kasperi Kapanen(TOR) and Mikko Rantanen(COL).

Last year the team had trouble scoring but that won’t be the case this year. The forwards are stacked! The defence will more likely be the team’s main weakness this year. The goaltending will be solid with Veini Vehvilainen and Kaapo Kahkonen. Finland’s goaltending is never in question, right?

Player(s) to keep an eye on: Vili Saarijarvi (DET), an undersized puck-moving defenceman that is getting ice time with the Flint Firebirds of the OHL. Might have a touch of the Kimmo Timonen or Sami Vatanen. Big time force on the PP though.

Notable draft eligible(s): Puljujarvi and Laine for sure. I’ve read that this is Finland’s version of Taylor vs. Tyler… Interesting. Both players are well over six feet tall and weighing in around 200lbs. I can’t distinctly remember Jesse Puljujarvi as a 16 year old in last year’s tournament standing out. He’s fast, he’s big and his shot was NHL last year.

There’s also a defenceman that is slotted to go in the first round of the draft, Olli Juolevi. He’s playing for the OHL powerhouse London Knights this year. He gets compared to Pittsburgh’s Olli Maata a lot.

Czech Republic

It’s been over ten years since the Czechs won a medal at this tournament and in the twenty years since the split of Czechoslovakia the team has only won three medals. But things are changing for this country’s ice hockey program. More and more players are starting to come out of it including New Jersey Devils 2015 first rounder Pavel Zacha, Boston Bruins 2015 first rounders Jakub Zboril and David Pastrnak and potential 2016 first rounder Simon Stransky.

This year’s squad is a healthy mix of veteran players and 2016 NHL draft eligibles. Up in the air is the status of the aforementioned Pastrnak. The Bruins STILL haven’t made any indication as to whether he’ll be released or not. If he is loaned out to the Czechs that will greatly increase their odds of success in this year’s tournament.

The Czechs are still producing goalies like crazy. Vitek Vanecek (WAS) and Daniel Vladar (BOS) will be tasked with stopping pucks this year.

Player(s) to keep an eye on: You’ll find it hard not to notice Zacha. He’s very forthcoming in his style and he’s been on the radar since he was 16. The Sarnia Sting’s no.1 center can be a player that takes over games but it’s contingent on his mood.

Notable draft eligible(s): The Czechs will be taking over ten eligible players but the biggest name of them all will be Simon Stransky. He’s a little guy with big time skills. He plays for Prince Albert of the WHL.

So there you have it! The 2015/16 World Junior Hockey Championships are almost here! There’s no better feeling than watching the next flock of NHL superstars battling it out for their countries on the biggest stage. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year’s!

BLH

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Beer League Hero

1996 World Cup of Hockey

When I was young my father had this inane ability to get tickets to hockey games that were hard to come by and I’m not really sure how he did it, to be honest I never bothered to ask. I got to see a lot of great hockey players by the time I was ten years old, Brett Hull, Wayne Gretzky (as a King), Ray Bourque, Steve Yzerman, etc. Unfortunately I don’t remember a whole lot from those games but in the summer of ’96 I was able to attend a very memorable hockey game. Nothing special, just an exhibition match between Russia and Canada before the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

All the names were there for the most part. Federov, Messier, Coffey, Kasparaitis, Lindros, Mogilny, Brodeur, Gretzky, Zhamnov, Kovalev, Fleury, Jovonovski, Rob Blake, and Claude Lemieux too. I think this was Glen Sather’s last true hurrah as an NHL coach. He did have a couple stints with the Rangers in the early 2000s but nothing compared to what he did in Edmonton.

It was a dream for me to be able to see such greats! We were treated to a few Paul Coffey end-to-enders and some vintage Eric Lindros hits. Russia countered with Federov and Mogilny dazzling the crowd with their ability to perform wizardry with the puck and Darius Kasparaitis was his typical self getting into it with both Mark Messier and Eric Lindros.

Our seats were right at the top of the Saddledone but at centre ice. Even with that though there was a pillar in the way and the roof slopes down so that made it a tad difficult to watch but nevertheless I got to see almost all of my heroes (#66 wasn’t on that team). As I wrote recently here about Paul Coffey, he was definitely the player I wanted to watch the most. Canada played “Canadian” hockey and Russia played “Russian” hockey and it ended in a 4 all draw. What a treat! Head here for an old write-up on the game.

Here are some highlights of a different game though. Possibly the most famous of all the games at that tournament. Game three of the World Cup of Hockey Finals vs. the USA. A few Oilers and ex-Oilers feature.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agJMOAh3e_U

As I said earlier, I don’t know how my dad got tickets to these games (he found a way to get tickets to the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals too) but I’m really happy he did. I think he enjoyed going to these games more to see my reaction to the players and how happy I was rather than for the entertainment of the game itself. I get it now.

Thanks Dad.