Canada performs as expected – Big tests next at world juniors

Kaiden Guhle in action for the Raiders last season.

Let’s see – going 3-0 while outscoring the opposition 29-3.

It is safe to say Canada got all it needed out of its first three preliminary round games of the world junior men’s hockey championship.

On Tuesday playing inside a bubble environment at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alta., Canada crushed Switzerland 10-0 in a contest that was played without fans. World juniors are being played in a bubble environment due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Canada, which already had a berth locked up in the playoff round, improved to 3-0 in the preliminary round with Tuesday’s win and is 24-0 against Switzerland all-time at world juniors.

Canada will close preliminary round play on Thursday against Finland (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). Finland is 2-0, but the New Year’s Eve tilt with Canada will be for first place in Group A.

Finland will play 1-1-1 Slovakia on Wednesday (1 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN), but will still have a chance to finish first no matter how the clash with Slovakia concludes.

Canada heads into that showdown with Finland playing as well as can be expected after three preliminary round wins. Canada was a heavy favourite to win each of its first three preliminary round contests and was a vastly superior squad in two of those outings.

One of the outings where Canada was expected to win in a romp was Tuesday’s clash with Switzerland, and Canada did just that.

Canada actually only led 1-0 after 20 minutes thanks to a goal from centre Philip Tomasino just 90 seconds into the contest. Tomasino wired home a sweet setup pass from centre Quinton Byfield, who is a centre with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves.

Canada held a 14-3 edge in shots on goal showing a lack of finish around the net and looked off on three power-play opportunities in the first frame. If anyone wanted to be over-critical, the opening 20 against Switzerland provided ample opportunities to go off.

The flood gates did indeed open from there as Canada held a 5-0 advantage after the second period and rolled off five more goals in the third to close out the 10-0 victory.

Byfield had two goals and four assists in the romp. Jakob Pelletier scored twice, and Dylan Cozens, Ryan Suzuki, Connor McMichael, Cole Perfetti and Kaiden Guhle all had singles for the event’s host country.

Devon Levi turned away all 15 shots he faced to pick up the shutout win in goal. Noah Patenaude, who plays for the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs, turned away 42 shots to take the loss in goal for Switzerland.

Dylan Cozens in action with the Hurricanes in 2018-19.

Canada held a 52-15 edge in shots on goal, went 3-for-6 on the power play and 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.

Cozens, who is a star centre with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, has points in all three of Canada’s preliminary round contests posting four goals and five assists over that time.

Guhle, who is a star offensive-defenceman with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, has two goals in Canada’s three preliminary round games.

In the third period on Tuesday, Canada didn’t let the foot off the gas, which was a good thing. Canada needed to avoid playing the trap for prolonged periods of that contest to avoid getting into bad habits for when the schedule gets more difficult.

Last Saturday, Canada opened the preliminary round thumping Germany 16-2. Germany’s roster was decimated due to positive COVID-19 tests.

The last 25 minutes of that game really didn’t help Canada, because the issue was decided and Germany was just trying to get out of that game too at that point.

There were ample opportunities for all sorts of bad habits to develop.

Last Sunday, Canada was pushed hard in its second preliminary round game by Slovakia. Canada led 1-0 after the first and was still up just 1-0 after the second.

Canada ultimately won 3-1 and needed an empty-net goal inside of the contest’s final 15 seconds to seal victory. Canada held a 23-18 edge in shots on goal in that gritty outing.

While that win wasn’t a romp, the clash with Slovakia forced the players on the Canadian side to get their intensity and complete level up another notch.

Tuesday’s romp over Switzerland had to play out to the satisfaction of Canadian head coach Andre Tourigny, who is the head coach of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s.

Now business picks up. Canada has a big first place showdown for first place in Group A with Finland on Thursday.

After that contest comes the playoff round that begins with one-and-done quarter-final games.

Canada is where it needs to be at this point in time, but the host squad still has to find ways to improve and find ways to win as the schedule gets tougher going forward.

Huskies’ Lokombo picks up East-West Shrine Bowl selection

Nelson Lokomko (#25) was named to the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Nelson Lokombo is still collecting accolades even with the COVID-19 pandemic keeping his University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team off the field.

On Tuesday, the Huskies star defensive back was named to the roster for the 2021 East-West Shrine Bowl. The East-West Shrine Bowl is the oldest college football all-star game in the United States dating back to 1925, and it typically showcases graduating student-athletes from the NCAA ranks.

Canadian university players began receiving invites for the contest since 1985, and Lokombo is the seventh player from the Huskies program to pick up an East-West Shrine Bowl nod.

The upcoming East-West Shrine Bowl was set for Jan. 23, 2021 to be held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, but it won’t be played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the game won’t be played, it was decided roster selections for the contest would be announced throughout December of 2020 to recognize outstanding senior seasons.

Players selected for the East-West Shrine Bowl will be able to participate in various virtual training/informational drills with current NFL coaches and members of NFL operations staffs.

Some of the 2021 all-stars will also participate in various virtual experiences with Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Lokombo wasn’t able to hit the field in 2020 due to the U Sports football season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He had a memorable campaign in his third-year of eligibility with the Huskies in 2019.

Lokombo topped the Huskies with four interceptions, and he returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns during the team’s eight-game regular season.

The Abbotsford, B.C., product posted 23.5 total tackles, 2.5 sacks and four pass breakups during the regular campaign as well.

Lokombo was named the winner of the Presidents’ Trophy as the U Sports defensive player of the year. On top of winning the Presidents’ Trophy, Lokombo was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star.

Huskies head coach Scott Flory applauded Lokombo’s East-West Shrine Bowl selection.

“This selection shows how legitimate of a professional prospect Nelson (Lokombo) is, both north and south of the border,” said Flory in a release. “He has every bit of potential to be a phenomenal professional athlete.

“It’s all there for him. He is athletic, tough, durable and without a doubt one of the most talented player to ever put on a Huskie uniform.”

Lokombo still has two more seasons of U Sports eligibility to potentially use with the Huskies.

Oct/Nov. junior hockey worries gone in December, other notes

Cole Fonstad in action for the Raiders in 2018-19.

It is crazy how much of a difference a change in the month can make, especially when it comes to people losing it over the developments in junior hockey in Canada.

Back on Oct. 23, the WHL announced it had granted temporary transfers to WHL roster players to continue their development playing competitive hockey in junior A, junior B or the under-18 levels. Those loans were slated to expire on Dec. 20.

That decision was made at that time, because the WHL wasn’t planning to hit the ice until January 8, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In various hockey circles people cried foul saying the major junior players were taking roster spots meant for others and the moves crush development in the junior A, junior B and under-18 levels. The cries came when the announcement was made and lasted through most of November.

As the number of new COVID-19 cases spiked and new restrictions were introduced in the four western Canada provinces which all hockey seasons at all levels come to a halt, those cries of foul about major junior transfers went away.

Some of those major junior players got in only five or six games before the season was halted. Cole Fonstad, who is an overage left-winger with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, played junior A in the Saskatchewan junior Hockey League with his hometown Estevan Bruins.

Fonstad, who helped the Prince Albert Raiders with a WHL title in 2019 before being traded to the Silvertips, appeared in six regular season games with the Bruins collecting five goals and five assists.

In the big picture of things, was it worth it for someone to lose their mind over the major junior transfers issue over five or six games knowing everyone would hit the point they wouldn’t be playing?

As November went a long, most people that had any common sense could see the road was heading to a point where all hockey seasons were going to be put to a halt.

On Dec. 14, WHL announced it was pushing back its planned Jan. 8, 2021 start date and did not give a date for when its upcoming regular season will start.

All other hockey leagues in Western Canada are playing the same waiting game regarding the continuation of their respective seasons.

Everything depends on how the COVID-19 pandemic continues to play out. The vaccines rollouts that are occurring now likely won’t cause any major changes to allowing sports to resume until potentially July or August of 2021, if everything plays out positively on that front.

Another thing that people lost their marbles over was the notion bodychecking could be banned in the OHL for the 2020-21 campaign. In early October, Lisa MacLeod, who is the minister of sport for Ontario, said the OHL should remove bodychecking if it wants to return to play for the 2020-21 season.

There were various circles that went nuts over throughout October and November. There were people acting like this was the end of the world.

Come December, major lockdowns started to occur in Ontario again. A province-wide lockdown was put in place this past Saturday.

On Dec. 23, the OHL announced it wouldn’t be able to start its upcoming regular season on Feb. 4, 2021. No new start date has been set.

Looking back now, how much energy was wasted on the freak out of a bodychecking ban?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, what may be viewed as some a major tragedy in the sports world during one month may become a non-issue when the calendar changes to the next month.

• At the moment, the QMJHL is shut down too with play having been suspended on Dec. 1. The circuit is hoping its 12 teams in Quebec can play in four markets in late January of 2021. No timetable has been set to for the circuit’s six teams in the Maritime provinces to resume play.
• On Monday, it was learned Kirby Dach, who is a centre for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, will be out four-to-five months after having surgery on a his fractured right wrist. Dach was the captain of Canada’s world junior team. He injured his right wrist in Canada’s 1-0 exhibition game victory over Russia played in a bubble environment on Dec. 23 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alta. Dach’s injury occurred during what seemed like a harmless bodycheck in the game’s third period.
• The National Women’s Hockey League is slated to hold its upcoming season and playoffs in a quarantined bubble in Lake Placid, N.Y., from Jan. 23 to Feb. 5, 2021. The six-team circuit includes a Canadian expansion entry in the Toronto Six. The Isobel Cup semifinals and championship final will be shown live on the NBC Sports Network.
• Back on Oct. 12, NWHL commissioner and founder Dani Rylan stepped down as the circuit’s commissioner. She was replaced by Tyler Tumminia as interim commissioner. Rylan is still with the circuit overseeing the operations of the Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters and Minnesota Whitecaps. She is searching for independent ownership of those league operated teams. Rylan got married this past August 1 to Sean Kearney.
• Gregg Drinnan continues to track how the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the sports world in his Taking Note blog. His entry from Monday night can be found by clicking right here.
• Chase Claypool, who is a standout receiver for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers and is from Abbotsford, B.C., posted a tribute on Instagram to late University of Saskatchewan Huskies running back Samwel Uko on Sunday. Uko, who played for the Huskies in their Canada West Championship season in 2018, passed away in May due to suicide while he was in the middle of going through a mental health crisis.

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If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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United States top guns in women’s hockey

4 Nations Cup shows Canada has some work to do

The U.S. team skates away with the 4 Nations Cup.

    At the moment, women’s hockey on the world stage belongs to the United States.

    If the 4 Nations Cup tournament that wrapped up last Saturday in Saskatoon did anything, it reinforced the U.S.A. is still great. The U.S. posted a perfect 4-0 record at the event held last Tuesday to Saturday at the SaskTel Centre that featured the senior national women’s teams from Canada, Finland and Sweden.

    In Saturday’s final, the States claimed a sound 5-2 victory over Canada. During the gold medal match, the U.S. transitioned up and down the ice better than Canada did and looked more polished on the power play and penalty kill units even with Canada scoring a power-play goal.

    The U.S. can play physical, but their finesse style of play was really something to behold. They have a really fine hockey team.

    The U.S. victory in the gold medal final doesn’t come as a surprise. They have taken the last four world championship tournaments and captured gold over Canada at the last Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, held this past February.

Brianna Decker is the veteran leader for the U.S.

    Canada’s last win at a major tournament championship game against the U.S. was at the 4 Nations Cup in 2014 held in Kamloops, B.C. The U.S. has won the last four consecutive 4 Nations Cup tournaments. 
    At the moment, it doesn’t appear the U.S. is going to fall off the mountaintop any time soon. Their team is stocked with a great group of veterans like captain Brianna Decker, Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Hannah Brandt, Amanda Kessel, Kacey Bellamy, Emily Pfalzer and netminder Alex Rigsby.

    Besides the veterans, the U.S. showcased an impressive crop of youngsters like Sydney Brodt, Melissa Samoskevich, Cayla Barnes, Mikaela Gardner and Maddie Rooney.

    While women’s hockey between U.S. and Canada is one of the greatest rivalries in sports, it is hard to place a villain card on any of the U.S. players, if you are a Canadian hockey fan that meets the U.S. players.

    The members of the U.S. team came off very genuine and gave a feeling of being good persons. They are quietly confident but not arrogant. They also play with heart.

    When you have those intangibles on top playing the sport soundly on a technical level, your hockey team becomes incredibly tough to beat.

Hannah Brandt is one of the U.S.’s veteran standouts.

    In another twist that Canadians might not realize, the U.S. players value having success in the head-to-head games with Canada just like the Canadian players do. Victories in those contests are meaningful and are the things dreams are made of.
    That realization was seen in the face of Brodt, who is a 20-year-old right-winger playing in her first games ever with the U.S. senior women’s team at the 4 Nations Cup.

    Last Wednesday in the preliminary round encounter with Canada, Brodt scored with winning goal with 1:48 remaining in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and give the U.S. a 2-1 victory. The winning goal came against legendary Canadian goaltender Shannon Szabados, and Brodt lived through that moment in just her second game with the U.S. senior national women’s team.

    During a post-game interview after that contest, she had a huge smile and a warm glow was radiating from her face.

Sydney Brodt turned heads at the 4 Nations Cup.

    Brodt said she scored due to being in the right place at the right time.

    Still, you could almost sense she was still processing what happened and might have been in disbelief about what actually took place, because it was a dream moment that came in her second game with the U.S. senior women’s national team.
    The U.S. players likely have an even bigger bond after fighting for and successfully receiving better compensation from U.S.A. Hockey in late March of 2017. Actually, it appears that episode resulted in an even stronger U.S. women’s program overall with a larger “all in” buy in from everyone.

    At the moment, the U.S. has set an incredibly high bar for Canada to get up to. The roles were reversed for a lengthy time between the two rivals, when Canada held the upper hand through much of the 1990s and the 2000s.

    While it may sound strange, Canada might not be that far out in reaching that bar. Veteran bench boss Perry Pearn guides Canada’s senior national women’s team as head coach, and the 67-year-old has seen it all during his time in the game.

Hilary Knight is still at the top of her game with the U.S.

    Pearn seems to have a good handle on the technical side of things on what Canada needs to do to counter what the U.S. does in its game. Following the gold medal loss last Saturday, Pearn mentioned technical areas the Canadian side improved in from the preliminary round encounter. He said small breakdowns snowballed to result in the sound U.S. win.

    Pearn said he believed his side didn’t quit, and he was correct in all of his assessments.

Canadian fans saw what they expected to see from veterans like Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner, Brianne Jenner, Rebecca Johnston, Melodie Daoust, Laura Fortino and Szabados.
    What was most impressive was the effort Canada received from its youngsters, who were arguably the team’s best players at the 4 Nations Cup. 

U.S. women’s hockey victory celebrations are a common sight.

    Offensive defender Jaime Bourbonnais, who recently turned 20-years-old, played in her first week with Canada’s senior women’s national team, and she looked like a veteran already. Of course, everyone took notice of the rocket shot power-play goal she ripped past Rigsby in the gold medal final.

    Canada received sound performances from the likes of Sarah Fillier, Loren Gabel, Kristin O’Neill, Micah Zandee-Hart and Emerance Maschmeyer.

    The Canadian team does have the ingredients to turn the tables on the U.S. in the future.
    It also should be noted that, while women’s hockey on the world stage has been traditionally a two-horse race between Canada and the U.S., you still have to be aware that the Russian women’s team is starting to make some noise and could be poised for a rise.

    Women’s hockey on the world stage does have some interesting storylines developing. With that said, the United States are the top guns until someone finally beats them in a major tournament final.

Attendance 4 Nations Cup elephant

There were some empty seats at the SaskTel Centre at 4 Nations Cup.

    The biggest elephant in the room at the 4 Nations Cup was hard to ignore.

    When you caught games at the SaskTel Centre, it was hard to not see the empty seats, and only the rink’s lower bowl, which is believed to seat around 5,800, was open. No official attendance figures were released for the event.

    Crowds in games that didn’t involve Canada were sparse, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say those games might have reached 1,000 people. The lower bowl did fill up more, when Canada played especially for the preliminary round and gold medal game clashes with the United States.

Swedish supporters cheer on their team at 4 Nations Cup.

    Still, it was easy to navigate your way through the rink during the games between Canada and the U.S., and spots where groups of seats sat empty were noticeable. For the gold medal game, it would be safe to say the lower bowl was about 70 per cent full.

    To be fair, attendance at sporting events across Canada appears to be down unless you are an NHL team. Attendance at sporting events in Saskatoon has generally been down from past years except for those heading to University of Saskatchewan Huskies hockey games to see the brand new Merlis Belsher Place.

    The obvious is just being stated here, and there are no quick solution. It seemed like most of the people that are involved with female hockey in the province did turn out to see some part of the 4 Nations Cup. 

    With the four competing teams featuring players that played in the last Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, held this past February, it would have been great to see more casual type fans out at the games.

Lieffers aces tough call in bronze medal game

Referee Cianna Lieffers was in position call Finland’s bronze medal winner.

    Saskatoon area based referee Cianna Lieffers had a highlight moment nailing a critical call during the 4 Nations Cup.

    In the third period of the bronze medal game last Saturday, Finland and Sweden were locked in a 2-2 tie. Finland went ahead 3-2 at the 8:36 mark of the frame during a frantic moment of action.

    During the scoring play, Finnish centre Tanja Niskanen drove hard to the Sweden’s net and was hacked down by a Swedish defender and slid into netminder Maria Omberg.

    Omberg managed to keep the puck out of the goal with her glove hand, but it sat loose in the crease of the net.

Cianna Lieffers worked a number of games at 4 Nations Cup.

    Finnish left-winger Annina Rajahuhta pounced on the loose puck knocking it into the goal to put Finland in front.

    There was a short protest by Sweden due to the fact Omberg couldn’t react to the rebound, because she had Niskanen sitting on top of her, but the winning tally stood up.

    Lieffers, who is originally from Cudworth, Sask., was the referee nearest to the play, and the 24-year-old got the call right. The goal had to stand, because had Niskanen not been knocked down by a Swedish defender, she wouldn’t have crashed into Omberg.

    Besides getting that part of the call right, Lieffers was in perfect position behind the net to see Rajahunta score. Lieffers called the goal immediately.

    That marker ultimately stood up as the winner in a 4-2 victory for Finland.
    Lieffers skated away with the satisfaction of getting a tough call correct, when emotions were running high in a game where the winning side claimed a medal.

Injured Clark hit with the biggest untrue rumour

 

Emily Clark injured her left leg.

  It appears the highest level of women’s hockey can be hit by the rumour mill like the NHL and WHL.

    Arguably the biggest untrue rumour of the week involved Saskatoon product Emily Clark. Clark is a 22-year-old forward with Canada’s senior national women’s team and an alumna of the Saskatoon Stars female midget AAA team.

    She helped Canada win a silver medal at the Winter Olympics held last February in PyeongChang, South Korea.

    She missed the 4 Nations Cup having injured her left leg while playing for the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Her injury occurred in the opening minutes of a Badgers 4-2 home win on Oct. 13 against the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

    Apparently, there were a couple of fans at the event that didn’t believe the injury news. There was talk that Clark had become pregnant down in Madison, Wisconsin.

    It wasn’t the largest rumour out there, but it was something that was heard around the rink. Of course, it is not true.

    It also seem crazy that rumour got any traction at all. Clark made appearances at the Saskatoon Blades home game on Nov. 1 and the Stars home game on Nov. 3, and she had a walking boot visible on her left leg in both of those appearances.

    Players in the NHL and WHL are often dogged by various untrue rumours that are out there. By human nature, it is going to happen at the highest level of women’s hockey.

    Pretty much the best way for a player to deal with those rumours is to debunk them with teammates and have a chuckle over what you hear.

Media hit and miss at 4 Nations Cup

U.S. team members pose for media pictures with the 4 Nations Cup.

    During the 4 Nations Cup, it was easy to see the effects of the budget cut era of the Canadian media industry.

    A decade ago, an event like the 4 Nations Cup would have attracted a sizable medial gathering. In the current budget cut era of the Canadian media industry, the media presence was hit and miss at the 4 Nations Cup.

    During the first day of games, most of the outlets from Saskatoon cycled through to make an appearance. After the first day, there was an average of one or two media people at the early game that didn’t feature Canada.

    Canada’s clash with Finland last Friday night drew maybe only four media members. All the Saskatoon outlets were represented in the two encounters that featured Canada playing the United States.

    The only out of town members covering the event appeared to be one representative from The Canadian Press and one from the International Ice Hockey Federation outside of the crew that was involved with TSN.

    Still, it was good TSN showed the Friday night clash between Canada and Finland and Saturday’s two medal games on television.

    In 2016, the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity released a study regarding the connection between women and sport in Canada. A couple of the facts revolved around media coverage.

    An analysis was done on Canada’s primary national sports networks in English and French in 2014. The study said only four per cent of the coverage on those networks was dedicated to women’s sports and over half of that number was dedicated to coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Media members work to get pictures of the U.S. team celebrations.

    A study was done on the Saturday sports section front pages in two of Canada’s highest circulated national newspapers from June 2008 to May 2010 and June 2013 to May 2015. Over those time frames, 5.1 per cent of the coverage was dedicated to women’s sports.

    Of course, that study only considered a small sampling size of the print industry.

    With that noted, TSN’s coverage of the 4 Nations Cup goes towards the time the media in Canada spends covering women’s sports.

    I covered all eight games at the 4 Nations Cup for my blog, because I wanted to. With the 4 Nations Cup being a toured in event, I didn’t expect to get many page views, because with being based in Saskatoon, I spent a very small amount of time covering international women’s hockey.

    That coverage is usually limited to local area athletes heading off to play for national teams or attend national team hockey camps.

    My only post that did well was a feature on Team Canada offensive-defender Jaime Bourbonnais. The page views for the rest of my 4 Nations Cup posts were some of the lowest page view totals I have had since starting this blog in late August of 2014.

    During the overall history of my blog, the majority of my top viewed posts involve women’s sports and female athletes, so the audience is there.

    Unfortunately, female sports still face an uphill battle with regards to media coverage. Female sports teams and athletes have to run with and make miles with seemly any coverage that comes their way, and if the coverage is deemed good, you have to really get the most out of it.

    It is almost like when the rock band Bon Jovi started out. If there was a ladder hanging over the crowd, someone in the band climbed it.

Personally, 4 Nations Cup was a great time

Team Canada celebrates Jaime Bourbonnais’s power-play goal.

    On a personal side, I have to say I enjoyed covering the 4 Nations Cup in Saskatoon.

    It marked the first time I have covered an international women’s hockey tournament featuring senior national teams. The players from Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden were super to deal with. They all came off and genuine and likeable.

    The staffs from all the competing teams were great to deal with. The communications staff at Hockey Canada were super to work with.

    During the tournament, it was cool to see so many people attend games who are involved with female hockey in Saskatchewan. I enjoyed seeing a number of faces from all over the province during games at the SaskTel Centre.
    Most of the rink staffers from games involving the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades were out reprising their identical roles at 4 Nations Cup. They allowed the game day experience to go on seamlessly.

Shannon Szabados makes a save in goal for Canada.

    Covering the tournament’s eight games over a five day period will be something I always remember, because it was unique to anything else that I have done. Now two days after the gold medal final has been played, I do have a bit of that natural down feeling, because the 4 Nations Cup is over.

    It might sound weird, but you should have that feeling if you had fun working an event. I had a great time covering the 4 Nations Cup.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Finland beats flu, guts out fourth consecutive 4 Nations Cup bronze

Jenni Hiirikoski, left, and Noora Raty enjoy their bronze medals.

    With all Finland has gone through this week on the flu bug front, and a bronze medal win feels like gold.

    On Saturday afternoon at the SaskTel Centre, A third period goal gusher allowed Finland to claim the bronze medal at the 4 Nations Cup women’s hockey tournament for a fourth straight year. Trailing Sweden 2-1, the Finns exploded for three straight goals in the third to post a 4-2 victory.

    After falling to Canada 6-0 in a pre-tournament game last Sunday at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert, Sask., Finland’s team was dogged by persistent flu bug throughout the 4 Nations Cup. From game to game, the Finns never knew how many players would be in their lineup or who would be able to suit up.

    In Saturday’s bronze medal win, they had their biggest turnout of the week dressing 18 skaters and two goalies, which would mark a full game day roster in North America. International Ice Hockey Federation rules allow teams to dress 20 skaters and three goalies.

Noora Raty makes one of her 31 stops in goal for Finland.

    “It has been different for sure with the illness and not being able to practice and people having low energy and pretty much eating junk food before games to be able to get through the games,” said Finnish goalie Noora Raty. “I thought we played really good (Friday) night against Canada.

    “We didn’t really know what to expect today. We were able to fight there and comeback.”

    Sweden struck first at the 10:31 mark of the opening frame when right-winger Pernilla Winberg tipped home a point shot from defender Maja Nylen-Persson for her first goal of the game.

    Finland evened the score at 1-1, when captain Jenni Hiirikoski’s midrange off-speed shot found its way past Swedish netminder Maria Omberg at the 10:08 mark of the second.

Swede LW Lina Ljungblom is checked by Finnish D Rosa Lindstedt.

    Just 36 seconds later, Sweden restored its one-goal edge, when Winberg knocked home a gritty goal from the front of the Finnish net for her second tally of the contest to make the score 2-1.

    Finland evened the score up at 2-2 tallying on the power-play at the 5:01 mark of the third. During a net scramble, the puck came out to Finnish left-winger Sanni Hakala at the right side of the Sweden goal, and she knocked home the equalizer.

    Finland went ahead at the 8:36 mark of the third on a tally that was scored to the dislike of the Swedish supporters. Finnish centre Tanja Niskanen drove hard to the Sweden’s net and was hacked down by a Swedish defender and slid into Omberg.

Pernilla Winberg scored twice for Sweden on Saturday.

    Omberg managed to keep the puck out of the goal with her glove hand, but it sat loose in the crease of the net. Finnish left-winger Annina Rajahuhta pounced on the loose puck knocking it into the goal to put Finland in front.

    There was a short protest by Sweden due to the fact Omberg couldn’t react to the rebound, because she had Niskanen sitting on top of her. The winning tally stood up.

    Rajahuhta was pleased to score the winner for her side.

    “I’m not the typical goal scorer, so it is always nice to succeed in that area,” said Rajahuhta. “I was just pushing all my powers to get it in.

Finland celebrates Annina Rajahuhta’s game winner.

    “I saw it went there, but I wasn’t sure if the refs saw that. That is why I was like confused for a while. Then they said it was a goal, so it is nice.”

    With Sweden still stunned by that turn of events, Finland scored again 29 seconds later on a shot from Petra Nieminen.

    Raty stopped 31 shots in goal for Finland, who were 2-2 at the 4 Nations Cup. Maria Omberg turned away 30 shots in goal for Sweden, who finished the tournament at 0-4.

    “We knew the first two periods were not very good,” said Raty. “The speed is our key, and we were not moving our feet.

    “I thought we started skating more there in the third and just putting more pucks to the net too, more screens and more tips. That is how you score goals on big goalies.”

Petra Nieminen scored a key insurance goal for Finland.

    Going into the third trailing 2-1, Rajahuhta said her side decided they weren’t going to fold.

    “I think we just decided as a group that we have to give everything we still have and leave it out there,” said Rajahuhta. “It was only a mental decision to be better, and we succeeded in that.”

    The Finnish national team veteran, who has played at the last three Winter Olympics, said the bronze medal win was a great cap to a challenging week for her squad.

    “It was a crazy week,” said Rajahuhta. “I don’t think I have ever seen anything like this during my national career.

    “It was nice. We survive it, and now you know that we are mentally really strong that we get past this week.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Team Canada colours fit young Bourbonnais just fine

Jaime Bourbonnais has made a head turning debut with Canada’s senior national women’s team.

    Jaime Bourbonnais still has moments when she wonders if her time playing for Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team has been real this past week.

    The Mississauga, Ont., product has been part of Canada’s national team system since 2014 going to camps and having played for the under-18 women’s team and the national women’s development team. Due to turning just 20-years-old in September, Bourbonnais thought she might still be too young to be placed on the senior national team.

Defender Jaime Bourbonnais plays in all situations for Canada.

    When she received an email from Hockey Canada saying she was going to be on the senior national team for the 4 Nations Cup, the skilled offensive defender believed the email might have been sent to her by mistake at first.

    The moment things really became surreal was when veteran offensive defender Laura Fortino presented Bourbonnais with her Team Canada jersey and said a glowing speech about her before the start of the 4 Nations Cup.

    “I think the biggest moment was having (Laura) Fortino present my jersey to me,” said Bourbonnais. “I’ve played with Team Canada before, but this moment was super special.

    “She was kind of my favourite player growing up, so having her present my jersey to me was very surreal.”

Jaime Bourbonnais stars with Cornell University.

    On Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, Bourbonnais, who stands 5-foot-7, played in all situations for Canada in a 3-0 victory over Finland to conclude preliminary round play. 
    Bourbonnais started on the ice for Canada, took a regular spot on the power play and was on the ice defending her own zone in the final minute of the third period, when Finland pulled goalie Noora Raty for an extra attacker looking to chip at Canada’s 2-0 edge.

    Bourbonnais, who plays for the Cornell University Big Red women’s hockey team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks, picked up her first point of the tournament drawing an assist on Laura Stacey’s empty-net goal to seal victory for Canada with 34.5 seconds to play in the third.

    With the win, Canada improves to 2-1 and qualifies for Saturday’s gold medal final against the United States (3-0). That contest is slated for 8 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    Finland falls to 1-2 at the tournament with the setback and will play Sweden (0-3) in the bronze medal game. That contest is set for 3 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Defender Jaime Bourbonnais is sound in the defensive zone.

    In all three of Canada’s games at the 4 Nations Cup, Bourbonnais has played extensively for Canada and has looked like a poised veteran player in doing so. She credited Team Canada assistant coach Doug Derraugh, who is her head coach at Cornell, and her teammates for helping her get to this point.

    “Having such great players on the ice with me gives me a lot of confidence,” said Bourbonnais, whose grandfather, Roger, played for Canada’s senior national men’s hockey team in the 1960s. “I know that if I make a mistake they are going to be there to have my back.

    “Having my coach from Cornell back there has also really helped me. He believes in me so much, and I know that he trusts me out there. Having his belief and his support back there has really helped me gain some confidence.”

    Team Canada head coach Perry Pearn said Bourbonnais earned the chance to play extensively with the senior national women’s team, and the bench boss was confident the young rearguard would perform well.

Jaime Bourbonnais controls the point in the offensive zone.

    “I think you watch players, and you see what they do in practice,” said Pearn. “We’re not blind to what these players have done on their own club teams before we get here.

    “We’ve done fairly extensive scouting. From that, we have a pretty good idea what the player is. If Jaime (Bourbonnais) is going to be successful at this level, we’ve got to use her as an offensive player.

    “We’ve got to be able to play her in key situations. What better time than at a tournament like this is there to give her that opportunity and to show that kind of faith in her.”

    Pearn said Bourbonnais has graded out very high with her performance along with a number of other young players, who are playing on Canada’s senior national team for the first time.

    “I think she (Bourbonnais) has been very, very good,” said Pearn. “I think we’re really happy, and not just with Jaime (Bourbonnais), but I think with a lot of our young players who are experiencing the international game for the first time.

Team Canada celebrates an empty-net goal from Laura Stacey (#7)

    “One of the things we’ll come away from this irregardless of the result tomorrow is that we’ve found out that we’ve got more depth than we knew going into the tournament. I think that is a really important find.”

    For Bourbonnais, she hopes her time with the senior national team extends far into the future.

    “It is a huge honour to be selected to this team,” said Bourbonnais, who had three goals and 21 assists in 31 games with Cornell last season. “Growing up watching these players your whole life, you idolize them.

    “You want to be like them, and then you play alongside of them. It is like a dream, honestly. They are all super nice.

    “They all took me under their wing right away, so it has been a lot of fun.”

    In Friday’s game, Canada got the jump early on Finland scoring 85 seconds into the contest on a goal from Melodie Daoust.

Laura Stacey scored an empty-net goal for Canada.

    At the 4:55 mark of the opening frame, left-winger Rebecca Johnston made the score 2-0 in Canada’s favour scoring off a rebound chance.

    “We wanted to have a really good first five minutes,” said Pearn. “Getting in the early goal I think made a big difference that way and for the most part I think led to us controlling the game from there on.”

    For the rest of the contest, Canada had a number of big chances to increase its lead. Raty kept her side in the game turning away 45-of-47 shots sent her way.

    Emerance Maschmeyer turned away 14 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for Canada.

Stacey’s empty-net tally inside of the final minute of the third erased any lingering doubts about what the final outcome may have been.

Melodie Daoust scored Canada’s first goal on Friday.

    Now, Bourbonnais will suit up for Canada’s senior national women’s team in a tournament final against the United States, which will be shown live on TSN. The U.S. downed Canada 2-1 in a preliminary round game on Wednesday thanks to a late third period goal.

    Bourbonnais said that first encounter with the U.S. was everything she expected it to be. She gets chills thinking about what it will be like to take part in one of the greatest rivalries in sports in a gold medal game.

    “I’m nervous I will be honest,” said Bourbonnais. “Playing the U.S., they are the best team I have ever played against.

    “They are fast and strong. They are all good. There is not a single weakness in their game I don’t think.

The Team Canada players salute the SaskTel Centre crowd.

    “I think just going out there with confidence and trusting my teammates and believing in our team, (and) I think playing our game we will be able to do some fun stuff tomorrow.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Decker finds groove in Calgary and leading U.S.A.

Brianna Decker leads the U.S. and stars for the Inferno.

    Brianna Decker went into her great Canadian adventure with an open mind.

    The veteran 27-year-old centre with the United States senior women’s national hockey team along with defender Kacey Bellamy decided over summer they wanted to try living in Canada, which is U.S.’s has a storied rivalry with on the international stage. On July 24, the pair signed on to play for the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.

    Decker said there has been no looking back since that day.

    “It is a big move,” said Decker, who has four goals and three assists in six games with the Inferno. “Like any move, you are a little bit nervous at times.

    “All the girls on the Inferno, they did a great job of welcoming us in. I had a couple of team dinners, and that kind of loosens things up. You get to know people outside of hockey.

    “The Canadian girls were really welcoming as well like (Brianne) Jenner and (Rebecca) Johnston. I’m glad I moved up there.”

The U.S. celebrates Brianna Decker’s goal on Friday night.

    On Friday afternoon, Decker had a goal as the U.S. downed Sweden 5-1 at the 4 Nations Cup tournament being held at the SaskTel Centre.

    Decker, Bellamy and Alex Rigsby make up the three members of the U.S. squad at the 4 Nations Cup who are members of the Inferno. All three helped the States win gold at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea last February.

    The Inferno, who are a professional women’s team, are well represented at the 4 Nations Cup. Inferno members Blayre Turnbull, Brianne Jenner, Rebecca Johnston, Katelyn Gosling and Halli Krzyzaniak are playing for Canada, and Venla Hovi is skating for Finland.

    “Obviously, a pro league is a bit different from international, but it is fun to be able to play with some of the Canadian girls on the Inferno along with obviously Kacey (Bellamy) and Alex (Rigsby),” said Decker, who is the U.S. captain at 4 Nations Cup. “It is a good turnout.

Brianna Decker sets to fire a shot on goal for the U.S.

    “I am glad I made the move and went to Calgary and were having a lot of fun up there. Then you come here and it is all business. It is all about U.S., and if you are on Canada, it is all about them.”

Decker, who is from Dousman, Wisconsin, is living full time in Calgary during the Inferno’s season. She said life is busy, but it isn’t too strenuous.

    “We have practice in the mornings and lift after usually,” said Decker. “I do take advantage of the afternoons and have a little bit of a nap sometimes.

    “Honestly, I don’t really work right now. I’m taking some time off in the afternoons and focusing on some other things and doing some online stuff. I am not too busy, but also it gets busy as the year goes on.”

Brianna Decker, left, battles for a draw for the U.S.

    She said a number of her teammates don’t have the same pace of life that she does. A number of Inferno players are involved in post-secondary school studies on top of playing, while others have full-time jobs on top of playing hockey.

     “I think it is insane,” said Decker. “I give those girls a lot of credit.

     “Whether they are doing school on top of the pro league or if they are working outside of the pro league, I give them a lot of credit. It is a lot of dedication obviously working throughout the day and practising at night or in the morning.

    “It is hard to do, but I appreciate those teammates a lot.”

U.S.A. defender Kacey Bellamy joined the Inferno over the summer.

     Decker has enjoyed reuniting with the U.S. national team for the 4 Nations Cup. For the most part, she was pleased with her team’s performance on Friday.

    “I think today was about just kind of creating good habits,” said Decker. “Obviously, we are getting prepared for tomorrow now.

    “When we went into this game, it was about create good habits and do the little things right and focus on things we wanted to get better at learning from things on Wednesday and Tuesday.”

    The States stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the first period. At the 4:25 mark, right-winger Sydney Brodt potted the rebound of a shot taken by linemate Kendall Coyne Schofield for the first U.S. goal.

    Left-winger Melissa Samoskevich tallied a short-handed goal and Hannah Brandt scored with 39.6 seconds to play in the opening frame to give the States their three-goal edge.

Sweden goalie Emma Soderberg pounces on a loose puck.

    Decker wired home a power-play goal to give the U.S. a 4-0 edge.

    Sweden got on the board at the 6:49 mark of the second, when centre Sabina Kuller fired home a mid-range shot to cut the U.S. lead to 4-1.

    Dani Cameranesi rounded out the scoring for the U.S. in the third.

    Emma Polusny turned away 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the States. Emma Soderberg stopped 35 shots to take the setback in goal for Sweden.

    Decker is centring a line with Coyne Schofield, who is a U.S. team veteran, at left wing and Brodt, who is playing her first games with the U.S. senior team at 4 Nations Cup, at right wing. 

Sydney Brodt scored the U.S.’s first goal on Friday.

    The U.S. side has some younger player like Brodt, who is a 20-year-old that plays for the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women’s hockey team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks, on its roster.
    Decker has enjoyed playing on a line with Brodt and said it was important to help the newcomers out.

    “I think Coyner and I look back on us coming on the national team a while ago, (and) you just have to make those people feel comfortable,” said Decker. “We had players make us feel comfortable, when we joined the team.

    “That is what we are doing this week with Syd. We are just bringing her under our wing. She is doing great, stepping up in the right spots.”

    The 4 Nations Cup wraps up at the SaskTel Centre on Saturday. The States (3-0) will play in the gold medal game at 8 p.m. Sweden (0-3) hits the ice for the bronze medal game at 3 p.m.

Brianna Decker leads the U.S. team in a post-game cheer.

    Guided by new head coach in Bob Corkum, Decker believes her side is ready for the title game.

    “We are just worrying about ourselves and focusing in on our game,” said Decker. “We’ve learned a lot in the last couple of weeks here.

    “We have obviously a different coaching staff and a new team. It is just continue to grow every game, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow’s game and being able to bring our best yet.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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