World Junior Championship Recap

Note: Most data from the IIHF's fancy new World Junior website.

Group A
 

Team	Win	OT/SO Win	OT/SO Loss	Loss	Points	Goal Differential
Sweden	3	1	0	0	11	+11
Czech Republic	2	1	0	1	8	+2
Switzerland	1	0	3	0	6	+2
Finland	1	1	0	2	5	0
Latvia	0	0	0	4	0	-15

The defending champs didn't have too much trouble ending up first (and this was a team missing 3 of it's top 4 defensemen). They started with a win against the Czechs but then hit a Swiss wall. Sweden was pushed to a shootout against Switzerland, which they eventually won. After that, it was smooth sailing for the Swedes, as a win against Latvia and Finland cemented their first place finish in the group and a bye in the playoffs.

Czech Republic started with a loss against Sweden, but that was the low point for them in the group stage. Back-to-back 2 goal wins against Latvia and Finland helped them get into the playoffs. An overtime against the Swiss ended their group games.

Switzerland did just enough to get through to the playoffs. They started off with a win against Latvia. The rest of the tournament, the Swiss kept it close against the other three teams, pushing Sweden and Finland to a shootout (both times they lost) and a lost against Czech Republic in overtime. The Swiss squeezed into the playoffs with a help of a Finnish lost to Sweden. And speaking of Fins...

What the hell was with Finland? The pre-tournament favourites started with a win against Latvia but a lost in scoring power, as Miro Aaltonen went down with what could be considered the most gruesome injury of the tournament. After that, a lost against the Czech Republic and a shootout win against Switzerland put Finland in a win-and-get-in situation against Sweden. Unfortunately, Finland came up short, losing 7-4 and being sent to the Relegation Round.

Latvia was...um....Latvia? They made little noise against the other four teams, finishing last in the group and an easy pass to the relegation round.

Group B

Team	Win	OT/SO Win	OT/SO Loss	Loss	Points	Goal Differential
Canada	4	0	0	0	12	+13
Russia	2	1	0	1	8	+6
USA	2	0	0	2	6	+12
Slovakia	0	1	1	2	3	-9
Germany	0	0	1	3	1	-22

Canada ended up first, but it was more trouble than necessary for them.They stated out slow in games against Germany and Slovakia and had trouble hanging on against USA. Canada's game against Russia might have been the only game this tournament were Canada seemed to find a comfort zone.

Russia had trouble too, as they started the tournament with two very close wins against Slovakia and USA. In both games, Russia took a stupid penalty near the end, and escape with just Slovakia capitalizing on that. They had an easy time beating Germany, and finished the tournament with a lost against Canada.

The USA's results where basically what you would expect from the eventual winner. An easy win against the lower teams (Slovakia and Germany), and two losses that could have easily been wins (Russia and Canada). In this tournament, the third place group finished seemed more like an anomaly than the norm.

Slovakia fought a good fight, pushing Russia to overtime before losing and having a one period lead against Canada before losing. But it went all downhill from there. A closer-than-it-needed-to-be win against Germany set them up for an important match against USA. The wheels fell off the Slovakian bandwagon, as a 9-3 lost sent them to the Relegation Round.

Germany went as expected in this group. The thing that should give them something to build on is that they ended up with one point in the standings.

Relegation

Team	Win	OT/SO Win	OT/SO Loss	Loss	Points	Goal Differential
Finland	3	0	0	0	9	+19
Slovakia	1	1	0	1	5	-4
Germany	1	0	1	1	4	-6
Latvia	0	0	0	3	0	-9

Finland, for how disappointing this tournament was for them, easily got pass this round. Slovakia did suffer a bad loss against Finland, but still had no problem here. It came down to the Germany-Latvia game, were the Germans ended up winning 5-2. Latvia moves down to Division I, making way for Norway to take their place in next year's tournament.

Playoffs

Quarter-Finals
Russia 4 - Switzerland 3 (SO)
Czech Republic 0 - USA 7

Semi-Finals
Sweden 3 - Russia 2 (SO)
Canada 1 - USA 5

5th Place
Czech Republic 4 - Switzerland 3

Bronze Medal
Canada 5 - Russia 6 (OT)

Gold Medal
Sweden 1 - USA 3

Final Ranking

1 (Gold) - USA
2 (Silver) - Sweden
3 (Bronze) - Russia
4 - Canada
5 - Czech Republic
6 - Switzerland
7 - Finland
8 - Slovakia
9 - Germany
10 (Relegated) - Latvia

Game Recap: Saint John Sea Dogs vs. Halifax Mooseheads

Saint John Sea Dogs vs. Halifax Mooseheads

Final Score
Saint John - 3 (OT)
Halifax - 2

Goalscorers
Saint John: Stephen MacAulay, Pierre Durepos, Jakub Izacky
Halifax: Max Lindsay, Stefan Fournier

Goalies
Saint John: Sebastien Auger (W)
Halifax: Zach Fucale (L)

Fireball Player
(He's so hot, nothing is gonna put this guy out)

Stephen MacAulay - Was he playing for Saint John this game? Yes, but Halifax traded from him the next day. Plus, a goal and two assist is pretty good.

Snake Bitten Player
(No amount of sucking will help get the poison out of him)

Darcy Ashley - he's really the scapegoat for this section. See below.

Play of the Game
(Every game has a defining moment, this is probably it)

Darcy Ashley overtime penalty. Refs should know: you DO NOT call penalties in overtime. Even if there is a decapitation, call a misconduct so it's still even strengh.

Notes

• This is the first Mooseheads game I've been to were they lost, a streak of 13 games.
• Big ups to Auger. He played a great game in net, stoping 43 of 45 shots from Halifax.
• It felt weird seeing a junior game be scoreless for a period and a half.
• There were 5 penalties in all this game.
• This was Halifax's Teddy Bear Toss night.
• Again, refs, no OT penalties.

Pictures

(Again, having issues with uploading pictures).

Game Recap: Moncton Wildcats vs. Halifax Mooseheads

(Blog note: I have a couple Mooseheads post and the WJC recap, everything should be up tomorrow night. After that the last 2 World Junior tournaments start. More NHL-type post will be up as the season gets going).

Moncton Wildcats vs. Halifax Mooseheads

Final Score
Moncton - 3
Halifax - 7

Goalscorers
Moncton: Stephen Johnson, Allain Saulnier, Mitchell Deruelle
Halifax: Andrew Ryan (2), Stefan Fournier, Konrad Abeltshauser, Brendan Duke, MacKenzie Weegar, Darcy Ashley

Goalies
Moncton: Alex Dubeau (L), Cole Holowenko
Halifax: Zach Fucale (W)

Fireball Player
(He's so hot, nothing is gonna put this guy out)

Brenden Duke - Four words: Gordie Howe Hat Trick

Snake Bitten Player
(No amount of sucking will help get the poison out of him)

Every Halifax player on the ice for that third Moncton goal - That was horrible.

Play of the Game
(Every game has a defining moment, this is probably it)

The Fournier goal gets the nod, but I think what happened afterwards is the important part. Jonathan Narbonne took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (along with a 10-minute misconduct) that set the motions for Moncton to loose its cool.

Notes

• To call this game wild miiiiight be an understatement.
• Andrew Ryan got a penalty shot in the first. He missed.
• Yannick Veilleux took a run at Fucale. Duke stepped in and fought Veilleux. It was a decent fight, with Veilleux scoring the takedown. He given a match penalty for kicking.
• Both goalies took penalties. That seems kind of rare (to me).
• Dubeau and Ciampini was considered a fight but it seemed like more of a scrum. Dubeau got a match penalty, forcing Moncton to put in Holowenko for the rest of the game.
• Still impressed by Moncton's Conor Garland. He should be good to see next year (despite playing for Moncton)

Pictures

(For some reason I can't upload the photos. They will be up the moment I can upload them).

The NHL Lockout Is Over

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!11!!!1!!!1!!

(Turns off teenage girl mode)

Ahem, I mean, thank god the lockout is over. It took a 16 hour meeting, but the NHL and NHLPA both hammered out a tentative deal. So the NHL will start and be played while the nuts and bolts are figured out. Here is what the framework looks like:

• A 10-year CBA deal with an opt-out at year 8.
• 50/50 HRR split throughout the deal.
• Contract length. A player's maximum contract is no longer than 7 years (8 if it's a re-signing).
• Contract variance. Each year of the contract can not fluctuate more than 35% of the year before. In addition, the lowest amount a player can make in a given contract can not be less than 50% of the highest amount.
• Arbitration. Teams cannot walk away on deals less than $3.5M.
• Suspensions are mostly the same. Shanahan deals them out, and Bettman is the appeals process for 5 games or less. If it is 6 or more game, an independent panel will deal with appeals.
• $300M "make-whole" agreement is in place.
• The salary cap has a $44M floor and a $64.3M ceiling. The shortened season is an exception, as teams can spend up to $70.2M this season (reportedly).
• Every team gets 2 "compliance" buyouts. (Bye bye Gomez)
• Teams cannot bury contracts. Any contract over $900K will still count against the cap.
• All the international stuff (Olympics and World Cup!) will be decided later.
• Nothing about realignment.

So there you go, a guaranteed 8 years of labour peace. See you all in 2020 (2022 if we are lucky).

Spengler Cup Recap

For Group Recap, click here.

Quarter Finals

Game 1: Fribourg-Gotteron 5 - Alder Mannheim 2

Fribourg opened the scoring early, as Gregory Mauldin scored shorthanded while Bruno Gervais was in the box for a tripping penalty. For the first twenty minutes, it was mostly Fribourg, as they not only outshoot Mannheim, but they also had better quality chances. Felix Bruckmann was able to keep Mannheim in the game. A weak slashing penalty by Frank Mauer gave Fribourg the man advantage this time, and they capitalized on that early in the second as Benjamin Pluss snapped it past Bruckmann. Alder Mannheim showed a bit more life in the period, and would cut Fribourg's lead in half when Mauer tipped a shot past Benjamin Conz. Fribourg came back five minutes later, with Max Talbot putting one past Bruckmann. The third period began much like how the second ended, with Fribourg controlling the play. Mannheim got a break, as Marcel Platcha one-timed the puck past Conz to bring Mannheim within one. That was all for the German club though, as a Christian Dube powerplay goal extended the Fribourg lead to two again. Julien Sprunger added another insurance goal near the end. Fribourg-Gotteron moved onto the semi-finals and face team Canada.

Game 2:  HC Davos 7 - Salavat Yulaev Ufa 5

Before the summary, check out this interview Paul Romanuk did with HC Davos head coach Arno del Curto.

I suspected this game would be filled with goals and this game did not disappoint. Josef Marha opened the scoring for HC Davos two minutes into the first period. It took eight seconds for Ufa to strike back, as Igor Musatov tied the game up at ones. Loui Eriksson scored on a semi-breakaway a minute later to regain the lead for the host squad. Joe Thornton extended the lead for HC Davos on what was essentially a 2-on-1. After six scoreless minutes (or eternity in this game) and multiple chances by both clubs, HC Davos got into some penalty trouble. A full two minutes of 5-on-3 did nothing for the Russian squad. Santeri Alatalo capitalized on a bad line change by Ufa, putting HC Davos up by 3. This spelled the end for Iiro Tarkki in Ufa's net, as Vadim Tarasov came in to replace him. He was welcomed early by a blitzing HC Davos attack. A Mustov high sticking penalty would lead to another HC Davos goal, as Petr "Not That Petr" Sykora blasted one that trickled through Tarasov. The second period started better for Ufa, as Alex Svitov scored on basically an open net. The Russian squad continued to control the play, and ended up with a powerplay goal to bring them within 2. That momentum was killed very soon after, as Patrick Kane scored the very next play. Kane added another goal two and a half minutes later, causing Ufa to go back to Tarkki in net. Penalties were the story for the last half of the second period, highlighted by a misconduct by Vitali Proshkin. The penalties continued into the third period, as Kirill Koltsov put Ufa down a man, then HC Davos was called for two penalties after Ufa killed theirs. This time, Ufa didn't disappoint on a 5-on-3. Antti Pihlstrom scored to (again) cut into HC Davos' lead. Igor Mirnov would add one more powerplay goal for Ufa, but that was all they could get. HC Davos was the better team on this night, and got to face HC Vitkovice Steel in the semi-finals.

Semi-Finals

Game 1: Team Canada 5 - Fribourg-Gotteron 1

Penalties were the story of this game. The first period alone produced 14 PIMS combined. While  Team Canada had some good chances, it wasn't until late in the period when Jason Spezza opened the scoring on a powerplay goal. The second period started differently, as Marc-Antoine Pouliot scored early in the period. Things got ugly a few minutes later, as Byron Ritchie was called for a hit to the head. Then Fribourg took two penalties. Team Canada got pegged for two penalties afterwards. The scoring continued during the last penalty kill for Canada. First, Matt Duchene snapped one past Cory Schneider on the penalty kill. Joel Kwaitkowski returned the favour and put Fribourg on the scoreboard 24 seconds later. The third period was pretty uneventful compared to the first two. After killing off a penalty early, Team Canada's lead increased when Carlo Colaiacovo blasted one from the point past Schneider. With the game basically out of reach, Fribourg swapped out Schneider for Conz in net. Conz only faced two shot, with one of the getting by to further Canada's lead. The win allowed Team Canada to move onto the final.

Game 2: HC Vitkovice Steel 4 - HC Davos 5

This was (literally) a shootout. Both teams had chances in the first period, but only Patrick Kane could find the back of the net, putting HC Davos in the lead.Different stroy in the seond period, as the floodgates opened. Lukas Klimek started the scoring sevem minutes into the period, and tied the game for Vitkovice. Tomas Kudelka scored on a delayed penalty to give Vitkovice its first (and only) lead of the game. That didn't last long, as Gregory Hofmann scored less than 40 seconds later. Dario Burgler would regain the lead for HC Davos late in the period. It didn't take as long for the scoring to begin in the third period. Roman Szturc batted a rebound mid-air to tie the game again. A few minutes later, after swapping great chances, Joe Thronton took a stretch pass and put it past Filip Sindelar. It took about eight minutes for Vitkovice to once again tie the game. Ondrej Roman snuck a pass from behind the net to Vladimir Svacina, who had no trouble burying it. Just like Kane started the scoring, Kane finished it. With 22 seconds left, Kane took a couple of strides inside the blueline and sniped a shot just past Sindelar's shoulder and under the crossbar. Vitkovice could not muster anything after that, as HC Davos won the game and moved onto the final.

Final

Team Canada 7 - HC Davos 2

Team Canada came out firing early, with Patrice Bergeron scoring less tha na minute into the game. A bad boarding penalty by Damien Brunner gave Canada the chance to extended their lead, and they did, as Derrick Walser blasted one by Leonardo Genoni to make it 2-0. Ryan Smyth added anpther one for Canada midway through the first period. HC Davos finally got on the board against Canada late in the period. A Dario Burgler slapshot found its way past Devan Dubnyk to give HC Davos it's first goal against Canada in two games. Ryan Smyth scored in the early going of the second period. John Tavares added another one for Canada on a powerplay goal midway though the period. The was the end for Genoni, as Reto Berra was put in net for HC Davos. Berra played well for the rest of the period. IT didn't take long for him to be beat in the third period though, as it took 24 seconds for Jason Spezza to beat him. John Tavares would score Canada's last goal on a shorthanded breakaway miodway though the third period. HC Davos would add one late in the period, as Rafael Diaz put it over Dubnyk's glove in the top corner. Canada wins the Spengler Cup for the 12 time, and first since 2007.

This tournament will be known for three things:

1) How many (locked out) NHLers participated.
2) The parity. Every team recorded a win and lost during the group stage.
3) And probably the best ref jersey ever: