Adamo Marinelli
Jan. 2, 2023
The shots on goal which favoured Canada 57-27 may indicate Canada dominated this game from start to finish, but the scoreboard and highlights will tell you a completely different story.
Slovakia played well on both sides of the puck and made life difficult for Canada all night long. They defended well, were physical, got in Canada’s head early, and kept it close with brilliant playmaking and three nice goals.
Slovakia took Canada all the way to overtime, before losing 4-3 after a brilliant goal by Canada superstar and consensus first-overall draft pick Connor Bedard. Slovakia is a very good hockey team and is the best opponent Canada has played so far in this tournament. Aside from Czechia, they’re the most difficult team Canada has played against.
Canada controlled the beginning of the game, outshooting Slovakia and creating many scoring chances with their strong playmaking and transition attack.
This game was very physical and there were countless scrums after every whistle, especially early in the first period.
Connor Bedard opened the scoring for Canada and made history in the process. He gave Canada a 1-0 lead with his 15th career goal which broke Jordan Eberle’s record for most career goals at the World Junior Championship.
Bedard scored twice - including the OT winner - and recorded one assist against Slovakia.
He now has the most points by any Canadian at a single tournament with 21 (eight goals and 13 assists) and he also broke Eric Lindros’ record for most career points at a World Juniors with 34.
Early in the second period, Dylan Guenther scored his fifth goal of the tournament, all of which have come on the powerplay, to extend Canada’s lead to 2-0.
At that point, Canada was doubling Slovakia in shots 24-12, controlling possession and defending well. However, Slovakia was pressing offensively, beginning to create scoring chances, and their defense and forecheck were very physical and made it hard for Canada to generate offense, something Canada has done so frequently in its last three games.
One thing the Slovaks dominated was the faceoff circle. Slovakia won over 55 percent of the faceoffs and controlled possession and created scoring chances on offense off faceoffs. Less than two minutes after Guenther doubled Canada’s lead, Slovakia forward Simon Nemec’s point shot right off the faceoff took a strange bounce off Libor Nemec’s stick before beating Canadian goaltender Thomas Milic.
Despite this, Canada responded nicely after conceding. Canada got a handful of scoring chances and shots on goal before Zach Ostapchuk responded with a beautiful goal on a powerful shot with a quick release. The goal came on the counterattack after a takeaway in the defensive zone to restore Canada’s two-goal lead nearly halfway into the second period.
However, the Slovaks would not back down without a fight. Peter Repcik showed off his brilliant puck handling and carried the puck behind the net while fighting off a Canadian defender before finding a wide-open Robert Baco in the slot who made no mistake and cut Canada’s lead to 3-2.
The shots were 31-13 in favour of Canada at this point, but missed opportunities for Canada, being unable to capitalize on chances, and excellent defending and goaltending by Canada kept it a one-goal game.
Slovakia had two shots in the last two and a half minutes and they scored on both. Canada's defense has fallen apart for a span of five minutes in the second but overall played well tonight.
Canada’s powerplay struggled this evening, after converting on their first attempt, they failed on their next four powerplays and struggled to set up in the offensive zone or register many shots on target. This is off considering their powerplay has been so efficient in previous games at the tournament. Credit to Slovakia’s excellent defending and talented penalty kill unit.
Canada began to press toward the end of the second period to look for an insurance goal and that offensive prowess continued into the third period. Canada had multiple chances to score in the third period - especially early on - but Canada hit four posts in the third period and Slovakia goaltender Adam Gajan made several huge saves to keep it a one-goal game. Gajan made a whopping 53 saves on 57 shots and was a huge reason Slovakia was competitive in this game despite being badly outshot.
Toward the midway mark of the third period, after Slovakia had survived Canada’s offensive onslaught, they began really pressing for an equalizer. Milic made several crucial saves all game long, but a large handful of saves came late in the second period and early in the third to sustain Canada’s one-goal lead and give them a chance in transition to restore their two-goal advantage.
With eight and a half minutes to go, Slovakia tied the game directly off another faceoff win. They controlled the puck off the faceoff, Filip Mesar held the puck behind the net and passed it to a wide-open Libor Nemec who scored his second goal of the game to tie the game 3-3.
Immediately after the tying goal, Canada’s offense rebounded and began looking for the game-winner. They spent a lot of time in the offensive end and moved the puck around efficiently to create scoring chances. Canada pressed relentlessly, recorded many shots on goal and Gajan made a handful of huge crucial, game-winning saves.
However, the Canadians looked slightly uncomfortable for the last few minutes of regulation, making risky passes that created a few giveaways, and they appeared to be unsettled by Slovakia’s refusal to go away. After all, this was the closest game Canada has played in, and understandably, the players were feeling the pressure.
A cross-check to the upper shoulder/neck area of Bedard gave Canada a two-minute powerplay (arguably should’ve been five minutes) with 34 seconds left, Canada started the overtime period on the man advantage. It could have been a 5-3 advantage because a Slovakian defender laid on the puck for 15 seconds and made no attempt to get up or move the puck in a clear time-wasting attempt.
There were a few nervy moments in the overtime period for both teams; both Milic and Gajan made numerous key saves to keep the game going.
Canada was controlling the overtime period, getting multiple scoring chances and outshooting Slovakia 8-3 in the extra frame. Canada came close on numerous opportunities including hitting another post and a shot that hit the underside of the crossbar despite never crossing the line before being cleared.
A few minutes later, Bedard showed us why he is special, his ability to step up in clutch situations, and why he is the consensus first-overall pick. He got his second goal of the game after dangling through the entire Slovakian defense using his fantastic puck control, vision, agility, and stickhandling before seamlessly switching from forehand to backhand before burying it past Gajan to send Canada to the semifinals against the USA on Wednesday, Jan. 4.
Slovakia had never beaten Canada at the World Juniors. In 16 previous games, Canada won 15. The other game finished in a 0-0 tie in 1999. Tonight’s game was the closest Slovakia came to beating Canada tonight after an excellent overall performance but fell just short.
What a thrilling game it was, this is arguably one of the best games we’ve seen so far in the tournament. But Canada’s job is not finished, they’re focused on the USA now.
No comments:
Post a Comment