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Canada On Golden Pogge |
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January 6, 2006, 3:32 PM ET
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Team Canada skated to a 5-0 victory last night over Team Russia to capture a second consecutive gold medal at the World U20 Junior Championship.
What a thrilling contest despite the misleading final score. Certainly, the Russians deserved a better fate as their phantom non-goal in the second period was a cruel blow that disfigured an otherwise brilliant tactical performance from the Canadian troops.
Canada executed coach Brent Sutter's masterplan to perfection, backed by what will go down as one of the great goaltending shows in WJ history. Pogge was simply incredible and, ultimately, proved the difference as counterpart Anton Khudobin was sharp early but allowed a questionable opening wraparound goal by Steve Downie which intensified Canada's resolve and confidence.
Pogge made one spellbinding save after another in the opening 15 minutes, while his teammates physically pounded Evgeni Malkin and the Russian d-men. The Canadians won the ground war along the boards, overmatching the Russian blueline, considered an Achilles Heel coming into the tournament.
Without question, this game would likely have followed a different script had Russia's second period goal counted, however I don't feel that the outcome would have been any different. Canada was the better team over the full 60 minutes and would have found another route to glory.
The score was 2-0 in the second when Nikolai Lemtyugov beat Pogge on a brilliant solo rush. The puck definitely crossed the line and rebounded back under Pogge's pads. The ref missed it and play resumed. A few whistles later, the ref was told about the goal, however the rules stipulate that it can't be awarded after the fact. The Russian coaching staff were then informed of the ruling, leaving coach Sergey Mikhalev disorientated.
The Russians never recovered, their attack losing sting and cohesiveness.
Here are a few of my thoughts on some of last night's Canadian stars.
Justin Pogge - Great pads, great reflexes, great confidence - the reaction save he made on that one deflection still leaves me quaking.
Steve Downie - I saw Downie do the same bloody thing to the Greyhounds in last year's OHL playoffs. He pestered Malkin to distraction, irritated every d-man, took all key faceoffs, controlled the boards all night, scored the winning goal - what can you say, this was a miraculous performance from the Flyers' first-rounder - damn those Flyers!
Marc Staal - named top defenseman in the tournament on the strength of a masterful gold-medal game. He was the best player on the ice in my opinion from a defensive perspective, though arguably Ryan Parent had been the better of Canada's top duo over the course of the whole tournie. The Rangers and the Preds both have real gems here either way.
Michael Blunden - timely emergence as the big man scored his only two goals in the Final. He took severe punishment all game long as Khudobin and the Russian defense tried in vain to banish him from the top of the crease.
Tom Pyatt/Dan Bertram - the unsung heroes for Canada, skated miles and miles, drove their legs like pistons every second of every shift. Only scored one goal combined, but their physical boardplay, puck pressure, and defensive positioning were key success factors.
Kris Russell/Cam Barker - Russell's physical takeaway on Lemtyugov in the corner stands out to me as a highlight of the tournament. It wasn't a turning point or anything but it characterized what this team was all about - sacrifice and teamplay. Russell and Barker were both superb throughout and weren't on the ice for any goals against at even strength. I felt Barker, Parent and even Bourdon would have been equally good choices as the tournie's best defenseman.
Luc Bourdon/Kris Letang - played tremendous hockey as well. They complement each other remarkably well and deserve lots of credit for this team setting a tournament record by allowing just six goals in six games.
Blake Comeau - overshadowed by fellow WHLer Dustin Boyd early, but made a statement in the gold-medal game. He consistently stretched open the Russian defense with his deceptive acceleration gear and top speed. Clearly a winner too having also won a Memorial Cup title.
Andrew Cogliano - got better and better as the tournament progressed and was starting to exploit his delicious skating speed consistently at the end, particularly as the Russian defenders began to wear down. Still, was snakebit throughout and could easily have had 5-6 goals with a bit of luck and more precise execution.
