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Vancouver Canucks: Hamhuis Gold, Bonino Bronze at Worlds, Comets Can Clinch |
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Since I spend most of my time watching the Vancouver Canucks, it's been a bit strange watching Team Canada roll through the world championships with barely a misstep here in Prague over the last week.
I saw the team give up a grand total of two goals in four games since I've been here, while they scored 27 times. Safe to say that both the offence and defence were clicking!
Canada's 6-1 win over Russia on Sunday marked the first time that Canada had ever defeated Russia in a gold-medal game here at the world championships. It was also the biggest loss that the Russians had ever suffered in a gold-medal game.
Though the Canadians dominated the entire game in terms of possession, the result could have been different if the puck hadn't deflected off Cody Eakin's skate and through Sergei Bobrovsky's pads to open the scoring late in the first period. The Russians showed in the semi-final against the U.S. that they had the firepower to play a scoreless game for 40 minutes, then turn on their jets to win 4-0.
But once they got rolling on Sunday, Team Canada was an unstoppable force. The end result was a game that looked more like their earlier thrashings of Austria and Belarus than the tight 2-0 semifinal game against the Czech Republic.
So—Dan Hamhuis became the only member of the group to win his second world championship gold medal—and his fourth in total. Hamhuis was part of the gold-medal team in Moscow in 2007 and also won silver medals in 2008 and 2009 before the recent drought kicked in.
Hamhuis was an alternate captain this year and wore the C when Crosby sat out the last round-robin game against Austria. He and Brent Burns formed Canada's top defensive pairing—and Burns was a standout, named to the tournament's All-Star team.
Sidney Crosby, of course, became the eighth Canadian to join the Triple Gold Club by adding a world championship gold medal to his two Olympic golds and one Stanley Cup—and he has a world juniors gold medal from 2005 to his name as well.
At the other end of the spectrum, for players like Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, the tournament was the first taste of big-game success that they've experienced in their pro careers. Cody Eakin was beaming after the game as he talked about his first gold-medal experience and what it meant to him.
All told, Canada is now once again the team to beat on the international stage with gold at the Olympic, world championship and world junior levels. The future is bright for the sport in our country and Hockey Canada deserves tremendous credit for how it supports the game—especially during a time of transition as Tom Renney has taken the reins from former longtime head Bob Nicholson.
Vancouver's Nick Bonino also came out strong on the tournament's last day, contributing a goal and an assist and being named player of the game for the U.S. team as the Americans claimed the bronze medal with a 4-0 win over the Czechs.
So—a terrific tournament for Vancouvers' two representatives, and an impressive showing from the young North American teams in a tournament that's often dominated by Europeans.
Thinking about that, it still feels a bit weird that this year's edition was missing the Sedins, Alex Edler, Radim Vrbata and Jannik Hansen. Having the chance to watch Crosby, Ovechkin and Czech national hero Jaromir Jagr—who was named tournament MVP—certainly made up the difference for me.
Jagr is once again saying that he is retiring from international competition, but at the IIHF Hall of Fame induction ceremony held earlier on Sunday, inductee Dominik Hasek suggested that it wouldn't be impossible for Jagr to consider hanging on for one more Olympic ride in South Korea in 2018.
I have one more day here in Prague before I fly home on Tuesday—and it's another beautiful morning out there. The weather has been nearly perfect for my entire visit, so I'm hoping to do a bit more sightseeing before I pack up and head back.
But first, perhaps, a nap.
I am looking forward to returning to a more reliable internet connection, so I can start adding more multimedia back into the blog.
Comets Can Clinch Tonight
If you're looking for a post-world championships hockey fix for your holiday Monday, the Utica Comets can clinch their second-round AHL playoff series against the Oklahoma City Barons tonight. There's no more local radio coverage—TSN1410 is going with the NHL playoffs instead—but game time is 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time from the sold-out Aud in Utica.
You can follow the Comets' in-game Twitter feed for live updates tonight:
So far in the playoffs, captain Cal O'Reilly and Alexandre Grenier have led the way offensively, while Jacob Markstrom boasts a 1.99 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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