WJC - Russia vs Canada - One for the Ages

When the puck drops between Canada and Russia you just never know what will happen. At Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta on Tuesday night another magnificent chapter was written between these two hockey-loving nations and intense rivals. In the World Junior Hockey Championship semi-finals the Russians dominated the Canadians 6-1 into the third period until the Canucks mounted a furious comeback attempt to cut the lead to 6-5 with just under five minutes remaining to send the sold-out, red-clad partisan crowd into a frenzy. 

The fifth goal lead to a netminder change and with less than a minute to go Ryan Strome hit the post and Russia hung on for the victory despite being outshot in the game 56-24. They will face Sweden in the Gold Medal game while Canada will play Finland for the Bronze. 

Washington Capitals prospect and Russian captain Yevgeni Kuznetsov scored a hat trick and 2012 NHL Draft projected number one pick Nail Yakupov had four assists. 

Even though these are the junior teams, the epic nature of the game still adds to the storied rivalry between the two nations. It seems only appropriate that this dramatic match took place only a day after Versus relaunched its brand as NBC Sports Network by airing the documentary "Cold War on Ice: Summit Series '72" celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and Russia. Of course that series was all the more dramatic because it took place at the height of the Cold War and political tensions added to the heated action on the ice.

Ten years ago I visited the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto with my father and we were treated to the 1972 Summit Series 30th Anniversary festivities. At a press conference we got to see Phil and Tony Esposito and other Team Canada legends speak about the dramatic series. That moment really crystallized for me how much hockey means to these two countries. In Canada they say hockey is religion and the mystical bond between a nation and a sport is really seen at the National Cathedral in Toronto, otherwise known as the Hockey Hall of Fame's Great Hall, where the domed ceiling features stained glass windows reminiscent of old European churches and Canadians file past the Holy Grail -- Lord Stanley's Cup. Even in French the building at the corner of Front and Yonge Streets has religious connotations, as it is called Temple de la renommée du hockey.

For the citizens of Russia and Canada tonight the almost miracle comeback (another religious reference) was another glorious chapter in this storied rivalry. For the rest of us it was simply one of the most entertaining games of the year. And it builds anticipation for the next time Russia and Canada battle on the ice.

-- Josh Marks

Every General Manager’s Nightmare

Every few years or so, most of the 30 NHL GMs will have to walk on eggshells as some of their top players will don a different sweater, that of their country for an IIHF sanction tournament. It gives the player a chance to showcase his skills on an international level. If the player performs well, that can benefit his pro team in many ways. Such as: increased jersey sales, ticket revenues and even other GM’s noticing a player and perhaps making substantial trade offers.  In most cases the player comes back after the tournament none the worse for wear with a few exceptions. The most notable was when legendary Goalie Dominick Hasek was playing in the 2006 Olympics for the Czech Republic and hurt his hamstring. This led him to not being able to play for his pro team; The Ottawa Senators.

Yesterday in Calgary, Anahiem Ducks General Manager Bob Murray experienced one such twist of fate. As a player which he gave permission to play in the World Juniors blocked a shot and fractured his left foot during Canada’s dismantling of Finland 8-1.

Devante Smith-Pelley is in the midst of a decent rookie year with the struggling Ducks, who of course fired their Stanley Cup winning coach Randy Carlyle back on November 30^th.  The 42^nd overall pick in last summer’s draft was not returned to his former OHL club, Mississauga St. Michael's Majors and was developing into a productive 3^rd and 4^th line winger. He is expected to miss four to six weeks of action, so since its Canada and they will play all the way till the last day of the tournament, The Ducks will miss him until about February 1^st.  

Now I realize this case is not the same as Hasek getting hurt in 2006 and then not being able to play for the Senators when they finished first in the East in points only to get bounced in the 2^nd round by the Lightning.  But it brings up a bigger question, is it really worth it for a team to lose their superstars for a few weeks to play in tournaments with the risk of injury so pervasive in hockey?

What would have happened if Pat Kane or Duncan Keith had been dinged in the 2010 Olympics? That could have changed the entire dynamic of the Blackhawks season and Chicago could still be waiting for a Stanley Cup. I for one, enjoy the Winter Olympics more than most and because hockey players appear to be some of the most down to earth athletes in sports, I find it so easy to throw all my patriotism behind the team.  I was crushed in 2010 when Sid scored that goal; I understand what that exposure did for the game in the United States. However I also totally understand the apprehension from the league to not go to Sochi, Russia in two years. This will be a very interesting  nine months as the CBA will expire in September and participation in the Olympics will no doubt be on the agenda, with some players including Alex Ovechkin stating regardless of what George McPhee or Ted Leonsis says he will be in Russia playing in 2014. This for sure will be a point of contention.

Joe DeTolve

Chicago, Illinois

Goodintheroom.blogspot.com

Merry Xmas to our readers , bloggers, and the entire GetRealHockey family

GetRealHockey started as an idea just about 18 months ago.  The idea was to create a destination for all hockey fans be they NHL,EPL,KHL, EIHL, or junior hockey.  The blog has had countless entries and we are now poised to breakout in 2012 as a force to be reckoned with in the hockey blogosphere.  The Alexa.com ranking for the blog grows on a daily basis.

The work of the blog has been put on the shoulders of some insiders but most of the burden has been endured by the bloggers who contribute stories on a daily basis.  At this time of the year, we want to reach out and say thank you on behalf of GetRealHockey and the readers of GetRealHockey.  Our bloggers have been putting out stories for zero pay.  They do it because they believe in the future of the blog and the GetReal concept.  This is about to change as we look to open to 2012 with financial backing and we will finally be able to compensate all the hard work.  It is our hope that the blogging team will continue to grow so we can best serve all the hockey niches we have targeted.

We hope all our readers will join us in this journey in 2012.  Our readers are the heart and soul of GetRealHockey and we aim to please with more cutting edge articles and insight in the New Year.  If you are a reader of the blog and you have something to share as a blogger; please email us @ getrealhockey@gmail.com.

In the mean time we wish everyone a Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays.  This is a time for family and of course hockey.  Hope you all catch the juniors and the NHL action between Santa's Day and New Years.

QMJHL Report for December 16th

QMJHL Report for December 16th

Friday night was busy in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League as there were 8 games on the schedule. The top 2 teams were in action as the 1st Place Quebec Remparts hosted the last place PEI Rocket and Saint John traveled to Cape Breton to take on the Screeming Eagles.

PEI Rocket (8-23-4) 3 @ Quebec Remparts (27-6-3) 8PEI Stayed with the Remparts in the first period as the score was tie 3-3, but Quebec proved to be too strong and pulled away in the second scoring 3 more times and out shooting the Rocket 16-6. Owen Werthner led the Remparts with a goal and 2 assists. Ryan Culkin, Mikhail Grigorenko and Frederick Roy each chipped in with a goal and an assist. Patrick Walsh, Alexandre Comtois, Mikael Tam and Adam Erne rounded out the scoring for the Remparts. Ben Duffy had 2 goals for PEI and Louick Marcotte the other.

Saint John Sea Dogs (27-10-1) 4 @ Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (14-21-1) 3Mathieu Corbeil picked up his 21 win of the season by turning away 28 of 31 shots and Saint John got goals from Scott Oke (2), Zack Phillips and Kevin Gagne. Dannick Gauthier had 2 assists. Logan Shaw (2) and William Carrier replied for Cape Breton. Phillippe Trudeau had 22 saves in a losing effort.

Halifax Mooseheads (22-10-3) 2 @ Moncton Wildcats (17-17-2) 0Zachary Fucale made 29 saves to earn the shut out and Brad Cuzner, assisted by Alexandre Cote,  scored the game winner 9:23 into the third period to secure the 2 points for the Mooseheads. Cameron Critchlow from Darcy Ashley scored into the empty net with 10 seconds remaining. Roman Will made 34 saves in the loss.

Gatineau Olympiques (16-15-5) 2 @ Drummondville Voltigeurs (14-17-5) 5Olivier Archambault had a three point night with a goal and 2 assists and Dominic Graham made 30 saves in the win. Charlie Connell and Jonathan Oligny both had 2 assists. Rounding out the scoring for Drummondville was Simon Tardif-Richard, Maxime Villemaire, Bryce Milson and Marc-Olivier Brouillard. Jean-Gabriel Pageau 1 & 1 and Tomas Hyka replied for Gatineau.

Baie-Comeau Drakkar(18-15-2) 4 @ Victoriaville Tigres (21-12-2) 1Raphael Bussieres scored twice and Samuel Carrier had a goal and 2 assists as the Drakkar defeated the Victoriaville Tigres. Jonathan Lessard scored the other goal for Baie-Comeau and Tomas Filippi with 2 and Carl Gelinas had the assists. Philippe Halley scored an unassisted marker for Victoriaville.

Chicoutimi Sagueneens (16-11-8) 1 @ Rimouski Oceanic (21-17-0) 6Rimouski’s offence was sparked by Alexander Mallet’s 5 point performance. Mallet scored a hat trick, 2 on the power play, and single markers went to Jerome Leduc-Gauthier, Francis Beauvillier and Alexandre Tanguay. Alex Belzile had 4 assists. Chicoutimi could only get 1 past goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard, despite firing 34 shots in his direction. Jeremy Gregoire was the only succesful shooter.

Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (19-14-2) 4 @ Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (12-24-2) 3
The scoring didn’t start until late in the second period as the Armada capitalized on a power play oppurtunity with a goal by Raphael Pouliot. The third period saw six goals by six different players and Etienne Marcoux picked up the win over Robin Gusse.

Shawinigan Cataractes (29-9-4) 3 @ Val-d’Or Foreurs (15-18-4) 1Shawinigan used goals by Yannick Veilleux, Justin Hache and Bronson Beaton to get past the Foreurs. Thierry Comtois scored and Francois Tremblay made 31 saves in a losing effort.

Saturday night sees 5 games on the schedule with 2 4pm starts. PEI is in Rimouski and Acadie-Bathurst is in Victoriaville. At 7pm Baie-Comeau plays Gatineau, Shawinigan is in Rouyn-Noranda and Blainville-Boisbriand is in Val-d’Or.

Mike Lord

December Means World Juniors

Well the calendar turned over to December and that means Santa Claus is putting the finishing touches on his preparations for the big day, so to are the 10 teams participating in this years World Under 20 Hockey Championships held in Edmonton and Calgary beginning on Boxing Day.

The 2 finalist from last year's event in Buffalo released their final selection camp rosters on Monday. Russia invited 28 players to their camp which runs December 7-18. Yevgeni Kuznetsov, from Traktor Chelyabinsk, headlines the players invited to the camp in Russia. Kuznetsov currently has 22 points in 28 games for his KHL club. Team Russia leaves for Canada on December 18th and will be joined by players, yet to be named, who are currently playing in the CHL. Of the expected players to be invited Sarnia Sting's (OHL) Nail Yakupov and Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) Mikhail Grigorenko, stand the best chance to make the squad. Both players are currently among the league leaders in points with 46 each.

Canada looks to avenge its gold medal loss to the Russians as they open their final selection camp on December 10th in Calgary. As always at this time of year it is not so much about who is in camp for team Canada but which players are not. There are several candidates who find themselves with full time employment in the NHL and will most likely not be released. Ryan Nugent Hopkins leads that list. The leading rookie scorer is cruising at a point a game pace for the Edmonton Oilers and will most definitely be staying put as are other rookies Sean Couturier of Philadelphia and Ryan Johansen of Columbus. Second year stars like Tyler Seguin (Boston) and Jeff Skinner (Carolina) are off to great starts this season and it would be a pipe dream to see them on the Canadian roster.

Of the eligible NHL players who might be released to Hockey Canada, Anaheim's Devante Smith Pelley and Montreal Canadiens Michael Bournival are the best bets. Brett Connolly (Tampa Bay) and Erik Gudbranson (Florida) are possibilities but their play to date says otherwise.

Of the 41 players who were invited to camp, 2 of them just hope to be healthy enough to participate in the 3 exhibition games beginning December 19th. Jonathan Huberdeau of the Saint John Sea Dogs is as close to a guarantee as you can get to make the team, that is if his fractured foot heals in time. Huberdeau is still about 2 weeks away. Everett Silvertips defenceman Ryan Murray has been skating the last 10 days or so but is still recovering from a high ankle sprain. Murray is not expected to play before the evaluation camp.

Canada has 3 returning players from 2011. Mark Visentin is 1 of 4 goaltenders and the other 2 are forwards Jaden Schwartz and Quinton Howden. The defence will most likely feature all new players and look to Brandon Gormley of the Moncton Wildcats and Ryan Murphy of the Kitchener Rangers to be the front runners for spots. Some of the notable forwards that will take to the ice are Mark Schiefle of the Barrie Colts. Schiefle had an extended training camp with the Winnipeg Jets before being returned to the OHL. Another Barrie Colt, Tanner Pearson is tearing up the OHL this season and leading the league in scoring with 57 points in 26 games. Pearson is draft eligible in 2012. Another pair of Saint John Seadogs worth keeping and eye on are Zack Phillips and Nathan Beaulieu. Both are having good seasons for the defending Memorial Cup Champs. WHL scoring leader Mark Stone has been invited as well. Stone has 60 points in 29 games for his Brandon Wheat Kings.

The bronze medallist from 2011, USA, will release their preliminary roster on Monday Dec 5th at 5:30pm EST on the NHL Network.

- Mike Lord