That Didn't Go So Well

The U18 World Championship took place in Grand Forks, North Dakota over the last week and a bit as each nation's best young players showed up to show off their talents and try to bring home some hardware. Overall, it was an excellent tournament on the ice and in the stands, and I have to commend the people of North Dakota for their excellent work in volunteering at the tournament. All reports had the tournament running smoothly and everyone was happy. After losing to the Swedes in a shootout in the semi-final, the Canadians were set to take on the Americans who lost to the Finns in their respective semi-final - ok, so not everyone was happy. In any case, the two North American nations were going to face-off for the bronze medal in what was expected to be a very entertaining game.

Except that didn't happen. I won't do a lot of explaining, but let's just say that the Americans came to play in a big way that I'm not sure Canada ever expected.

Yikes. I will say congratulations to the American squad who laid an ass-whipping on the Canadians like no one expected. They took home the bronze medal after their setback the day earlier. The Finns, to their credit, went on to defeat the Swedes in the final where Jesse Puljujärvi had a whale of a game in helping Finland capture the gold medal.

Congratulations to the gold medalists in Finland, the silver medalists in Sweden, and the bronze medalists in USA on successful tournaments! For Canada, they'll return home where they'll lick their wounds after that severe beating they took, and it will be a chance for some of the young men of this country to prepare for the NHL Entry Draft!

Until then, let's hope that 10-3 beatdown doesn't haunt their dreams!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!