Double Gold For Canada

Thanks to a couple of work colleagues who live near the area, I'd had been informed of the major hockey tournaments happening in Laval, Quebec. I've never been to an ISBHF event, but the 2022 ISBHF Men's and Women's World Championships were being played at the Place Bell as Canada welcomed the world's bets ball hockey teams and players to La Belle Province. 17 countries featuring 23 men's and women's teams will visit Canada as the Great White North hosts its third ISBHF World Championships as the 14th Men's World Championship and 8th Women's World Championship got underway on June 21! 17 men's teams and six women's teams looked to capture the gold medal as Laval was set to host the most prestigious international ball hockey tournaments on the planet!

The men were split up into two groups with Canada playing in the more elite Group A that featured the USA, four-time defending champion Slovakia, 2019 runner-up Finland, Armenia, Czechia, Greece, Haiti, Italy, and the United Kingdom. It wouldn't be an easy task for the Canadians as that Group A was broken into two pools, and Canada ended up in the preliminary round with the USA, Greece, Armenia, and Finland.

June 21 saw Canada down the US by a 6-5 score as Jonathan Tanguay's goal at 29:33 stood up as the game-winner. Canada would shutout the Greeks on June 22 by a 4-0 score as Christian Lantin made ten saves for the blank sheet. The Canadians thumped Armenia by a 16-0 score on June 23 that saw former Manitoba Bisons forward Remi Laurencelle score a hat trick. The final preliminary round game was against Finland, and Canada would emerge 4-0 in pool play after downing the Finns by a 5-2 score that saw Danick Martel score the game-winner while adding an assist.

Canada would advance to the quarterfinals as the top-seeded team in Group A2, and they met the fourth-place team from Group A1 in Haiti. After a tense first period that saw Canada lead 1-0, the Canadians got themselves back on their game as they took over for the remaining 30 minutes before recording a 10-1 win over the Haitians. Martel was outstanding for the Canadians as the 2017 tournament's best forward looked every bit the part in scoring four of Canada's goals.

Canada would advance to the Pool A semifinals where Greece was their opponent. The 4-0 preliminary round game was nothing but an afterthought at the conclusion of the semifinal as Canada hung an 8-1 loss on the Greeks to advance to the gold medal final. Trevor Mainman scored a goal and added three helpers, Remi Laurencelle scored his fourth goal against the Greeks, and Christian Lantin stopped six of seven shots he faced to help Canada move to the biggest game of the week!

Canada would meet Czechia in the final, and they'd battle through a first period with no goals scored. The second period saw Canada score goals 47 seconds apart to take a 2-0 lead, but the Czechs would rally to make it a 3-2 game after two periods. The Czechs would tie the game early in the third period, but three-straight goals from Marc-André Trudeau, Karl Léveillé, and Nelson Vargas Dias would seal the deal for Canada as they downed the Czechs by a 6-3 score to earn their first gold medal since 2007!

Celebrate the victory, boys! You're World Champs!

Canadian forward Danick Martel was named as the tournament's best scorer after finishing with seven goals and ten assists. Czech forward Adam Kubík was named as the tournament's best forward, Canada's Bill Marshall was named as the tournament's best defenceman, and Canadian Christian Lantin was the tournament's best netminder. Martel was also named the MVP of the tournament.

On the women's side of the tournament, Canada opened the tournament on June 21 against the Americans, and Carol Ann Upshall scored the game-winner with ten minutes remaining to give Canada the 2-1 win over the USA. Canada met Great Britain on June 22, and the Canadians trounced the British by a 12-0 score as Chelsea Karpenko recorded two goals and two assists and Julianna Thomson made the five-save shutout. June 23 had the Canadians in battle with Czechia, and Czech forward Denisa Křížová scored the shootout winner to push the Czechs to a 4-3 victory. Canada bounced back on June 24 with an 8-2 victory over Slovakia as Genevieve Bannon had a pair of goals in the win. Canada would get some help as the Americans defeated the Czechs 1-0 on June 25, and the Canadians ran roughshod over Lebanon with a 13-0 win on the strength of five Upshall goals to finish first in the pool at 4-0-0-1.

Canada would meet up with Slovakia in the semifinal game, and it would be Slovakia who was ahead after the first period by a 1-0 score thanks to an Alexandra Čorňáková goal. Angie Cerilli and Genevieve Bannon would score for Canada in the second period as they took the lead, and Chelsea Karpenko made it a 3-1 game in favour of the Canadians just 39 seconds into the third period. Nela Lopušanová would score with 53 seconds remaining to make it a 3-2 game, but Julianna Thomson stood tall to help Canada secure the 3-2 win and a berth in the gold medal final!

Similar to the men's final, the Canadian women would face-off against the Czech women for ISBHF gold as the Canadians looked for a little revenge for the preliminary round loss they suffered at the hands of the Czechs. Canada would fall behind by a pair of goals before the game was five minutes old as Karolína Kosinová and Michaela Krásová struck 55 seconds apart as the Czechs went into the first break up 2-0. Reagan Fischer and Shae-Lynn Clarke would rally for the Canadians as they brought the game back to a 2-2 score with power-play goals before the second period ended. Only one goal was scored in the third period, and Kristen Cooze also scored on the power-play to give Canada the 3-2 lead! Julianna Thomson made 22 stops, including several late in the game, and the Canadians emerged victorious with the 3-2 win as they defended their 2019 gold medal successfully!

For the victors, let's hear the anthem!

Canadian forward Carol Ann Upshall was named as the tournament's best scorer after finishing with nine goals and ten assists. Czech forward Lucie Manhartová was named as the tournament's best forward, Canada's Melanie Jue was named as the tournament's best defenceman, and Slovakian Andrea Pastorková Rišová was the tournament's best netminder. Upshall was also named the MVP of the tournament.

The 2024 ISBHF World Championships have yet to be announced as to where and when they'll be played, but Canada will enter those tournaments as the defending champions on the men's side while the women will be the two-time defending champs.

The Canadian men tied Slovakia for the most gold medals all-time with their fifth championship title in Laval, and moved into a tie for second-place with Czechia as both countries have 11 medal finishes overall, trailing only Slovakia's 13 total medals. The Canadian women lead all countries with five gold medals over the eight Women's World Championships played, and both Canada and Czechia have seven medals overall with their respective medals this year.

Congratulations to the Canadian men and women who captured gold in Laval, Quebec! You did a country proud with your floor hockey efforts, and I'm already looking forward to the next World Championship tournaments! Go Canada!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!