The Golden Girls

Canada faced Japan today in the gold medal game at the 2023 FISU World University Games, and the end result was as this writer expected: Canada has won the gold medal! That's not to say that Japan didn't give Canada headaches at times, but the Canadians were able to overcome the Japanese attack to find enough time and space to outscore their opponents. While the final score may have been 5-0, this was a Canadian team that simply outworked, out-chanced, and out-skated their opponents in all seven games in this tournament. Canada is the FISU women's hockey gold medalists!

Once again, Canada seemed to start off slowly as the score through the first period of play was 0-0, but Canada certainly looked like they were prepared for the game in outshooting the Japanese team by a 14-3 advantage. Canada had a pair of power-plays where they had chances, but Miyuu Masuhara was solid in the Japanese net. As the period rolled into the break, it felt as though Canada was in control of the game.

Just 1:16 into the second period, Montreal's Audrey-Anne Veillette would break the deadlock on a bit of a broken play, but she would find the puck off the blocked shot and backhand it by Masuhara.
With assists going to Waterloo's Leah Herrfort and SMU's Shae Demale, there's no doubt that this line has been one of Canada's best all tournament long, and Veillette's goal-scoring prowess will be on display this March when the Montreal Carabins host the U SPORTS National Championship. I suspect people will be keeping an eye on the Carabins forward after her amazing tournament in Lake Placid!

Another player who has been on fire this tournament for the Canadians has been Nipissing's Maria Dominico, and she announced her presence in the gold medal game in a big way at the 6:01 mark.
That's an incredible individual effort from Dominico, but we saw her play like this last season in helping Nipissing win the U SPORTS National Championship silver medal. She's showing that same hunger for the net that she had in the OUA playoffs, and that should be good for the Lakers down the stretch in the OUA. Toronto's Celine Frappier and Bishop's Marie-Camille Théorêt picked up assists on the goal as Canada went up by a pair.

Minutes later, Japan was trying to kill a 5-on-3 shorthanded situation, and Canada's offence simply would not be stopped as they had a number of good looks before StFX's Maggy Burbidge fired home her own rebound at 9:27 of the second period.
Burbudge is the AUS leading scorer and U SPORTS' leading scorer, so seeing the puck on her stick usually means a red light is going to be lit shortly. The one-timer off a pass from Montreal's Annabel Faubert - uncredited with an assist on this play - following the chance by Alberta's Madison Willan had the Japanese defence scrambling, and Burbidge cashed in her own rebound before the Japanese defence could recover. Make it 3-0 for Canada.

Canada has trailed just once in this tournament - in the semifinal against Slovakia - and has not lost in the tournament. They have the top goaltending statistics and the best defensive statistics as a team, so Japan's task over the final 30 minutes of the game wouldn't be easy. It would be arrogant of me to say the game was over at that point, but the odds were certainly stacked against the Japanese. So what happened, you ask?

Toronto's Celine Frappier scored an unassisted goal at 10:50 of the second period to make it 4-0, and McGill's Elizabeth Mura scored Canada's fifth goal off a feed from Audrey-Anne Veillette at 4:44 of the third period. From there, UNB's Kendra Woodland was required to stop just two more pucks sent her way as Canada controlled the puck, controlled the play, and, ultimately, controlled the game in the gold medal final en route to the gold medal celebration. Cross that one off the bucket list, ladies!

Players from four conferences within U SPORTS came together. They include:

• AUS: StFX's Maggy Burbidge and Lea MacLeod, SMU's Shae Demale, and UNB's Jenna MacLean and Kendra Woodland.
• RSEQ: Concordia's Rosalie Bégin-Cyr and Emmy Fecteau, Montreal's Annabel Faubert, Kelly-Ann Nadeau, and Audrey-Anne Veillette, Ottawa's Aurélie Dubuc, McGill's Elizabeth Mura, and Bishop's Marie-Camille Théorêt.
• OUA: Waterloo's Carley Bossé-Olivier and Leah Herrfort, Nipissing's Maria Dominico, Guelph's Hannah Tait, and Queen's Scout Watkins Southward.
• Canada West: Saskatchewan's Isabella Pozzi and Camryn Drever, and Alberta's Madison Willan.

We can't forget the coaching staff who were directing this symphony of wins either as Ottawa head coach Greg Bowles, UNB head coach Sara Hilworth, Wilfred Laurier head coach Kelly Paton, and Guelph head coach Katie Mora all deserve a pile of credit. Along with general manager Daniele Sauvageau from Montreal, UNB's goalie coach and video coach Kyle MacDonald, and Waterloo's athletic therapist Jacqueline Schwantz, this is the management and staff of the gold medal-winning Canadian squad!

It should be mentioned that the Slavic bronze medal game between neighbouring Czechia and Slovakia happened earlier tonight. Czechia's Sandra Halounova opened the scoring at 16:37 of the first period while on the power-play. Lucia Haluskova tied things up for Slovakia just 1:01 into the second period, but Czechia's Karolina Kosinova responded 50 seconds later to restore the one-goal lead. University of Vermont's Kristyna Patkova made it a 3-1 game for the Czechs when she scored at 9:02 of the third period, and that was more than enough for Czechia on this night as they captured the bronze medal with a 3-1 victory!

I also need to give a big shout-out to Manitoba referee Amy Martin who called the bronze medal game. Amy's one of this province's best officials, and I wouldn't be surprised if she's calling games in men's professional hockey at some point. She's smart, she's very observant, and she manages the game well. Her repeated invitations to high-profile international events is a testament to her talents, dedication, and passion for officiating, and it's awesome to see her as part of the 2023 FISU World University Games!

Overall, this was a highly-entertaining tournament played by some of the best and brightest university hockey players on the planet. I take nothing away from any of the countries who appeared at the 2023 FISU World University Games because each of the qualified to be there, and all played with the heart and courage of champions no matter what the odds were that may have been stacked against them. Canada may have won the tournament, but every team showed up and played well in every game. You can't ask for much more than that as a hockey fan.

Congratulations go out to Canada, Japan, and Czechia who won the gold medal, silver medal, and bronze medal, respectively. The Canadian women will return to their respective teams at this point to rejoin playoff races with conference playoffs a month away. The likelihood of some of these players meeting in their conference playoffs is good, and there's a chance that we could see some of them face off against one another in Montreal at the 2023 U SPORTS National Championship. For 60 minutes, they'll try to eliminate one another, but they'll always have these last two weeks as teammates where they shared an incredible bond and brought home one of university sports' biggest awards.

Congratulations on an excellent tournament, ladies!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Medal Confirmed

Make no mistake: the Canadian women playing hockey at the 2023 FISU World University Games in Lake Placid are going to have to declare some precious metal at Customs as they re-enter Canada. Canada used its balanced scoring attack to down Slovakia today by a 6-1 score to earn a berth in the gold medal final that takes place tomorrow. Six different goal scorers pushed Canada past a Slovakian team that was determined to give Canada everything it had, but the final score was indicative of a Canadian team that has shown all sorts of depth, skill, and a hunger for success throughout the tournament.

For a little over 20 minutes, there may have been some concern for Canadian fans as Slovakia loaded up the slot area with players and forced Canada to shoot pucks through six Slovakian bodies. Romana Haluskova gave Slovakia the lead at 8:23 off a nice setup from her sister Lucia Haluskova in becoming the first team to score on Canadian netminder Kendra Woodland in the tournament, and the 1-0 score held into the intermission as Canada had shots and chances only to be denied by Adriana Stofankova.

The second period looked and felt different from the outset as Canada upped the pace by playing a more north-south game. That would pay off just 2:10 into the frame when Montreal's Audrey-Anne Veillette raced down the right side and fired a shot under Stofankova's blocker on the far side to make it 1-1. 2:11 later, SMU's Sahe Demale spotted a wide-open Leah Herrfort in front of the net, and the Waterloo Warriors forward buried it behind Stofankova to put Canada up 2-1. Slovakia wasn't going away after Canada's quick strikes, though, as they had seven shots on net following the goals, but Woodland was equal to the task as Canada took the one-goal lead into the second intermission.

Just 11 seconds into the third period, Saskatchewan's Isabella Pozzi threw a backhander at the net that I'm sure Stofankova wants back as it ended up behind her to push the score to 3-1. Three minutes later, Nipissing's Maria Dominico tapped a Marie-Camille Theoret shot that got through Stofankova across the goal line for the 4-1 Canada lead, and it was clear that Slovakia had to open things up if they were going to have any chance in closing the deficit. However, two late power-play goals by Concordia's Emmy Fecteau and Waterloo's Carley Olivier closed the door on any hopes of a comeback as Canada skated to the 6-1 win.

The bronze medal game will see Slovakia meet the Czechs who were defeated 3-0 by Japan in the other semifinal as the neighbouring countries will see which one takes home a medal. That, of course, means that Canada meets Japan in the final tomorrow night, and they already have a 6-0 win over the Japanese team in the preliminary round. Take nothing from that score, though, as Japan had lost to Czechia 3-1 in the preliminary round before defeating the Czechs 3-0 in the semifinal tonight. Japan will likely be well-prepared for the Canadian gameplan, so this should be a good final with the gold medal up for grabs.

If there's one thing that Canada can do to change their fortunes in the gold medal game, it's getting a jump on their opposition. Canada has scored just five first-period goals in this tournament, and we saw them trail in the semifinal for 14 minutes. Granted, Canada's had no problems overcoming those slow starts in any of the games they played, but I suspect head coach Greg Bowles and his coaching staff may want to get out in front and stay out in front throughout the entire gold medal match as early as possible.

I have no pregame knowledge on who will get the start tonight for Canada, but it seems logical that UNB's Kendra Woodland would be between the pipes for Canada once again with Saskatchewan's Camryn Drever ready to go if called upon in this game. Woodland's play in the tournament hasn't given me any reason to move away from her, and the goal surrendered by Canada in today's game against Slovakia was hardly on her. It wouldn't be any major change if Drever or Ottawa's Aurelie Dubuc were in the net, but I suspect Woodland gets the nod due to her work in the AUS this season where she's been outstanding for the Reds.

The 2023 FISU World University Games women's hockey gold medal game goes tonight at 5pm ET on FISU.tv and ESPN+ as Slovakia and Czechia to meet to determine which Slavic country gets to take home hardware. The gold medal game will be played at 8pm ET on FISU.tv and ESPN+ with Canada and Japan meeting to determine which country gets a gold medal and which gets a silver medal. I find it odd that TSN's scheduling hasn't been modified to at least carry the gold medal game as they've been using the ESPN feeds for their broadcasts in Canada, but that's Bell Media for you. My suggestion is to tune in via FISU.tv for free and catch the game this evening!

Canada's guaranteed to bring home a precious metal from Lake Placid in women's hockey. Tomorrow, we find out which one!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 539

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back tonight with our regular format as Teebz and Jason will examine some of the major hockey stories from around the globe. It's been a busy week thanks to some rather idiotic statements, some accolades having been handed out, and some university kids playing their hearts out, but there were some smaller stories that may have flown under the radar that probably should be discussed. It's another busy show with a ton of news and stories, so make sure you're tuned in at 5:30pm CT on UMFM!

If you're a Philadelphia Flyers fan today, you may feel like the woman to the left. Tonight, Teebz and Jason will discuss Ivan Provorov's religious beliefs and how both the Flyers and NHL have handled it so poorly after John Tortorella did none of himself, his team, or his player any favours with his comments. Beyond that, we'll wrap up the Hockey Can't Stop Tour with a look back at the Bisons hosting the Ukraine U25 Men's National Team that came with a bit of surprising news, we'll chat about the men's and women's hockey events at the 2023 FISU World University Games in Lake Placid, we'll highlight an annual game hosted by the Saskatchewan Huskies women's hockey team and why it's important, we have thoughts on the new Arizona Coyotes and Vancouver Canucks jerseys, there's some PHF news, we'll close out the U18 Women's World Hockey Championship, and there's a rather crazy story about Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner that should be heard. In saying all that, get yourself settled in for another busy show tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The new UMFM website's online streaming player is pretty awesome if you want to listen online. If you're using an Apple device, the player doesn't seem to like Safari yet, so if you want to stream the show I'd recommend Radio Garden to do that as it works nicely with Safari. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store. If you do use the TuneIn app, you won't be disappointed. It's a solid app.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason chat Russians, Ukraine, FISU, charities, jerseys, gold medals, free agency, snakes, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: January 19, 2023: Episode 539

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Alternates For Alternates' Sake

I honestly struggle with the fact that the NHL continues to pump out new jerseys at a pace faster than they demand arenas from cities. We've had a full chunk of the schedule devoted to the 2022 Reverse Retro jerseys already, and now we have a few teams cramming in alternate jerseys on their scheduled games as well. The cost of a jersey is already ludicrous, so I often wonder how the NHL expects to turn any sort of profit off merchandise that barely gets a shred of time as part of a team's closet, let alone trying to let jerseys stand the test of time. Two Western Conference teams had their brand-new alternate jerseys revealed today, and I'm not certain either will stand the test of time either.

We'll start in Phoenix. Wait, I mean Glendale. Or maybe Tempe. Ok, we'll start somewhere in Arizona where the Coyotes are contractually allowed to play because the Coyotes officially released their new alternate jersey to the world today, and the results seem to be mixed from early comments on social media after seeing these jerseys.

There's a lot to unpack here, but let's start with the brick red colour because that was something that faded into the past with the return of the Kachina logo and jerseys in 2021 as the team rebranded. However, Coyotes president and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez said of the red jerseys to ESPN in September 2021, "They still resonate with fans here too. We didn't want to get rid of it completely."

It seems they didn't get rid of it completely as the red colour of this new jersey - named the "Desert Night" jersey and was created by Rhuigi Villaseñor, the founder and creative director of Los Angeles-based streetwear brand Rhude - is hard to miss. Personally, I have no issue with the brick red jersey in terms of colour, but I do struggle with the green when the Coyotes could have used the etchings in a sandstone colour like they use for the wordmark stretched across the chest. That contrasting colour would break up the monochrome feel of this jersey, and I often wonder if designers ever consult colour-blind people to get their reactions to designs since red and green look similar to those afflicted with colour blindness.

I don't understand nor endorse the wordmark either. The Coyotes have had a number of logos in their history since moving from Winnipeg, and they go with a wordmark? I guess if one plays like a college hockey team, plays its home games in a college hockey rink, and is looking to move into a college hockey town, they should probably dress like a college hockey team too, right? Wordmarks are not NHL logos, and your logo is your brand. Not having any logo anywhere on the jersey is simply ridiculous.

According to the team's release on the jerseys, the Coyotes' captain will wear the half-moon patch that looks like a "C" while the alternate captains will wear what you see to the right. At first, I hated the idea of this cartoonish alternate captaincy designation, but the release stated that the "A" is actually two cacti hugging one another as the Coyotes work more desert culture into their jerseys. I think it loses its effectiveness when viewed from farther than a foot away, but someone signed off on this to be worn on the ice. I'll give the Coyotes credit for creativity in this idea, but the execution is far different in reality. It doesn't work.

Individually, there are elements here that would be good on a jersey, but they've been combined in a way that doesn't look aesthetically good. They could do so much more with the same colours if they simply stuck to a traditional hockey look and used contrasting colours to set the jersey elements apart. You know who already wears a jersey that has those elements baked into it? The Kachina coyote!

I mocked up the Kachina logo's jersey a little with some striping and colours to reflect the new alternate jersey a little better, but that crescent moon logo works really well on the Kachina logo and the sandstone colour used on the sleeves with the smaller green stripes makes the green pop a little more. I worked in the etchings as best as I could to make it look like the sandstone was etched, but this mock-up is a jersey I'd rather be wearing over the one introduced today if I were a player on the Coyotes. Toss the Kachina face on the shoulders as patches, and you'd tie all three jerseys together quite nicely as a uniform set. It took me 20 minutes in Microsoft Paint to create that mock-up, and I already like it infinitely better.

I'm sure Rhuigi Villaseñor is a great designer when it comes to his brands, but his first NHL hockey jersey gets a FAIL from me. It simply misses the mark on a number of little elements, and a death by one thousand cuts is still a death. Even in the desert.

Unofficially, there was a second new alternate jersey seen today, but this one came from a Facebook Marketplace leak rather than coming from an NHL team. The Vancouver Canucks have been introducing and retiring jerseys and logos from their past since they put the orca on their jerseys, but it seems they'll take another swing at bringing back a look that most fans hold dearer to their hearts than the orca logo.

The Vancouver Canucks appear to be bringing back the skate logo as their alternate this season, but it's not an exact replica of what they wore from 1985-1989 nor is it a replica of the jersey they wore from 1989-97. The thin black stripe between the red and the yellow stripes on both the sleeves and hem give it away, so this alternate is more of a fauxback if we're using uniform parlance. They'll also continue to use their modern font that's been in use since 2007 which looks somewhat off for those of us who watched the Canucks skate in these uniforms in the 1990s.

I can't say if this is the real deal for the Canucks for 2023's alternate jersey, but we've seen them bring the skate jersey out for previous ceremonies and games. Logic would say that this is the next iteration of Canucks jersey we'll see, but this may be more fiction than fact until the team confirms it.

For now, I'll reserve my judgment until we see the confirmed alternate, but I can say one thing for the Canucks, assuming that the jersey above is their alternate: they'll be dressed better than the Rhuigi Villaseñor-dressed Arizona Coyotes!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Checking All The Boxes

Kudos to whomever the photographer was that captured the concentration shown by Ottawa's Aurelie Dubuc as she guarded the Canadian net while watching the Czech players in their game on Saturday. Dubuc helped Canada earn the top seeding in the six-team preliminary round of the 2023 FISU World University Games, and it makes their game against the 2-2 American squad tomorrow less intense as the two archrivals meet on American soil.

Canada has played well thus far as they've scored 29 goals compared to just the single goal scored against them by the Czechs in the four games they've played thus far. Assuming that Canada defeats the US in tomorrow's contest, that would set up a 1-vs-4 game in the semifinal with Canada, as the top seed, squaring off against Slovakia, a team they defeated 4-0 on December 11. If the Americans were to win tomorrow's game, they would vault into third-place in the pool, bumping Japan to fourth-place and a date with the Canadians in the semifinal on Friday. Canada beat Japan 6-0 on Sunday.

It seems that whatever Canada is doing is working very well for them.

"We stuck to our habits. That was what was important today, just sticking to our gameplan and not letting individual efforts take over team habits," Saskatchewan Huskies defender Isabella Pozzi said after defeating Great Britain 14-0 today. "We were supporting each other, finding each other, and using everyone on the ice."

Those "habits", as Pozzi called them, are showing up in spades on the ice as the Canadians seemingly have out-skated, out-chanced, and out-worked every team they faced, finding gaps in defences for scoring chances and showing great defensive awareness in preventing good looks on the three Canadian netminders in Dubuc, Kendra Woodland, and Camryn Drever. The end result is, as mentioned above, four wins on the strength of a +28 goal differential.

"Every forward and every defenceman is very strong, so it's a great opportunity with each girl you get to play with," Saint Mary's Huskies forward Shae Demale said after the win against Japan. "There are opportunities with every line combination they put together. It's really cool to see it gel out on the ice."

That might be the most accurate statement I've heard about this Canadian team as watching them is a clear demonstration of their skills, talents, and abilities that seem to be raised to another level with their chemistry. Part of that credit goes to head coach Greg Bowles and his coaching staff of Sarah Hilworth, Kelly Paton, and Kyle MacDonald. The lines they've been sending over the boards have worked wonderfully through the first four games, and I suspect we'll continue to see the same combinations rolling against the Americans and beyond.

The other part of the credit has to be given to the women, though, as they've found a way to bond regardless of team rivalries or conference boundaries. Whether it be Concordia's Emmy Fecteau or Montreal's Audrey-Anne Veillette, the connection that Demale and Nipissing's Maria Dominico seemed to have formed on their line, or the developing chemistry between Waterloo's Leah Herrfort and Toronto's Céline Frappier, Canada's offence is clicking and I have yet to mention offensive juggernauts like Madison Willan, Maggy Birbidge, or Rosalie Begin-Cyr or the trio of unlimited energy in Lea MacLeod, Hannah Tait, and Scout Watkins-Southward.

Defensively, it would seem the pairings have settled in nicely as there have been great offensive contributions from the blue line without surrendering a ton of shots in creating that offence. Bishop's Marie-Camille Theoret has been allowed to skate and create alongside Isabella Pozzi's steady play, Waterloo's Carley Olivier has shown all sorts of skill next to the always-reliable Jenna MacLean, and Elizabeth Mura and Annabel Faubert have quietly be sensational together while Kelly-Ann Nadeau was all over the scoresheet today. Again, chemistry and bonding has worked for these pairings, and they look like they've been playing together all season.

While Canada has shown talent, they've worked just as hard - maybe harder? - to ensure they leave everything on the ice in each game. Some will say they're playing teams that simply can't match the skill or speed of the Canadians, and there's some truth to that. However, I'd counter the fact that all of the teams playing qualified for the hockey event, so no individual team should be taken lightly. From their play in the opening four games, I'd say Canada has not taken any team at any point lightly.

With the way they're currently playing, I'd say Canada is the favorite when the medal round opens on Friday. They can't overlook the Americans tomorrow, though, as they have a chance to eliminate the Americans from the medal round, and you know Team USA is going to bring everything they have against Canada in order to prevent that from happening.

We're only a few days from seeing a gold medal awarded in Lake Placid at the women's hockey event, and the Canadians have found the right mix of scoring, defence, goaltending, and effort to give them a very good chance at bringing a gold medal home. I've said it before, and I'll say it again here: skilled teams that outwork their opponents will win almost every game barring any runs of bad luck.

To date, Canada has checked all the boxes - with a big checkmark for effort - in earning the tournament's top seed. Three more games like that, and we'll be talking about another gold medal-winning Canada women's team!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!