A rowdy, pro-Canadian crowd greeted the Americans at the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa. The USA faced Canada in the final game of Group A play. It was the Troy Augustine show in goal (stopping 38 of 39 shots), a plethora of Canadian penalties and timely scoring by the USA to seal the 4-1 game.
It was a frantic end-to-end first ten minutes but scoring opportunities were held to a minimum with only four shots on goal. The game got physical in the second half of the period with Canada picking up a tripping penalty. Cole Hutson (BU) put the USA up 1-0 on a powerplay snipe from the right circle as he held his hands to his ears to silence the crowd. “It was 18,000 people against 25,” said Hutson at the break. Both teams had opportunities to score in the closing minutes but the score held. The first period ended with a scrum to the right of goaltender Trey Augustine (Michigan State) in the corner as emotions peaked with both teams.
Early in the second period, the ice tilted in the Canadians’ favor. Canada went on the powerplay following a USA hold but could not solve Augustine. The US scored again but James Hagans (BC) was called for an obvious high stick. Still, Canada carried the pace of play against the Americans. In the middle of the period, the USA went on back-to-back powerplays on interference and tripping calls but could never beat goaltender Carter George on several Grade-A chances. With 3:30 left, the frustrated Canadians were called for holding, their third of the period, but held the USA harmless. The Canadians led the first two periods in shots, 26-18, and five-on-five play. The USA’s Ryan Leonard (BC) was called for a period-ending penalty after time expired for roughing.
In the first ten minutes of the third period, both teams scored. Canada started on the powerplay and struck pay dirt on a diagonal pass and blast by Bradley Nadeau, 1-1. Leonard took a crosscheck to put the USA on the powerplay shortly after the Canadian goal. Danny Nelson (Notre Dame) scored a shorty from the high slot on a feed from Cole Hudson, 2-1 USA. The USA went on their sixth powerplay with eleven minutes left but came up empty. Another unnecessary penalty on Canada (boarding) put the Americans on the powerplay AGAIN with under eight minutes remaining. Finally, Cole Eiserman (BU) responded from the circle with a powerplay tally, 3-1, USA. Canada got another penalty, their eighth of the game, for elbowing and the USA got a delay of game penalty. With the teams skating five-on-five, Canada pulled their goalie George with two-and-a-half minutes remaining. Leonard scored the empty netter for the USA to salt the game, 4-1.
The USA finished first in the Group and plays a relatively weak Switzerland team on Thursday to start the knockout rounds. David Carle continues his coaching magic at the World Junior Championships.
Glad Trey Augustine had a great game. Hopefully he has 3 more in him in the next few days. If he ends up playing us in the NCAA Tournament, he can disappear and thanks for the memories.
Terry goal tonight. Zucker goal tonight. Truthfully, both made their names in this tournament. USA international hockey karma. Brink 2 assists and 1 for O’Connor. Coach Todd McLellan, father of Tyson, a former American born DU player, got his 600 NHL win tonight.
Happy New Year,
Dunker
Glad the U.S. won tonight. Augustine stood tall. 5 on 5 Canada was the better team. We’ll most likely meet again.
Exciting, hard-fought, character win for Team USA last night. That was fun. If you watched the game, you saw a lot of what makes this tournament so great and such a terrific annual event for all of us who love hockey–two heated rivals going at it, lots of national pride on the line, a ton of elite young talent in the sport, and a loud raucous crowd.
Obviously the storylines were the play of Trey Augustine and the special teams success of Team USA. Augustine was fantastic–he was positionally sound all night, had good rebound control, and looked calm and composed throughout the game. Canada had several strong pushes, but he was up to the task. Thankfully the PP was able to generate some good looks and cash in.
Canada played well 5 x 5, no doubt. But those guys took some very dumb penalties. That boarding penalty by Cowan was especially moronic and was borderline dangerous. If they can’t rein in their emotions, they’ll be bounced quickly from this tournament. Team USA, on the other hand, did a good job of keeping their emotions in check but also competing hard in a very hostile environment.
In the 3rd period, the camera zoned in on Carle having a heated discussion with the officials after a scrum or a penalty. He was as fired up as I’ve ever seen him. Clearly he wanted this one badly.