Canada and U.S.A. renew rivalry at the World Juniors
It won’t take anyone long to get ready for this game.
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Canada and the U.S.A. meet in the final preliminary round game of the World Junior Championships tonight at ScotiaBank Place in Ottawa (7:30 p.m. Eastern on TSN and RDS) and it’s safe to say that all 44 players that are suiting up for the game have been looking forward to this one ever since they arrived in the nation’s capital last week.
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“I think a lot of the guys will be really riled up to play them,” said Canadian forward Evander Kane of the Vancouver Giants. “It’s all about staying at an even keel and not getting too high or too low. I don’t think there are going to be any guys too low. It’s going to be a big game and the crowd is going to be in it. We’re going to try to get them in it early.”
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There are 10 players that will play in tonight’s game that are teammates in the Canadian Hockey League, including Kane and U.S. captain Jonathan Blum, who play together in Vancouver. Kane said that the familiarity only helps to drive up the competition level between the neighbouring countries.
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“They are our rival country and they are going to be coming out hard,” Kane said. “They play the same way as us – North American hockey. I think it’s going to be a real good challenge and a real good test to see where we are at.”
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Canadian coach Pat Quinn said that he was reminded of the rivalry as soon as he was named to replace former Gatineau Olympiques’ coach Benoit Groulx behind the Canadian bench.
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“When I first came on and was asked to fill in for Benoit, the first thing they said was ‘The U.S. is building a team for Canada’,” said Quinn, who guided Canada to a World Cup win in 2004 and a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics. “That was a warning for me at that time. I think our kids will be ready to play. We’ve been trying to take it a game at a time and now we’ve got it. This is our next game and the most important game we’ve played.”
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Canada lost to the U.S. 4-3 in the gold medal game in 2004 but have won the past four meetings, including semi-final wins in 2007 and last year in the Czech Republic. Canada has won 27 of the 35 meetings between the two nations in the history of the tournament.
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Quinn believes that the U.S. has become Canada’s top hockey adversary replacing the long standing rivalry between Canada and Russia.
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“I think the U.S. competitive situation has taken on a lot of intensity over the last decade or so,” Quinn said. “I remember in ’96 – the first World Cup when they changed it from the Canada Cup – and the U.S. beat Canada. They probably in all the statistical areas shouldn’t have beat us but they beat us. That was a vicious, hard fought tournament and they remember it and I know a whole lot of us remember it. Since that time with us playing the final game in 2002 and the juniors have known that it was going to be a competitive game.”
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Both teams have cruised to 3-0 records in the tournament so far and the winner of tonight’s game gets a bye into the semi-finals on Saturday. The loser will have to play a quarter-final game on Friday and obviously both teams are anxious to earn the extra day off.
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After coasting to easy wins over the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Canadians had a bit more of a challenge against Germany on Monday and understand that the game against the U.S.A. will be their toughest to date.
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“I think we just approach it like we have every other game,” said John Tavares of the Oshawa Generals, who is tied for the tournament scoring lead with five goals and nine points. “Obviously it’s an important game and we want to bring our best. We keep getting better every day and I think if we keep doing that we will be successful.”
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Photo: Aaron Bell/CHL