CHL World Junior Update – Day 6

The round robin portion of the 2003 World Junior Hockey Championships will come to a close today with four games on the schedule. What is up for grabs in today’s games is first place in Group B, an opportunity for both Canada and Russia to remain undefeated, the chance to qualify for the quarter finals and a preferred position in final group standings.

Canada will take on Finland at 8:10 Atlantic time at the Metro Centre in Halifax in a game that will determine who will finish first in Group B. Canada is currently in first place in the group with six points while Finland is a point behind after playing to a 2-2 with the Czech Republic. Canada needs a win or a tie to capture first place and a first place finish will provide a berth in Friday’s semifinals. The loser of tonight’s game will play the third place team from Group A in the quarter finals on Thursday.

Tonight’s game between Canada and Finland will be the 25th time that the two nations have faced one another at a World Junior Hockey Championship. Canada has the edge in games with 12 wins, six losses and six ties and since the Program of Excellence was established in 1982 Canada has won 11 of the 21 meetings while Finland has four wins and six games have ended in a tie. At the 2002 WJC in the Czech Republic Finland posted a 4-1 win over Canada in round robin play.

Heading into today’s play, Canada has the best power play with a 40.91 percent efficiency while Finland is second with a 33.33percent success rate while playing with the man advantage. Canada has yet to allow a power play goal and Finland has allowed just one power play goal in 25 minutes that they have played shorthanded.

Carlo Colaiacovo of the Erie Otters leads the scoring race with seven points on one goal and six assists. Joining Colaiacovo from Canada in the top ten scorers are Ian White of the Swift Current Broncos, the Chicoutimi Sagueneens’ Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and Scottie Upshall of the Kamloops Blazers. White is tied second in tournament scoring with Slovakia’s Karol Sloboda and Yuri Trubachev of Russia. White, Trubachev and Sloboda, who plays for the Canadian Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s, all have five points. Parenteau and Upshall have three goals and one assist and both players have scored a goal in all three of Canada’s games to date.

The first Group B game of the day will be between the Czech Republic and Sweden with a place in Thursday’s quarter finals going to the winner. Sweden defeated Germany 7-2 last night to record its first win of the tournament. The Czech Republic has a one point lead over Sweden in Group B standings as they have a win, a loss and a tie in their first three games. The loser of this game, which starts at 4:00 p.m. Atlantic Time at the Halifax Metro Centre, will join Germany, Belarus and Switzerland in a series of games that will determine places seven to ten as well as the teams that will be relegated to the B Pool in 2004.

In Group A action at Center 200 in Sydney today the United States will take on Slovakia and Russia will face Switzerland. The US – Slovakia game has a great deal of meaning as the winner will finish in second place in the Group and will face the third place team from Group B in a quarterfinal game on Friday. For the Russians, they will be out to record their fourth win of the tournament and finish the round robin without a loss. Switzerland will be playing for pride as last night’s 3-0 loss to Slovakia eliminated them from the medal round.

After 16 games of the 2003 World Junior Hockey Championships the total attendance figure has reached 102,752. The eight games that have been played at the Metro Centre in Halifax have averaged 10,155 fans per game. The three games involving Canada have all been sellouts, 10594, while yesterday’s total attendance for the two Group B games topped the 20,000 mark. The total attendance record for a World Junior Hockey Championship is 170,000, set in Manitoba in 1999.

There are no games on the schedule for New Year’s Day as it will be a travel day for the teams that have been playing in Sydney. Action resumes on Thursday in Halifax with the two quarter final games and two games for places 7 to 10.

Dave Lord, Canadian Hockey League