Golden Memories – 1997

Drive for five in Switzerland

by Aaron Bell

After the final selection camp for Canada’s National Junior Team, head coach Mike Babcock knew that he had a team capable of winning the gold medal. He also knew that it wouldn’t be easy.

Babcock’s biggest concern was with his blue line. Despite having Jeff Ware of the Oshawa Generals, who was playing in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canadian defence featured just one returning player from gold medal win in the United States, Chris Phillips of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.

For Team Canada to win their record-setting fifth straight gold medal, Babcock would have to rely on a solid group of forwards to play a strong two-way game. The guy he pegged to lead that crew was Ottawa 67’s center Alyn McCauley.

McCauley, who played a limited role with Canada the previous year before winning the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL’s top player, would line up with Boyd Devereaux of the Kitchener Rangers and Brad Larsen (Swift Current – WHL) on Canada’s top checking unit.

“He’ll go up against the best players on the other team,” said Brian Kilrea, coach and general manager of the Ottawa 67’s, who drafted McCauley with the first overall pick in the 1993 OHL draft. “He’ll just outplay them.”

Offensive outburst

McCauley brought his offensive game to a new level and was trailing Joe Thornton of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, who also earned a spot on Team Canada’s roster, by three points in the OHL scoring race when they left for the Team Canada training camp in Kitchener.

“I enjoy making smart plays, using my head and out-thinking players,” said McCauley, who was named one of Canada’s alternate captains. “I put a lot of pressure on myself into being a leader on this team and making sure these guys win.”

Also earning spots on the squad were OHL forwards Dwayne Hay of the Guelph Storm, Trevor Letowski of the Sarnia Sting and Cameron Mann of the Peterborough Petes and defenceman Richard Jackman of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

“We don’t have to look to any one guy as our savior,” said Babcock before leaving for Switzerland. “We have 22 guys who can contribute and there aren’t many teams that can say that.”

Nervous start

When the Canadians finally took the ice in the tournament opener against Germany, two weeks after the start of training camp, they looked nervous about carrying the weight of the expectations by the entire country for a fifth consecutive title.

Canada took a pair of minor penalties in the opening minutes of the first period and gave up the first goal with both players in the penalty box before Brad Isbister (Portland – WHL) tied the game for Canada on a powerplay with 2:37 left in the period.

“Our nerves definitely were a factor early,” said Mann, who was the MVP of the Memorial Cup in Peterborough the previous May. “For many of us, it was our first international game. Certainly jitters are going to be there and it took some time for us to work them out.”

Mann scored the go-ahead goal, which also proved to be the game-winner, at 12:21 of the second period. Greyhounds’ teammates Jackman and Thornton added third period goals to give Canada a 4-1 win.

American dreams

Canada’s next game was against the U.S.A., who was still celebrating their win over Canada in the World Cup three months earlier. “They started something that hopefully we can carry on and begin a new tradition for USA hockey,” said Chris Hajt, a defenceman with the Guelph Storm.

Defenceman Paul Mara of the Sudbury Wolves, forward Jesse Boulerice and goaltender Robert Esche, both of the Detroit Jr. Red Wings, also suited up for the Americans.

Christian Dube (Sherbrooke – QMJHL) scored a pair of second period goals and the Canadians held a 3-2 lead going into the third period before the Americans scored two goals, including the go-ahead goal with 4:14 left in the game.

Mann set up Peter Schaefer (Brandon – WHL) for the tying goal with 3:06 remaining. The game ended in a 4-4 tie.

U.S. coach Jeff Jackson complained of an interference penalty he felt should have been called on Mann on the play. “There was a pretty blatant pick,” said Jackson, now the coach of the Guelph Storm. “But you can expect that over here. Hopefully we’ll score one like that down the road.”

Dominant prospect

Thornton stepped up and contributed a goal and some heavy hits in Canada’s 4-1 win over Switzerland two days later. The 17-year-old Thornton was the consensus number one prospect for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft and played a key role in the win.

“He was dominant,” said McCauley, who was suffering the effects of bronchitis and seeing limited ice time in the opening games. “It’s hard to believe he’s only 17. He proved that he can handle himself out there.”

Canada’s final round robin game was on New Year’s Eve against the Czech Republic. Even though the Canadians were undefeated (2-0-1), the loss against the U.S.A. guaranteed first place in the pool to the Americans (3-0-1), who were looking for their first World Junior gold medal.

Thornton set up Letowski for the opening goal to give Canada the lead midway through the first period before the Czechs tied the game 35 seconds later. The teams traded goals in the second period and Mann gave Canada the lead with 4:30 remaining in the game.

The Czechs took a penalty with two minutes left in the game, giving Canada a chance to ice the game and go into the playoff round on a winning note. But with the Czech goalie pulled for an extra attacker, captain Jiri Burger shot the puck through a crowd in front of the net that eluded goaltender Marc Denis (Chicoutimi – QMJHL) and tied the game with 10 seconds left on the clock.

“We didn’t play the way we wanted, we played the way they dictated,” said Babcock after the game. “We played a very European game, but we’ve got to play like us, not them.”

Playoff payoff

Canada’s confidence was taking a hit and they were facing Slovakia on New Year’s Day to qualify for the medal round, a game they could have avoided with a win over the U.S. It was Canada’s first game against the Slovaks, who were impressive in the round robin, picking up a pair of wins and losing one-goal games to Russia and Finland.

“We knew we had the talent and skill to beat Slovakia,” Mann said before the game. “We just have to go out and work hard.”

After a scoreless first period, Canada scored three times in the second period, including a pair of goals on the powerplay, for a 3-1 lead after two periods. They scored four more times in the third period, including Devereaux’s first of the tournament, for a 7-2 win and a huge boost to their confidence.

“After that outing, scoring seven goals, you can really feel some confidence in our dressing room,” said Mann. “Maybe it was good that we played an extra game before the medal round. This game was needed to find this out about ourselves.”

Semi-final hero

After a much-needed day off, Canada was set to face Russia in the semi-finals. The Russians cruised through the round robin, allowing just five goals in four games, and earned a bye into the semi-finals. The Americans were playing the Czech Republic, who squeaked by Finland in a shootout win in the qualifier.

Canada had won their five previous games against their archrivals from the former Soviet Union and was riding a 25-game undefeated streak in World Junior play.

“I have no doubt that the Russians will be ready for us and we will be ready for them,” said McCauley, who picked up a pair of assists while playing the point on the powerplay against Slovakia. “We have been uptight for the most part, but right now we have been as relaxed as a team (than at any time) since the summer camp.”

The Russians opened the scoring on a first period powerplay and took a 2-1 lead midway through the second period before Jason Doig (Granby – QMJHL) took a five-minute major penalty for spearing that would leave Canada shorthanded for the rest of the period.

Turning point

McCauley and Devereaux did a masterful job of killing off the penalty. The Russians didn’t get a single shot on goal and Canada took advantage of the shift in momentum. Devereaux scored a pair of third period goals, including the game-winner at 9:44, to give Canada a 3-2 win and a chance at the gold.

“I was so pumped to play and I think this was everything the Canadian game should be,” said Devereaux. “It was quick. It was full of heart and emotion. My heart was in my throat the whole third period.”

Standing between Canada and their record fifth straight gold medal was the Americans, who beat the Czechs 5-2 in the other semi-final.

“Canada has done it the hard way,” said Jackson, who was hired as the first full time coach for the U.S.A.’s world junior program. “They have gotten better as the tournament has gone on, but so have we. We may not be the most talented team in this tournament, but we have been the best team.”

North American adversaries

It was the first time the North American countries would play each other for the World Junior gold medal. The Americans best finish up to that point was a pair of bronze medals, the most recent in 1992.

“Certainly after the World Cup, all the guys would welcome a contest with the U.S.,” said Devereaux. “There won’t be any problem getting up for it.”

The game opened with a scoreless first period. Neither team was able to capitalize on their powerplay opportunities, including Devereaux, who was stoned on a breakaway by American goaltender Brian Boucher.

Devereaux was able to score 8:38 into the second period to give Canada a one-goal lead. Isbister added his fourth of the tournament in the third period and Canada held on for a 2-0 win. Denis was sensational in the Canadian net, turning aside 35 shots for the shutout.

After a shaky start, the team got better as the tournament went on and peaked when the games mattered most.

“Some people had doubts about us,” said Ware after the gold-medal game. “But we all pulled together when it counted.”

McCauley, who went on to win his second Red Tilson trophy and led the 67’s to the OHL finals identified the major penalty against the Russians as the key to the gold medal win. “When we killed that off, you got a sense we could pull it off and win. It turned everything around. It brought our team together. You could feel that Canadian passion come through on our bench.

“We started to play like winners.”

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Special thanks to the following sources of information and quotes for this series:

Toronto Sun Sports

Toronto Star Sports

“Red, White and Gold, Canada at the World Junior Championships 1974-1999” by Andrew Podnieks

Canadian Hockey Association

Hockey Hall of Fame