WJC TODAY - Stunned

In one of the greatest collapses in world junior hockey history, Russia struck gold last night in front of completely stunned pro-Canadian crowd at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo. The Russians, who hadn’t won gold since 2003 in Halifax, stormed back to win the Gold Medal game over Canada by score of 5-3.

It was a collapse of epic proportions, one that the members of the 2011 Canadian national junior team and an entire country will not soon forget. Leading 3-0 entering the third period, Canada sat back and allowed the Russians to take control.

The first goal didn’t seem like a big deal. Then they scored another. When Russia tied the game, you could feel Canadian living rooms everywhere going into panic mode. As flashbacks of other Gold Medal game collapses danced in people’s heads, the Russians took the lead and then added another just to prove they were all business.

Goaltender Mark Visentin faced 10 shots in the third period. Five of them went in. But he can’t be solely blamed for this loss. The entire Canadian team allowed this game to get away from them.

Sure, finishing the World Junior Hockey Championships with a silver medal hanging around your neck is a great accomplishment, but, as seen in the third period, perhaps Russia just wanted gold more.

The Russian team isn’t the same squad that collapsed in the 2009 semi-final against Canada. It isn’t the team full of superstars that bowed out early at the Olympics. This was a team that faced adversity, starting the tournament 0-2 and eventually entering the medal round through the back door. They came back to win the quarter-final and semi-final game and were, maybe, just maybe destined to storm back and claim gold last night.

Canada has now lost two consecutive Gold Medal games at the world juniors following a streak of winning five straight.

Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres heads back to Saint John after serving his time on the Team Canada blue line. He finished the tournament with three assists and a +8 rating. Last night, the ‘Big Horse’ recorded two shots on goal and a -1 rating.

Sea Dogs fans can welcome Despres back home on Tuesday when the PEI Rocket are in town for a 7:00 pm start.

For more coverage on the breakdown in Buffalo, check out Buzzing The Net.

WJC TODAY - 1-5-10

GOING FOR GOLD
It will be a golden night in Buffalo.

Canada and Russia meet this evening at HSBC Arena for the gold medal match of the World Junior Hockey Championships. Game time is 8:30 pm AST with TSN beginning their coverage with the pre-game show at 8:00 pm.

On the team is Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres, who will look to join Chris DiDomenico as players from the club to win world junior gold. The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect has gotten gradually better each game.

"Honestly he's doing really good, over my expectations," said assistant coach Andre Tourigny of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to the Telegraph-Journal.

Despres and his defense partner Erik Gudbranson have been solid and played a key role in shutting down the Americans in Monday’s semi-final. The ‘Big Horse’ has three assists so far and joins Gudbranson and Quinton Howden with an impressive +8 rating, the second highest total on the team.

Canada is coming off a dominating victory over the United States on Monday, beating the home team 4-1 and playing a near perfect game. But now, the Canucks must forget that game and look forward to tonight’s match which is for all the marbles.

Russia has been a great story at the world juniors. They opened the tournament will loses against both Canada and Sweden. Wins against Norway and the Czech Republic propelled them into a quarter-final match against Finland where some late game heroics allowed the team to move forward.

In the semi-final against the 4-0 Swedes, the Russians jumped out to a 2-0 lead and entered the third up 2-1. But Sweden turned on the jets, scoring twice and holding onto a 3-2 lead entering the final two minutes. With 1:27 to go in the game, the Russians tied it and won in a shootout to move on to the gold medal game.

Canada and Russia met on Boxing Day with the red and white coming on out on top, 6-3.

The Canadians are led offensively by Brayden Schenn, who has seven goals and nine assists for 16 points. The Russians are led by Dmitri Orlov and Valdimir Tarasenko who have nine points each.

Mark Visentin will start in goal for Canada while the Russians will likely start Dmitri Shikin.

JURCO COMING BACK
Tomas Jurco and the Slovaks closed out the relegation round yesterday with a 5-2 loss to the Czech Republic.

Jurco had no points, shots, or penalty minutes in the game. He finishes the world juniors with one goal, no assists, and eight shots on net.

WJC TODAY - 1-4-10

Team Canada is heading to the gold-medal game at the World Junior Hockey Championship following a dominating win over the rival Americans at HSBC Arena last night.

Canada played their best game of their tournament, defeating the United States 4-1 in the semifinal match. The Americans may have been the favourites to win the tournament, but the Canadians played like they wanted it more.

Curtis Hamilton and Quinton Howden scored for Canada in the first period. On a five-on-three power play in the second frame, Ryan Johansen gave the Canadians a 3-0 lead and gave the squad some breathing room going into the final stanza.

Zack Kassian scored a breakaway at 6:02 of the third to give Canada a 4-0 advantage. The Americans were beginning to get things rolling in the third as Chris Brown got them on the board at 9:37. But it was too little too, late as the Canadians cruised to a 4-1 win.

Goaltender Mark Visentin made some key saves for Canada, stopping 22 shots on the night. United States ‘tender Jack Campbell was solid and probably the best American on the ice, stopping 37 shots.

Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres was a +1 in the game and played his best match of the tournament. The pairing of Despres and Erik Gudbranson kept things simple and shutdown the speedy Americans.

Canada will now play Russia for gold on Wednesday night.

DANGLE’S RECAP



OPEN ICE HOCKEY RECAP



THE CROWD
The game was played on American soil but it was a pro-Canadian crowd at HSBC Arena.

"They began chanting "This is our house!" because, well, it was,” writes Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News. “They didn't simply take over HSBC Arena. They parked themselves on the sofa, threw their feet on the coffee table, grabbed the remote control and emptied the beer fridge.”

WJC TODAY - 1-3-10

CANADA BEATS SWITZERLAND
Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres had one of his better games at the World Junior Hockey Championships in a 4-1 quarter-final victory over Switzerland yesterday afternoon at HSBC Arena.

Despres played a key part in the game, assisting on Casey Cizikas’ game winning goal in the second period.

“Simon Despres fed the puck up ice to Carter Ashton who had Casey Cizikas with him on a 2 on 1 opportunity,” NHL.com describes the play. “Cizikas patiently read Conz and snapped one over his shoulder to give the Canadians a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.”

Along with his helper, the ‘Big Horse’ had three shots on goal and a +2 rating. He now has three assists in the tournament. Despres was also the victim of a big hit, a hit that saw him earn some hang time.

Inti Pestoni opened the scoring for the Swiss at 1:09 of the first period, giving the underdogs a surprising 1-0 lead. Canadian goaltender Mark Visentin allowed the brutal goal as the puck just snuck between his skate and the post. Visentin made some nice saves, but was noticeably shaky at times much like Olivier Roy has been.

The Canucks tied the match at on a power play at 15:06 with Ryan Johansen recording his second goal of the tournament. In the second, Cizikas gave his squad a 2-1 lead before Louis Leblanc scored an insurance marker in the third period. Zack Kassian closed out the scoring with an empty net goal, making it a 4-1 final.

Swiss goaltender Benjamin Conz was unreal in goal, stopping 46 of 49 shots.

HIGHLIGHTS



DANGLE’S RECAP



OPEN ICE HOCKEY RECAP



THE SLOVAKIA GAME
Tomas Jurco and the Slovaks opened the relegation round with a 5-0 blowout win over Norway. Captain Richard Panik had a hat trick while Gatineau Olympiques defenseman Adam Janosik had two assists.

Jurco had no points, a zero rating, and a one shot on goal.

TODAY
It’s the match everyone has been waiting for – Canada versus the United States in a rematch of last year’s gold medal game. Game time is 8:30 pm AST with TSN beginning their coverage at 8:00 pm.

The semi-final matchup could be a dandy if their last few meetings mean anyting. The winner will go to Wednesday’s gold medal game.

That’s about all you need to know.

The other semi-final goes down this afternoon with Russia taking on Sweden.

WJC TODAY - 1-2-10

CANADA IN THE QUARTERS
Canada will face Switzerland this afternoon at 4:30 pm AST in a quarter-final matchup at the World Junior Hockey Championships. TSN’s coverage begins at 4:00 pm with the pre-game show.

News out of Buffalo is that Mark Visentin will replace Olivier Roy in the Canadian goal today. The Niagara Ice Dog netminder played in Canada’s 10-1 blowout win over Norway earlier this week which was his only start of the tournament so far.

“All the confidence in the world in Mark,” Canada’s head coach Dave Cameron said Sunday morning to the National Post. “Real good goaltender.”

The change isn’t that much of a surprise as Roy struggled Friday against Sweden, allowing a few weak goals and producing some big rebounds. After last year’s goaltending fiasco, it would certainly be nice to know who truly is the best goaltender moving forward.

Zach Kassian will also return today after serving a two-game suspension.

Canada is coming off a 6-5 shootout loss against Sweden which forced them to play in this quarter-final game rather than earn a bye to Monday’s semi-final. The winner of today’s contest will play the United States tomorrow.

The Swiss is coming off a loss against the U.S. Friday. The team’s most dangerous player is Nino Niederreiter, who almost stuck with the New York Islanders this year.

OTHER GAMES
The other quarter-final tonight at HSBC Arena features Finland taking on Russia. The winner of that game will face Sweden in the other semi-final tomorrow.

Tomas Jurco and the Slovaks open the relegation round today against Norway. The other relegation match features the Czech Republic facing off against Germany.

WJC TODAY - 1-1-10

CANADA FALLS TO SWEDEN
Canada suffered their first loss of the World Junior Hockey Championships last night at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, falling 6-5 to Sweden in a shootout.

With the win, Sweden advanced to the semi-final while Canada is now forced to play in the quarter-finals against Switzerland. A win in that game for the Canucks will mean a Canada – United States semi-final.

One of the stories of the games was Acadie-Bathurst Titan goaltender Olivier Roy who got his third start in the Canadian net. Roy was definitely average, allowing a few goals he should have stopped. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League star made 36 saves in the loss with quite a few of those shots producing a rebound.

Swedish netminder Robin Lehner wasn’t fantastic either, allowing five goals on 34 shots.

"I don't think either goalie was the player of the game," Canadian head coach Dave Cameron said to Rogers Sportsnet. "When there's that many goals scored, obviously I think both goaltenders would like some of them to be replayed, but that's why you play the game."

Canada opened the scoring just 58 seconds in when Sean Couturier centered the puck and had it deflect off a Swedish defender and in to make it a 1-0 game. After tying the match at 2:14 on a power play goal, Sweden took the lead at 14:55. Quinton Howden tied the match again before Curtis Hamilton gave Canada a 3-2 lead following a strange bounce with half-a-second remaining on the clock.

The back-and-forth action continued in the second period as Sweden scored two goals within the first three minutes of the game to take a 4-3 lead. Hamilton scored his second of the game at 4:37 while shorthanded to even the affair once again.

Tied at 4-4 in the third, scoring sensation Brayden Schenn broke the deadlock at 3:22 to give the Canadians another lead. But at 11:43, Patrick Cehlin went high blocker side on Roy to tie the match up once again.

Overtime proved useless, so a shootout was needed to decide a winner. Oscar Lindberg and Anton Lander each beat Roy while Ryan Ellis and Schenn were both stopped, giving Sweden the win and the Group B crown.

Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres assisted on Hamilton’s shorthanded marker in the second period. He finished the game with no shots, a +1 rating, and also got some more penalty kill time.

THE CONFIDENT SWEDES
Sweden was the better team in the game, but some of the players and coaches comments are certainly not your typical hockey clichés.

"I think we had tougher games against the Czechs and Russians," said Sweden coach Roger Ronnberg to Yahoo!, "I'm really glad, really proud coaching this team. They showed their character today, bouncing back all the time after goals [coming back from three one-goal deficits]. It's impressive."

“This is not your typical Swedish team,” said massive goalie Robin Lehner to QMI Agency. “I don’t want to sound cocky or anything because it’s a huge thing for us to beat Canada, but we’re not surprised by this result.

“This is a confident, physical group. We play hard at both ends of the ice. We don’t get down on ourselves. Nothing had to be said in the room. We knew what to do and Roger (head coach Ronnberg) is a big part of that for us.

DANGLE’S RECAP



OPEN ICE HOCKEY RECAP



SLOVAKIA IS DONE
Well, it wasn’t the way Tomas Jurco and Team Slovakia wanted to end the preliminary round at the world juniors. The Slovaks suffered their worst loss of the tournament, falling 6-0 to Finland.

Jurco finished the game with one shot on goal and a zero rating.

Slovakia failed to make the medal round, earning an overtime victory and three regulation loses. They got only two points from their win and finished fourth in Group A.

The Slovaks begin the relegation round tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 pm against Norway at Dwyer Arena.

WJC TODAY - 12-31-10

SLOVAKS FALL TO SWISS
Switzerland pulled off a 6-4 victory over Slovakia yesterday at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo.

Switzerland took a 3-1 lead after 20-minutes and a 4-2 lead through 40. But in the third, the Slovaks battled back to tie the match at 4-4. A Swiss goal at 14:06 of the final frame and an empty netter in the final minute would guarantee a Switzerland win.

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Tomas Jurco failed to register a point – or a shot on goal – in the loss. He finished the match with a -1 rating. What his stats don’t show, however, is a glorious scoring opportunity he couldn’t cash in on.

From the Buffalo News:

In his game Thursday against the Swiss, Slovakia's Tomas Jurco saw the rebound bounce to him with a wide-open net in his vision. In anticipation of what seemed like a sure goal, whoever operates the goal light signaled the red light instantly.

Not so fast. Jurco couldn't corral the loose puck for the easy goal -- a theme for the Slovaks all game. Switzerland kept the lead and went on the win. The play was one, of many, missed opportunities for Slovakia. Just ask whoever was operating the goal light.

More from Yahoo! Sports:

Draft-eligible forward Tomas Jurco was shaking his head after missing a glorious chance in the second period. He had a wide open net to goalie Benjamin Conz’s left, but a defender just managed to tip the puck away.

“I tried the rebound, the defenceman put his stick there and it was just bad luck, it missed (by) like a couple of centimetres,” Jurco said. “He put his stick on my stick, it was a hard rebound but still I should have scored.”

Slovakia is now 1-2 at the world juniors and play their final preliminary round game today against Finland.

THE BIG ONE
Coming off a 6-3 win against the Czech Republic, the 3-0 Swedes will face their toughest test of the tournament today when they face the Canadians at HSBC Arena.

Game time is 5:00 pm AST with the TSN pre-game show beginning at 4:30 pm. For those travelling to Harbour Station for today’s Rivalry Cup game, the match is supposed to be on News 88.9 beginning at 4:30.

Canada, also 3-0, is coming off a 10-1 blowout victory over Norway Wednesday night. The day off yesterday was probably the best thing for the beat up Canadians. Cody Eakin and Calvin de Haan are expected to return from injuries tonight. Meanwhile, Zack Kassian will be suspended and Jaden Schwartz is out for the remainder of the tournament with an ankle injury.

Brayden Schenn enters tonight’s game on a hot streak after scoring four goals against the Norwegians. He leads the Canadians in points with six goals and 12-points. Four players for Sweden are tied with a team high four points.

Acadie-Bathurst Titan goaltender Olivier Roy is expected to start in net for Canada.

OTHER GAMES
Other games at the world juniors today include the Czech Republic taking on Russia and the United States facing Switzerland.

PRE-GAME: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Acadie-Bathurst Titan

By Station Nation Staff

GAME DAY
WHO: Saint John Sea Dogs vs Acadie-Bathurst Titan
WHEN: Tonight, 7:30 pm
WHERE: KC Irving Regional Centre

VISITING TEAM: Saint John Sea Dogs
Record: 29-4-0-2 (1st in Atlantic Division)
Last Game: 2-1 win at Cape Breton on December 18
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (35GP-24G-30A-54Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs enter action tonight with a record of 29-4-0-2 which is good for first in the Maritimes Division and a tie for second overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They are a single point back of the league leading Quebec Remparts but have played four fewer games than Patrick Roy’s club… in the latest BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, the Sea Dogs were placed as the No. 1 team in the Canadian Hockey League… the Sea Dogs have not played since December 18 when Stephen MacAulay scored with less than a second remaining in regulation to give Saint John a 2-1 victory over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles at Centre 200. Jacob DeSerres made 22 stops in the road win. Saint John was supposed to travel to Charlottetown on Tuesday to face the Rocket but couldn’t because of bad weather… Saint John has won three straight games going into tonight’s match and are 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 games. Their last loss came December 10 in Lewiston against the MAINEiacs… the Dogs continue to lead the QMJHL in goals scored this season with 168 in 35 games. They are averaging 4.8 goals per game… Saint John has also allowed the fewest goals against this year with 90 for an average of 2.6 goals against per game… 12-4-0-1 on the road and have outscored their opposition 74-52 along the way… Saint John has the sixth best power play in the league with a rating of 23.7%… the team's penalty kill is operating at 82.1%, good for fourth overall in the QMJHL. On the road however, their penalty kill slips to 78.6%... Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Dogs in points with 54 in 35 games this season. He also leads the team in assists with 30, is second in goals with 24, has a team high +34 rating, and is second only to the newly acquired Alexandre Beauregard in penalty minutes with 45… Zach Phillips leads the club in goals with 25 and sits just three points back of Huberdeau for the team lead in points… if the goaltending rotation carries over into the second half of the season, Frederic Piche should be getting the call in net. He has a record of 13-2-0-2, a goals against average of 2.45, and a save percentage of 0.915. He has not played since December 17 in Cape Breton, a 6-2 Saint John win… Phillips is second in the league with 11 power play goals… Phillips is tied for the league lead in first goals with seven… Stanislav Galiev, Tomas Jurco, and Huberdeau are tied for second in the league in insurance goals… Beauregard’s 80 penalty minutes place him fifth in the league in time spent in the box.

HOME TEAM: Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Record: 23-14-0-0 (2nd in Maritimes Division)
Last Game: 5-4 loss at Halifax on December 18
Leading Scorer: Gabriel Levesque (37GP-16G-35A-51Pts)
Notes: The Acadie-Bathurst Titan enter play this evening with a record of 23-14-0-0 which places them second in the Maritimes Division and seventh overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Titan are currently 14-points back of the division leading Sea Dogs and have played two more games… like the Sea Dogs, the Titan have not played since December 18. Their last game was a 5-4 loss at the Halifax Metro Centre to the cellar dwelling Mooseheads. Vincent Arseneau, Gabriel Levesque with two, and David Gilbert all scored for Bathurst in the loss. Derek Tait allowed two goals on 15 shots while Robert Steeves allowed three of 12 shots. The offensively challenged Mooseheads outshot the Titan 27-25 in the match. Like Saint John, the Titan were scheduled to play on Tuesday but the match was postponed due to poor weather conditions… Bathurst’s power play is ranked eighth in the league with a rating of 22.5%. At home, their power play is operating at 21.3%... the Titan’s penalty kill has been solid this year and has been working at 83%, good for second in the league and only behind the Drummondville Voltigeurs. At home, their penalty kill slips all the way to 78.3%... At the KC Irving Regional Centre this season, the Titan are 12-6-0-0 and have outscored their opposition 68-55… 6-4-0-0 in their last 10-games and are coming off a loss… Gabriel Levesque leads the Titan in scoring with 51 points in 37 games this year. He also leads the team in assists by a large margin with 35… Sebastien Trudeau is the team’s goal scoring leader. He has 17 markers in 37 contests. Levesque and Jonathan Lessard are second on the team in goals with 16 each… Vincent Arseneau has been very involved in the past few Saint John – Bathurst meetings. He leads the club in penalty minutes with 94… Lessard is tied for second in the league in game winning goals with six… no Titan player is in the top-20 of the plus/minus category… Zach O’Brien is fifth in rookie scoring with 27 points… with No. 1 netminder Olivier Roy away with Team Canada at the world juniors, Robert Steeves and Derek Tait are sharing the goaltending duties. Steeves has a record of 7-2-0-0, a goals against average of 1.75, and a save percentage of 0.939. Tait has a record of 4-3-0-0, a GAA of 3.10, and a SV% of 0.894. Steeves has played more minutes than Tait.

AWAY AT THE WORLDS
Three players will be missing from this game due to duties at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo. Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres and the Titan’s No. 1 netminder, Olivier Roy, are currently teammates on Team Canada. Saint John forward Tomas Jurco is also away representing Slovakia.

Also missing from the Titan is forward Brent Turnbull who is playing for Team Atlantic at the World Under-17 Hockey Championships in Manitoba. Sea Dogs’ Hockey Administration Coordinator Greg Leland is the coach of Team Atlantic and Titan equipment manager Nathan Beliveau is also working for the team.

Titan defenseman Jeremie Fraser is also playing at the event with Team Quebec.

BEAUREGARD DEBUT
The newly acquired Alexandre Beauregard will likely make his debut for Saint John tonight in Bathurst. The Sea Dogs acquired the gritty forward from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies last week in exchange for a first round draft pick in 2011.

With the last place Huskies this season, Beauregard has four goals and six assists in 35 games to go along with 80 penalty minutes.

It will be interesting to see if Beauregard simply replaces Tomas Jurco or if the lines will be juggled a bit.

NEW FACES
The Titan have been a bit busy during the holiday trading period. From yesterday’s Telegraph-Journal:

So far, Couturier has added forward Marc-Olivier Mimar in a deal with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in exchange for forward Danny Chiasson and a pair of draft picks (a second-round pick in 2011 and a fourth-round selection in 2012); sent forward Bryce Milson of Miramichi to Lewiston in exchange for a second-round pick in 2012; and acquired forward Yoan Pinette from Gatineau in exchange for a second-round pick in 2011.

SPECIAL GUEST
A very special guest will appear at tonight’s game at the KC Irving Regional Centre. From the Titan’s website:

The Titan organization will welcome Janick Arseneau during our December 30th game. She was a top 4 finalist on the show '' SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA''. Janick was a great ambassador for N.B and especially for the Chaleur region. We will be giving away a picture of Janick to the first 2000 fans coming to the game, there will also be an authograph session.

ARENA INFO
Venue: KC Irving Regional Centre
Seating Capacity: 3,542
Average Attendance: 1,578 (18th)
Year Built: 1996
QMJHL Arena Guide

MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Live Blog: Station Nation
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Telegraph-Journal

TWITTER
Follow Station Nation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/station_nation for in-game updates, scores, stats, and live coverage during tonight’s game.

AFTER THE BUZZER
Game Three of the 2010-11 Brunswick News Rivalry Cup goes tomorrow at Harbour Station as the Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats do battle. A limited number of standing room tickets remain for this 7:30 pm match.

WJC TODAY - 12-30-10

CANADA WRECKS NORWAY
Finally, Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres picked up his first point at the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championship. Despres assisted on Sean Couturier’s third period tally in Canada’s 10-1 rout over Norway last night at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo.

The Sea Dogs defenseman was the last player on Canada’s roster to earn a point at the world juniors.

With three injured players and one suspended for Canada, several persons would have to step up. Luckily, their opponent hardly gave Canada a test and now have a day off to recover for the final game of the preliminary round against Sweden Friday.

Despres saw a bit of ice time in just about every situation. He almost had two assists as he sent a bullet pass to Brett Connolly in the second period that sprung the Prince George Cougar on a breakaway but was stopped by the Norwegian netminder.

Canada held a 6-1 advantage after 20-minutes but were somehow outshot by Norway, 16-15. Things slowed down in the middle frame as Canada scored just one. But in the third, the Canadians scored three to take the game by score of 10-1.

Los Angeles Kings prospect Brayden Schenn was in beast mode all night, scoring four goals and tying a Canadian world junior record for goals in a game. Surprisingly, Erik Gudbranson was named the player of the game for Canada, forcing the arena into a universal state of shock. Pierre McGuire was close to crying on air.

Along with Schenn’s four goals, Gubranson had a pair while singles came from Casey Cizikas, Louis Leblanc, Marcus Foligno, and Couturier. Goaltender Mark Visentin made 31 saves in the game.

DANGLE RECAP



UP NEXT
Canada plays their final game of the preliminary round Friday at 5:00 pm AST against the powerful Swedes in what should be an excellent test for both clubs. TSN’s coverage begins at 4:30 pm.

The Canadian juniors will be without Zack Kassian who was suspended an additional game by the International Ice Hockey Federation following his illegal hit Wednesday against the Czech Republic. Players who were injured yesterday include Cody Eakin, Jaden Schwartz, and Calvin de Haan.

Unless the Czechs pull off an unlikely win over the Swedes tonight, tomorrow’s game will likely see two 3-0 teams do battle with the winner taking Group A.

Acadie-Bathurst Titan goaltender Olivier Roy is expected to start his third game of the tournament tomorrow.

THE SLOVAKS
Tomas Jurco and the 1-1 Slovaks face Switzerland this afternoon at 4:00 pm AST at HSBC Arena. Tomorrow, Team Slovakia will play Finland.

The squad is coming off a 6-1 loss to the Americans where Jurco scored the lone Slovakian goal.

WJC TODAY - 12-29-10

CANADA WINS 
A blowout win for the Canadians turned into an eventful game for Quebec Major Junior Hockey Leaguers. In the end, Team Canada won the World Junior Hockey Championship match against Team Czech Republic by score or 7-2 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo yesterday.

For the second straight game, Canada failed to score the opening goal. Antonin Honejsek opened the scoring just 49 seconds into the game, forcing fans across the twitterverse to send hate messages towards Acadie-Bathurst Titan goaltender Olivier Roy.

At 14:17, Halifax Mooseheads rookie import forward Martin Frk hauled down Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres in the neutral zone, giving Canada a power play chance. Brayden Schenn would score on the man advantage opportunity to tie the match at 1-1.

Then on another power play at 16:40, Jaden Schwartz scored to give the Canadians their first lead of the game going into the second period.

In the middle frame at 5:53, Windsor Spitfire Zack Kassian leveled Czech defenseman Petr Senkerik in open ice. Kassian was tossed from the game and given a five minute major while Senkerik was carted off the ice on a stretcher.




On the power play for the Czechs, Roy made an unreal pad stop in the crease area. Play then went up ice with Montreal Juniors forward Louis Leblnac avenging the penalty with a shorthanded marker to make it 3-1 Canada. With the penalty over, Ryan Ellis and Cody Eakin scored later in the period to make it 5-1 Canada after 40 minutes.

Frk lost his mind at 5:49 of the third, spearing Despres’ defense partner Erik Gudbranson in an area that should never be speared. Frk was tossed was given a game misconduct and five-minute major.

“I’ll give you two guesses,” said Gudbranson to the Montreal Gazette when asked where Frk speared him. “And the first one doesn’t count.”

At 9:36, Tyson Barrie scored on a two-man advantage to give Canada a 6-1 lead before Jared Cowen scored 23 seconds later to give the favourites a six-goal advantage. The Czechs would score one more at 15:26 to make it a 7-2 final.

Roy made 17 saves in the win for the Canadians while Filip Novotny allowed seven goals on 39 shots.

It was a good game for Despres, helping to draw the Frk penalty that resulted in a Canadian goal. He finished the match with two shots and a +1 rating.

JURCO SCORES IN LOSS TO AMERICANS
In a 6-1 loss to the United States last night at HSBC Arena, Team Slovakia’s only goal came off the stick of Saint John Sea Dogs forward Tomas Jurco in the second period.

From the Buffalo News live blog of the game:

The Slovaks get a rise from the crowd and allow the Canadians to start mocking U.S. goalie Jack Campbell as Tomas Jurco scores with 7:34 left to make it 4-1.

Playing on the third line, Jurco had a goal, four shots, and a +1 rating. A friend of SN who was in attendance said the Slovak wasn’t getting great amounts of ice time.

Here are the highlights. Jurco’s goal comes at 3:12:



Jurco also turned 18-years old yesterday.

JURCO INTERVIEW
After Slovakia’s 2-1 overtime win against Germany, Tomas Jurco was interviewed by the New England Hockey Journal.

“It was a pretty hard game and we’re really happy we stayed focused till the end,” he said about the win. “Our goalie was awesome; he had a few great saves and we really appreciate it. He’s a really good guy and goalie so it’s even better for us.”

He was also asked about Saint John’s season.

“I think things are really good; we’re on a winning streak,” he said. “I hope we are going to continue out there and I hope we’re going to win the league and get to the (Memorial) Cup.”

LOCAL NEWS VIDEO OF THE DAY
Our local news video of the day today is about the rising cost of parking at the world juniors.



TODAY
Tonight, Canada takes on what should be their easiest opponent of the tournament in the Norwegians. Game time is 8:30 pm AST with the TSN pre-game show beginning at 8:00 pm.

Canada’s power play has been sensational in the tournament, scoring on seven of 11 opportunities. Meanwhile, Norway’s penalty kill has yet to allow a goal in seven chances.

Mark Visentin is expected to get his first start of the tournament tonight, replacing Olivier Roy in net. Zack Kassian is suspended for tonight’s game after receiving a five minute major and game misconduct yesterday. Calvin de Haan is questionable with a lower body injury while Jaden Schwartz was seen limping off the bench yesterday.

In other action today, Finland faces Germany.

WJC TODAY - 12-28-10

SLOVAKS WIN OPENER
Tomas Jurco and Team Slovakia opened up the World Junior Hockey Championships in dramatic fashion with a 2-1 overtime win against the Germans last night.

Moncton Wildcats forward Marek Hrivik scored at 3:39 of the extra session on the power play to give Slovakia a win in their first contest of the tournament. After falling to Switzerland on Monday, Germany is now 0-2.

Richard Panik opened the scoring eight seconds into the second period to give Slovakia a 1-0 lead. Germany would tie the affair at 16:46 thanks to a Norman Hauner goal, a marker that would eventually force overtime.

Slovakian goaltender Dominik Riecicky was solid, making 47 saves in net to earn the victory. German netminder Philipp Grubauer picked up the loss after stopping 37 shots.

Jurco had a quiet game for Slovakia. He recorded two shots on goal, no points, no penalty minutes, and a zero rating. The game was not available on television or webcast, but eye witnesses of the match tweeted that he didn’t do a whole lot.

“Haven't noticed much from SJ Sea Dogs' Tomas Jurco, except for when he lost 3 1-on-1 battles in a row on one shift in first,” wrote Yahoo! Sports’ Neate Sager in the first period.

“Had nice postgame interview w/ Jurco- didn't see much time tonight but played well from what I saw,” tweeted Kirk Luedeke of the New England Hockey Journal and Bruins Draft Watch.

QUICK HITS
The Buffalo News’ live blog replay of the Slovakia – Germany game. [Buffalo News]

The Down Goes Brown guide to the world juniors. [National Post]

Looking to get some tickets for the 2012 world juniors in Calgary/Edmonton? Good luck with that. [Toronto Star]

Emerson Etem, a member of the USA squad, isn't a fan of the city of Buffalo. [SB Nation]

Don’t even think about having a beard on Team Canada. [National Post]

Solid preview for today's Canada game. [Rogers Sportsnet]

THE SHIFT
On the penalty kill in Monday’s game against Russia, Casey Cizikas became a Canadian hero for a few moments.

TODAY
Team Canada hits the ice again today for the second time in the 2011 edition of the world juniors. Canada is coming off a hard fought 6-3 victory over the Russians while the Czech Republic is coming off a 2-0 win over Norway.

Puck drop is 5pm AST at HSBC Arena. TSN’s coverage begins at 4:30pm with the pre-game show.

Acadie-Bathurst Titan goaltender Olivier Roy was average in Canada’s opening match. He is expected to start in goal tonight and will look to improve on his play.

Canada is led offensively by Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn who each have two points. Antonin Honejsek leads the way for the Czechs with two points.

The Czechs feature a few players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, including Halifax Mooseheads rookie forward Martin Frk.

At 9pm tonight, Tomas Jurco and the Slovaks face a big test at HSBC Arena when they take on Team USA. The Americans are coming off a 3-2 overtime victory against Finland on Monday.

Other matches today include Switzerland taking on Finland and Russia facing Sweden.

WJC TODAY - 12-27-10

CANADA BEATS RUSSIA

Team Canada opened up the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships yesterday afternoon at Buffalo’s HSBC Arena. It was a shaky start by the Canadians, but it proved to be nothing more than a bit of adversity as they went on to defeat Russia 6-3.

Subway Super Series monster Maxim Kitsyn opened up the scoring at 3:57 when he tipped a point shot past Olivier Roy to give the Russians an early lead. Marcus Foligno would jam home a rebound at 17:55 to square the game up at 1-1 going into the first intermission.

In the second, Canada got their first lead at 10:35 when captain Ryan Ellis beat London Knights goaltender Igor Bobkov to make it a 2-1 affair. But the Russians kept coming as Nikita Dvurechensky beat Roy through the five-hole to tie the match once again.

Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres’ defense partner, Erik Gudbranson, gave Canada their lead back at 15:15 only to have it erased once again just under two-minutes later by Daniil Sobchenko.

In the third period, Canada would start to take the game over. Goals by Ryan Johansen, Brayden Schenn, and Curtis Hamilton iced the game for the Canucks who improved to 1-0 in tournament play.

Acadie-Bathurst Titan goaltender Olivier Roy made 24 saves for the win. He appeared nervous to start the match but improved as the game moved forward.

Despres was held pointless in the tilt but did play a role in Gudbranson’s second period marker. He finished the game with one shot on goal and a +1 rating.

HIGHLIGHTS



DANGLE RECAP



OPEN ICE HOCKEY RECAP

UP NEXT
Canada has a day off today to prepare for tomorrow’s game against the Czech Republic.

“Team Canada head coach Dave Cameron kept his lines together for today's practice,” tweeted National Post reporter Sean Fitzgerald. “Players have the afternoon for ‘rest and family time.’”

Olivier Roy is expected to start in goal once again.

“It sounds like Mark Visentin will start for Canada in Wednesday's game against Norway, but that Roy is Coach Cameron's No. 1,” tweeted Globe and Mail scribe James Mirtle.

TODAY
Tomas Jurco and Team Slovakia open up the world junior tournament tonight at 8pm AST at HSBC Arena against Team Germany. The Germans are coming off a close 4-3 loss to the Swiss yesterday afternoon.

From the game preview on the Buffalo World Juniors website:

Slovakia starts this year’s tournament with a strong defensive unit that includes: Martin Marincin and Adam Janosik. Stefan Mikes will coach Slovakia for the fourth straight year.

Last year proved to be a tough tournament for Slovakia as they dropped three out of their four preliminary games, eliminating them from the tournament playoffs. The last time Slovakia won a medal was in 1999 when they defeated Team Sweden to earn a Bronze medal.

ON JURCO
Sea Dogs forward Tomas Jurco is drawing some attention by playing in this tournament. Although Hockey’s Future believes the Sea Dogs play in Newfoundland, they had a preview of the Slovaks featuring Jurco.

17-year-old Tomas Jurco of the St. John's Sea Dogs is the youngest player on the team and should attract the attention of scouts. Jurco performed well in the 2010 QMJHL playoffs and has been a point-a-game game player so far in the 2010-11 season.

Future Considerations also lists Jurco as a draft eligible player to watch during the tournament.

LOCAL NEWS VIDEO OF THE DAY

WJC TODAY - 12-26-10

It’s show time for Team Canada.

The 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships’ silver medalists open up the 2011 edition of the annual holiday tournament today against Russia beginning at 4:30pm AST on TSN.

In pre-tournament play, Canada went 3-0 via victories over Switzerland, Sweden, and Finland.

This will be the first time these two rivals face each other at the world juniors since Jordan Eberle went into animal mode back in the 2009 semi-final.



This will be the second time a Saint John Sea Dogs player suits up for the Canadians in the teams six-year franchise history. Defenseman Simon Despres joins Chris DiDomenico - who helped capture Canada’s last gold in 2009 - in the elite club.

In exhibition play, Despres was paired mostly with Florida Panthers prospect Erik Gudbranson. Buzzing The Net has a rundown on their play:

The third pairing of Simon Després and Erik Gudbranson let a little to be desired in the last two exhibitions vs. Sweden and Finland. Their abilities are self-evident; The Big Horse nearly got some NHL time this fall with the Pittsburgh Penguins, while Erik The Very Gud made the Florida Panthers (save for a contract contretemps). Keep an eye on how they come along over the tourney.

NO GALIEV
For Russia, there will be no Sea Dogs in their lineup.

Forward Stanislav Galiev, who attended the tail end of the Russian training camp in Jamestown, New York earlier this past week, did not make the team’s final roster.

The Washington Capitals prospect will surely be disappointed as he said numerous times that one of his goals was to make the Russian junior team this season. He played for his home country in Game One of the 2010 Subway Super Series at Harbour Station.

In 31 games this season with Saint John, Galiev has 16 goals and 15 assists.

THE SLOVAKS
Tomas Jurco and Team Slovakia open up the world juniors tomorrow night at HSBC Arena at 8:00pm AST in a game that will NOT be on TSN.

If you find any interesting links around the interweb about the Slovaks or any Sea Dogs related WJC happenings, feel free to email us them.

HAPPY FESTIVUS!

WJC TODAY - 12-24-10

CANADA BEATS FINLAND
It wasn’t their greatest game of the pre-tournament, but Canada managed to get by Finland 5-2 last night at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.

Canada fell behind for the first time in the opening frame when Henri Tuominen scored at 11:44 on a shot that Canadian goaltender Mark Visentin had no chance at stopping.

In the second period, captain Ryan Ellis tied the match 28 seconds in before Ryan Johansen gave Canada a 2-1 advantage at 12:07. The two teams would go into the final stanza tied at 2-2 however as Erik Haula snipped a shot past the blocker of Visentin.

In the third, the home team began to pour it on, outshooting Finland 13-7. Sean Couturier, Quinton Howden, and Johansen all scored in the final 20-minutes to earn a 5-2 victory and improve to 3-0 in exhibition play.

“If our third period was our first, I’d like that better,” Canada’s coach Dave Cameron said to QMI Agency, “but we showed what we needed to do (in a tight game).”

Visenten played well in goal, stopping 18 shots in his second start of pre-tournament play. It isn’t known if Visenten or Olivier Roy will get the start Sunday when Canada opens the World Junior Hockey Championships against Russia.

HOTEL TIME
The city of Buffalo will be selling a few hotel rooms over the next couple of weeks.



THE OTHER GAME
There was another pre-tournament game that had interest to Sea Dogs fans as Tomas Jurco’s Slovaks took on Stanislav Galiev’s Russians yesterday in Jamestown, New York.

Russia won the game 6-2 thanks to a Maxim Kitsyn hat trick. Kitsyn played in the Subway Super Series that was staged at Harbour Station in November.

"Its all about my teammates," Kitsyn said to the Dunkirk Observer. "I was just in the right place at the right time.

Neither Jurco nor Galiev were mentioned in the Observer’s recap, and the Russian Hockey Federation’s website shows neither getting in on the scoring.

DOUBLE DION
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf on the world juniors:

SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

SAUVE SENT TO MOOSE
As we posted the other day, former Sea Dogs defenseman Yann Sauve was assigned to the Manitoba Moose last Thursday. The 20-year had been playing with the East Coast Hockey League’s Victoria Salmon Kings where he had two assists in seven games.

Sauve’s stint in the ECHL was believed to be for conditioning after finally recovering from a concussion he suffered in September. Now, the Vancouver Canucks must decide where to put Sauve for the rest of the season.

A second round pick of the Canucks in 2008, there have been rumblings of him possibly returning for a final year of junior in Saint John.

OKE NAMED TOP STUDENT
Sea Dogs forward Scott Oke was named the teams Student of the Month for November last week. Oke was presented with the honour at Harbour Station earier this month.

Oke is currently a 12th grade student at St. Malachy’s High School.

ISS FEATURES
Tomas Jurco was the lone Sea Dog to make International Scouting Service's list of top 30 prospects for the upcoming National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Jurco was placed in the No. 22 spot and joined Drummondville’s Sean Couturier, ranked first overall, as the only Quebec leaguers to make the list.

Four Sea Dogs – Jonathan Huberdeau, Zach Phillips, Guillaume Cloutier, and Scott Oke – were listed as “risers.” All four have a paragraph written about them on the Hockey’s Future website.

“Showed us a little more every viewing; played well with Kelly and Tesink,” says the scouting service about Scott Oke. “Showed better vision and passing ability then seen in early viewings; made a few smart 5 foot passes and a few good 30 foot passes, finding seams. Doesn't always see his options, but is showing more patience with puck. Worked hard and made the most of limited ice time...played 4th line with no PP or PK.”

JURCO ON TPS
Last week, Sea Dogs forward Tomas Jurco went on The Pipeline Show radio program. To download the interview, click HERE.

TELUS DISCOUNT
Telus has released their mid-season webcast pricing. You can now buy all webcasts – live and archived – for the remainder of the regular season and all of the playoffs for $129.95.

NEW YEARS EVE
The annual Wildcats – Sea Dogs New Years Eve Game is always a great show, but this year there will be some added events for the Rivalry Cup match.

From a City of Saint John release:

The fun begins at 7:30 p.m. at Harbour Station with a Salute to Saint John Sports Heroes. This special historic event will honour some of Saint John’s outstanding sports personalities as part of the pre-game festivities before the Sea Dogs take on provincial rivals, the Moncton Wildcats. It is a presentation of City Stories, Saint John 225’s online social history project.

The Salute to Saint John Sports Heroes will honour Olympian Monica Hitchcock, international basketball official Fred Horgan and the legendary 1972/73 Mooseheads hockey team, winners of the Hardy Cup. Joining them at centre ice will be the St. Mary’s Band, one of Canada’s longest existing community bands (created in 1903) and tenor Owen McCausland, who will perform the national anthem.

Members of the Sea Dogs will also be participating in the New Years Eve celebrations on the boardwalk following the game.

McGUIRE CHRISTMAS WISHES
Telegraph-Journal columnist Peter McGuire released his annual Christmas gifts to the Sea Dogs column on Tuesday. Always a good read.

KREIDER TO PLAY FOR USA
A Sea Dogs draft pick will once again play for the Americans at the World Junior Hockey Championships. Drafted by Saint John in the 10th round of the 2008 QMJHL Entry Draft, Chris Kreider was named to Team USA yesterday.

"I was just playing and trying to enjoy it," Kreider told NHL.com yesterday about last year’s tournament where he and the Americans captured gold.. "It kind of just passes you by, but I guess that's the nature of the beast."

Currently playing with Boston College where he has five goals and six assists in 16 games, Kreider has never reported to Saint John.

NO BEAULIEU IN GUELPH
Former Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu will not be moving to the Guelph Storm organization as a head coach. The London Free Press recently suggested that he may be a candidate for the vacant position.

The Storm announced today that Scott Walker, 37, who joined the team on a volunteer basis in late October and will now serve as the team’s head coach.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FROM FREDDY BEACH
Daily Gleaner columnist David Ritchie gave some Christmas wishes for a couple of Fredericton-area Sea Dogs players earlier this week:

For Saint John Sea Dogs' Zack Phillips and Mike Thomas, both of Fredericton: For the Sea Dogs to win a Quebec Major Junior championship, and enhance the city's chances of hosting the Memorial Cup tournament. A credible host program is part and parcel of any potential winning bid, and with the Sea Dogs success over the past season and a half, they've already earned respect at the national level, due in great measure to the play of the second-year Phillips and captain Thomas.

ANOTHER LOOK AT SLOVAKIA
Patrick King of Rogers Sportsnet had another look at Team Slovakia’s entry for the world juniors.

Slovakia will ice a roster that is somewhat familiar to junior hockey fans. Guelph Storm forward Richard Panik, who was a member of that 2009 team, will be back for his third tournament while seven more from the CHL will join him. The most notables are defenceman Martin Marincin, an Edmonton Oilers draft pick that played in last year's tournament, and potential first round pick, forward Tomas Jurco.

The country finished fourth last year in Saskatoon.

NO RELATION
Abitibi Express reports that the Sea Dogs’ trade yesterday to acquire Alexandre Beauregard has no relation to the Steven Delisle trade that took place earlier this season.

The Sea Dogs acquired the NHL drafted Delisle for a 12th round pick earlier this year but he remains in the pro ranks. Beauregard was traded to Saint John yesterday for a first round pick.

Apparently, Montreal, Saint John, Victoriaville, and Drummondville were all interested in his services. Stephane Leroux of RDS tweeted yesterday that the Juniors were very close to landing him but would not give up a first round pick.

DELISLE UPDATE
Speaking of Steven Delisle, Justin A. Cohn of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette had an update on the defenseman on December 13.

Defenseman Steve Delisle did have surgery on his shoulder and is presumed out for the season, unless he has an extremely fortuitous recovery.

“Defenseman Steven Delisle also has been moved from 10-day to the 30-day injured reserve list after undergoing potentially season-ending shoulder surgery,” reports News-Sentinel.com.

The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect has appeared in just six games this season with the Central Hockey League’s Fort Wayne Koments.

DESPRES ON WORLD JUNIORS
It’s been rare to see Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres quoted anywhere during the world juniors. On Monday, Despres gave TSN, via BuffaloNews.com, his thoughts on Canada being considered on underdog in the tournament.

"They don't know what's waiting for them," Despres said. "I think, we're going to come out strong in the tournament. We'll put on a good, competitive show."

Canada plays their final pre-tournament game tonight in Kitchener against Finland at 8:30pm AST on TSN2.

Photo Credits: Vancouver Canucks, Telus, AP, Columbus Blue Jackets

WJC TODAY - 12-23-10

GAME DAY
Team Canada will play their final pre-tournament game prior to the start of the World Junior Hockey Championships tonight in Kitchener, Ont. against Finland.

The game can be seen live on TSN2 at 8:30pm AST.

The Canadians are 2-0 so far in exhibition play, outscoring their opponents 12-1.

The world juniors begin on Boxing Day with Canada taking on Russia.

LAST GAME
Canada had a tougher test on Tuesday night when they faced Sweden at the Air Canada Centre than they had Monday versus Switzerland.

The Canadians would go on to defeat the Swedes 4-1, and although the team wasn’t expected to dominate as they did in Monday’s 8-0 blowout win over the Swiss, they got off to a slow start and had their troubles.

"I don't think anybody thought we were going to win every game 8-0," head coach Dave Cameron said to the Canadian Press. "There's a lot of good hockey teams here and Sweden is one of them, it's a real challenge to beat them and they pushed us and we found a way.

"It was a real good test. That's how you get better."

Despite being outshot 15-5 in the opening frame, Canada held a 1-0 lead thanks to a beautiful display of stick work by Brayden Schenn.

Zack Kassian would score in the second to give Canada a 2-0 lead. In the third, Sweden got on the board when a Max Friberg shot from the wing appeared to deflect off Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres’ stick and over Canada goaltender Olivier Roy to make it a one-goal game.

But Canada would get two later in the stanza thanks to Ryan Johansen and Cody Eakin to get a 4-1 victory.

Roy, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan No. 1 goaltender, made 29 saves in the win.

SLOVAKIA VS RUSSIA
Tomas Jurco and Team Slovakia will face Stanislav Galiev and Team Russia today in world junior pre-tournament action. According to the Jamestown Post-Journal, the game will take place at 5:00 pm AST at the Savings Bank Ice Arena.

A Sea Dogs release from earlier this week said this game will be used as a tryout for Galiev in an effort to stick with the Russians for the remainder of the tournament.

WJC TODAY - 12-21-10

SWISS CHEESE
Simon Despres (left) and Team Canada cruised to an 8-0 win over Switzerland last night in World Junior Hockey Championship pre-tournament action in Oshawa, Ont.

Drummondville Voltigeurs forward and Bathurst native Sean Couturier was a star for Canada, recording a goal and assisting on three others.

Canada jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the game was five minutes old. Marcus Foligno, Jaden Schwartz, and Casey Cizikas each recorded markers as the team took a three goal advantage into the first intermission.

Tyson Barrie, Louis Leblanc, Couturier, and Calvin de Haan each scored in the middle frame while Carter Ashton closed out the goal getting with a third period marker, giving the home side an 8-0 blowout victory over the Swiss.

Canadian goaltender Mark Visenten stopped all 20-shots he faced to pick up the win.

Despres played well in the match, keeping things simple and not making any obvious mistakes on the backend.

“It was a good start. We scored some goals, hopefully we can (stay together) and keep it up into the tournament,” said Foligno to QMI Agency about his linemates Couturier and Zach Kassian. “There was one point where it was us — and we’re all at least six-foot-three — and Erik Gudbranson and Simon Depres on defence. I felt a little bit sorry for the guys we were out there with.”

Box Score | Canadian Press | Toronto Star | QMI Agency | Highlights

UP NEXT
Tonight, Canada will face a tougher test at the Air Canada Centre when they take on Sweden. Game time is 8:30 pm AST. The game can be viewed on TSN.

Acadie-Bathurst Titan goaltender Olivier Roy is expected to start in goal.

This will be Canada’s second of three exhibition matches prior to the tournament kicking off on Boxing Day in Buffalo. Canada faces Finland in their final pre-tournament game on Thursday at the Kitchener Auditorium.

SLOVAKIA PREVIEW
Puck World had a preview of how Team Slovakia may stack up at the world juniors.

There are only three NHL draft picks on this roster (Panik, Marincin, Janosik), with two potential 2011 draft picks in Ceresnak and Tomas Jurco.

The blog predicts the country to finish third in Group A and sixth overall.

WJC TODAY - 12-20-10

Team Canada will face their first test tonight when they take on Switzerland in world junior pre-tournament action.

TSN2 has the game live beginning at 8:00 pm AST from the Generals Motor Centre in Oshawa, Ont.

Tonight’s match will be the first of three exhibition games for Canada prior to the start of the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships which begins on Boxing Day in Buffalo.

From TSN.ca:

While Monday night's game will merely be a warmup for the challenge that awaits them in Buffalo, Team Canada will be using their exhibition contests to build chemistry and establish their lines and defensive pairings.

Head coach Dave Cameron must also decide who will start in net for the Canadians when the tournament begins on Boxing Day. Acadie-Bathurst's Olivier Roy and Niagara Ice Dogs' Mark Visentin are vying for the honour of representing their country between the pipes.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie provides the lineup for Canada tonight via Twitter:

Schwartz-Schenn-Leblanc
Kassian-Couturier-Foligno
Eakin-Johansen-Connolly
Howden-Cizikas-Ashton-Hamilton

Olsen-Ellis
Cowen-de Haan
Depres-Gudbranson
Barrie

Visentin (starting)
Roy

Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres finds himself paired with Erik Gudbranson, a 2010 first round pick of the Florida Panthers who currently plays with the Kingston Frontenacs.

According to the Hockey Canada website, Despres will be wearing No. 3.

For Switzerland, all eyes will be on Portland Winterhawks star Nino Niederreiter, who went fifth overall in the 2010 National Hockey League Entry Draft to the New York Islanders.

Canada will face Sweden tomorrow night in exhibition play at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

GALIEV CLOSER TO MAKING RUSSIAN TEAM

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Stanislav Galiev will have a chance to reach his goal of making the Russian national junior team later this week.

A Sea Dogs release posted on their website states that Galiev will play in a pre-tournament game on December 23 against Slovakia. The game will be used as a mini-tryout.

Galiev learned the news early Sunday morning as the Sea Dogs returned from a pair of wins over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. He is scheduled to fly to Jamestown, N.Y., Monday morning to join the Russian camp in hopes of competing in the main tournament.

The 18-year-old forward, a third-round pick of the Washington Capitals in the 2010 NHL draft, is set to suit up against Slovakia in Russia’s pre-tournament game on Dec. 23.

“I have to play an exhibition game and if I do good I’m going to play (in the tournament). It’s like a tryout for me,” Galiev said. “I’m pretty excited they gave me a chance and I have to use it.”

If Galiev makes the Russian squad, he will join Canadian Simon Despres and Slovakian Tomas Jurco as the Sea Dogs to play in the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships. Galiev’s exhibition game on the 23rd will be against Jurco’s Slovaks while the Russians open up the tournament against Canada on Boxing Day.

“It will be fun to play against each other,” Galiev said.

The Washington Capitals prospect knows all about playing against teammates as he suited up for Russia in Game One of the 2010 Subway Super Series against Sea Dogs Nathan Beaulieu, Zach Phillips, and Jonathan Huberdeau.

In 31 games this season, Galiev is on a point-per-game pace with 16 goals 15 assists. On Friday, the first overall pick in the 2009 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft scored two goals in Saint John’s 6-2 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

The selection process for the Russian team has been a confusing mess. A couple rosters from the Russian media stated that Galiev would join the team either for a training camp or for the tournament. Apparently, those were not accurate as the Sea Dog was given the news today.

On a side not, RussianProspects.com tweeted the following this morning: “Ivan Telegin NOT to play at the WJC due to an injury, Stan Galiev called as substitute.”

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation