Features & Interviews From Around the World
DEB bewirbt sich zusammen mit Frankreich um die WM 2017By Eishockeynews.de 01/30/2012
Zum ersten Mal in der Geschichte bewirbt sich Deutschland zusammen mit einer anderen Nation um die Ausrichtung eines sportlichen Großevents. Unter dem Motto "Tous ensemble pour 2017" (Gemeinsam für 2017) hat der DEB mit Frankreich diese Projektidee für die Ausrichtung der WM 2017 beim Weltverband eingereicht. Das gaben beide Verbände am heutigen Sonntag auf einer Pressekonferenz im Rahmen des französischen Pokalfinales in Paris bekannt gegeben. Demnach würde Deutschland Hauptstandort der WM und Frankreich Co-Host werden.
Beide Verbände hatten sich im vergangenen Jahr fristgerecht um die Ausrichtung der WM beworben. Weitere Bewerber sind Lettland und Dänemark. Die Dänen versuchen bereits zum dritten Mal das Turnier ins eigene Land zu holen. "Nicht nur durch die besondere Geschichte der beiden Länder und die inzwischen entstandene Freundschaft zwischen Deutschland und Frankreich, auch sporthistorisch ist dies ein einzigartiges Projekt", sagte DEB-Präsident Uwe Harnos. Auch in Frankreich ist man sich der Bedeutung der gemeinsamen Bewerbung bewusst, so unterstützen auch der französische Staatspräsident Nicolas Sarkozy und das französische Nationale Olympische Komitee die Bewerbung.
Die Planung sieht vor, dass neben den Vorrunden (je 28 Spiele) die Viertelfinalspiele auf beide Länder aufgeteilt werden und die Halbfinalbegegnungen sowie das Spiel um Bronze und das Finale in Deutschland stattfinden. Somit sollen 34 der insgesamt 64 WM-Spiele (früher 56) in der Bundesrepublik und 30 in Frankreich ausgetragen werden. Als Spielort steht in Frankreich bereits Paris Bercy fest. Die Arena, die schon jetzt den WM-Standards entspricht, wird bis zum Jahr 2015 modernisiert und auf 14.000 Plätze erweitert. In Deutschland kommen Berlin, Köln oder Mannheim in Frage.
"Mit zwei Heim-Mannschaften würden wir ein höchst attraktives Turnier für die Teams und Zuschauer in beiden Ländern sowie für die Eishockey Familie weltweit schaffen", erklärte DEB-Generalsekretär Franz Reindl, der die gemeinsame Bewerbung vorantreiben und auch die WM organisieren soll. "Frankreich alleine könnte niemals eine WM durchführen, aber mit Deutschland als Partner haben wir eine große Chance", sagte Luc Tardif, der Präsident des französischen Verbandes (FFHG).
Das offizielle Bewerbungslogo enthält neben den Flaggen beider Nationen einen stilisierten Torhüter, der die Nummer 80 trägt. "Damit soll des 2009 verstorbenen Nationalspielers Robert Müller gedacht werden, dessen Todestag sich im Mai 2017 zum achten Mal jährt", erläuterte Reindl.
American goaltenders making presence felt By ERIC DUHATSCHEK Globe and Mail 01/28/2012He played college hockey for the University of Massachusetts, and in the dorms, whenever Jonathan Quick and his roommates turned on television, there wasn’t a lot of viewing options.
“But one channel we did get was NESN,” said Quick, the all-star goaltender for the Los Angeles Kings, “and it was right when Tim Thomas just came into the league. So I watched him quite a bit and what sticks out mostly about his game is that it’s a little unorthodox. He doesn’t play similar to many goalies in the league, but one thing he does better than probably anybody is the way he competes to stop the pucks, the way he fights to see pucks and how he finds a way to get in front of them.”
So if there is a little bit of Thomas in Quick’s emerging game, well, he comes by it honestly. The Boston Bruins veteran is the reigning Vézina Trophy winner, the most valuable player of last year’s Stanley Cup final and, politics aside, the starting goaltender in this weekend’s NHL all-star game in Ottawa. Thomas is also at the forefront of a quiet but discernible trend in the United States: the development of high-end goaltenders.
Three of the six goalies chosen to play in the 2012 NHL all-star game are American-born: Thomas (Flint, Mich.), Quick (Milford, Conn.) and Jimmy Howard (Syracuse, N.Y.) of the Detroit Red Wings.
U.S. manufacturing may be having a tough time of it elsewhere, but the U.S. goaltending factory is churning them out almost as fast as the world leaders, Finland.
Consider that this year, Thomas, Quick and Howard are in the top 10 in all four major goaltending categories – goals-against average, wins, save percentage and shutouts, with Howard tops in wins and Quick first in shutouts.
Craig Anderson (Park Ridge, Ill.) of the Ottawa Senators is tied for third in wins; the Cory Schneider (Marblehead, Mass.) of the Vancouver Canucks is sixth in save percentage and a rising star; Ryan Miller (East Lansing, Mich.) of the Buffalo Sabres was the men’s MVP of the 2010 Winter Olympics, won the 2010 Vézina Trophy and is a perennial all-star having an off-season.
There are others who’ve had NHL successes before injuries set them back (Al Montoya and Rick DiPietro, for example); and there are some good ones coming in (Jack Campbell and John Gibson, who were most recently seen with the U.S. world junior team).
Quick’s teammate in Los Angeles, defenceman Jack Johnson, says the crease is one area where his country approaches Canada in terms of overall depth.
“You think of the last Olympics, Thomas and Miller and Quick,” Johnson said. “I thought all three were awesome goalies. A lot of people talk about the depth of the American hockey team when you put together an Olympic team and there’s not the kind of players you have with Team Canada, where you have about 60. But it’s different in goal. I wish I had a good answer as to why, but it’s a nice luxury to have.”
What sets Quick and Thomas apart from most goaltenders is that neither is a true butterfly-style player. Rather, they play a hybrid style, closer to the old-school stand-up approach than to the modern drop-and-drape that secures the bottom of the net but leaves the top corners open. Quick says he plays the way he does because in college, the emphasis was less on technique and more on competing and battling.
“If you look at some of the top goalies now – and I think you have to look at Thomas first – that’s something that he does really well, he competes well and never gives up on a puck,” Quick said. “Then, when I came to this organization, I’ve been working with [former goalies] Billy Ranford and Kim Dillabaugh, and they brought the technical part into my game. It’s something that’s helped me out tremendously.”
Putin Lobbies NHL to Release Players for Sochi 2014 By RIA NOVOSTIRussian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said he was lobbying the NHL to adjust its 2014 match calendar to release Russia's top players for the Sochi Olympics.
Putin, who said he would invite NHL officials to Moscow to discuss the issue, also called for a match marking the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series between the Soviet Union and Canada.
"I have asked the sports minister to consult with our friends and colleagues from Canada," Putin said. "We need to make sure that our players who play in the NHL can come to the 2014 Olympic Games and so that the NHL calendar is adjusted accordingly."
The program to prepare Russian athletes for optimal performance at their home games has in essence already begun, with the country's prestige and reputation as a Winter Games powerhouse on the line, especially in the wake of the country's disastrous showing at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Officials are loathe to leave anything to chance, and securing the participation of Russia's formidable NHL contingent is seen as crucial to the country's success and the competition's popularity.
Putin was speaking at a meeting with Alexander Yakushev, a double Olympic gold-winning hockey veteran who led the scoring for the Soviets in the eight-game series against Canada, which the Canadians won four games to three, with one tie.
Referring to the organization of a possible anniversary match, Putin told Yakushev: "We'll settle on it. We can hold [the match] not for the result but to pay our respects to what you and your friends did for the growth of hockey."
DEB-Auswahl in Freiburg und Ravensburg gegen Russland By hockeyweb.de 01/24/2012Bei der Euro Hockey Challenge handelt es sich um ein Wettbewerbsformat der europäischen Top-12-Nationen Russland, Schweden, Finnland, Tschechien, Schweiz, Slowakei, Deutschland, Weißrussland, Norwegen, Lettland, Dänemark und Österreich. Das Turnier stellt auch in diesem Jahr einen wichtigen Meilenstein in der WM-Vorbereitung dar. Ausgetragen wird die zweite Hälfte im März/April 2012, wobei die deutschen Spiele ausschließlich im April stattfinden. „Die Euro Hockey Challenge bietet einen optimalen Spielmodus für die europäischen Top-12-Nationen. Man kann sich in einem geregelten Wettbewerbsformat mit den großen Eishockey-Nationen messen und den Fans jedes Jahr garantiert hochklassige Spiele bieten“, beschreibt DEB-Generalsekretär Franz Reindl das Format.
Zum Auftakt wartet mit Russland in Freiburg und Ravensburg ein hochkarätiger Gegner auf die deutsche Nationalmannschaft. Das letzte Spiel im Rahmen der Eishockey-Weltmeisterschaft 2011 in Bratislava (Slowakei) konnte das Team mit 2:0 gewinnen und auch die beiden Spiele des „Top Teams Sotschi“, also der Perspektivkaders, im Dezember entschied die junge Auswahl für sich. Es wird also spannend, wenn die Sbornaja in Top-Besetzung am Ostersamstag, 7. April, 14.30 Uhr in Freiburg und Ostersonntag, 8. April, 15.30 Uhr in Ravensburg auf Revanche sinnt. „Die beiden Spiele sind eine erste Standortbestimmung auf dem Weg zur WM im April. Alle Spieler, die in Freiburg und Ravensburg dabei sind, haben die Möglichkeit, Spuren zu hinterlassen und sich für die WM zu empfehlen. Auch Russland wird mit einer spielstarken Mannschaft auflaufen“, erklärt Bundestrainer Jakob Kölliker.
Auch in Freiburg und Ravensburg freut man sich bereits auf die Länderspiele:
Werner Karlin und Dirk Philippi (Vorstand EHC Freiburg): „Wir freuen uns sehr, Gastgeber für das Länderspiel unserer Nationalmannschaft sein zu dürfen, und möchten uns mit diesem hochklassigen Spiel besonders bei unseren treuen Fans und Zuschauern, die uns auch in der Regionalliga so fantastisch unterstützen, bedanken."
Markus Mendek (EV Ravensburg): „Wir sind sehr stolz, dass das DEB-Team mit solch einem attraktiven Gegner wie Russland zu Gast in Ravensburg sein wird. Dieses Länderspiel ist nicht nur ein sportliches Highlight für den Standort Ravensburg, sondern für die gesamte Region Bodensee-Oberschwaben.“
Bislang haben vier Herren-A-Länderspiele in Freiburg sowie fünf in Ravensburg stattgefunden.
Latvia withdraws IHWC 2017 bid By David Tuniz Euro.com 01/24/2012Latvian Ice Hockey Federation has decided to withdraw the bid for hosting the World Ice Hockey Championship in 2017.
'I have the feeling that this championship in Latvia is not needed, and so in June, at the IIHF Annual Congress, I will retire the candidacy of Latvia - declared Latvian Ice Hockey Federation President of Latvia Kirovs Lipmans at BNS agency - I made this decision. Because nobody at the Government of Latvia wants to talk about it, don't invite me to discuss and don't want to hear.'
Lipmans also criticized the state-owned enterprise Latvijas Valsts meži (Latvian State Woods), which generously finances a private basketball club and in general supports Latvian basketball, a sport where Latvia isn't a top nation.
'I don't understand why the government invests in a private club. This club is engaged in business here and can make money by itself while for us funds are constantly reduced. For years hockey spreads the name of Latvia in the world, we participated in three Olympic Games, while basketball , to say, only once. I don't understand why the country in 20 years of independence wasn't been able to build a small, public ice hall without thousands stands, where children could practice and play hockey and figure skating for free. That happens in Sweden and Finland where until 16 years childrens not have to pay for training. Here all costs fall on the shoulders of parents and the Federation'
Iceland is promoted By National Teams of ice hockey 1/12/2012Iceland has been promoted to the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division II Group B, after a 5-1 victory over China to complete a perfect tournament in New Zealand a 4-0 record.
China Finish in second place with a 3-1 record. they were lead by Cheng Zhang 9 points & Canji Zheng 8 points in the tournament
Hosts New Zealand had mixed results in the IIHF Under 20 Div III Worlds finishing in third place with a 2-2 record. On bright side Remy Sandoy
lead the tournament in points with 10, 5 goals and 5 assists.
Bulgaria finish in 4th place wining only one game against Turkey 4-0.
Turkey finish dead last with zero wins and only scoring 1 goal in the tournament. A very poor effort by the Turks after last year tournament where they won 3 games.
Best players selected by Directorate
GK: Shengrong Xia (CHN)
DF: Ingolfur Eliasson (ISL)
FW: Cheng Zhang (CHN)
U20 Ranking 2012
1. Sweden
2..Canada
3. Russia
4. United States
5. Finland
6. Czech Republic
7. Switzerland
8. Slovakia
9. Latvia
10. Germany
11. Denmark
12. Norway
13. Belarus
14. Austria
15. Slovenia
16. Kazakhstan
17. Italy
18 Great Britain
19. France
20. Croatia
21. Japan
22. Poland
23. Ukraine
24. Lithuania
25. Hungary
26. Netherlands
27. Spain
28. South Korea
29. Romania
30. Estonia
31. Belgium
32. Serbia
33. Mexico
34. Australia
35. Iceland
36. China
37. New Zealand
38. Bulgaria
39. Turkey
έο ΔΣ και νέα ελπίδα στην ΕΟΠΑΓ- New members and new hope for HISF By icehockey.gr 1/21/2012Ύστερα από τον αιφνίδιο θάνατο του πρόεδρου της Ελληνικής Ομοσπονδίας Παγοδρομιών (ΕΟΠΑΓ) και τις παραιτήσεις σημαντικών μελών αυτής, επιτακτική ανάγκη αποτέλεσε η εκλογή νέου Διοικητικού Συμβουλίου. Η σύσταση του νέου ΔΣ είναι η εξής:
Πρόεδρος: Γιώργος Μαρκουίζος, Αντιπρόεδροι: Φαίδων Καλοτεράκης και Δημήτρης Καλύβας, Γενικός Γραμματέας: Μιχάλης Συρέλλης, Αναπλ. Γεν. Γραμματέας: Γιώργος Λιανός, Ταμίας: Ηλίας Καρύδης και Αναπλ. Ταμίας: Γιώργος Γκελντής.
Για όλα τα θέματα που αφορούν το άθλημα του χόκεϋ επί πάγου υπεύθυνος ορίστηκε ο Δημήτρης Καλύβας.
Following the sudden death of the president of the Hellenic Ice Sports Federation (HISF) and the resignations of important council members, it was imperative that elections needed to be held. The new members of the Board of Directors are:
President: George Markouizos, Vice Presidents: Phaidon Kaloterakis and Dimitris Kalyvas, General Secretary: Michael Syrellis, Deputy Gen. Secr.: George Lianos, Treasurer: Elias Karidis and Deputy Treasurer: George Gkelntis.
Responsible for all matters of ice hockey in Greece is Dimitris Kalyvas.
Women’s U.S. Ice Hockey Players Alex Carpenter and Haley Skarupa Are on FireBy Rebecca Bardelli yahoo Sports 1/20/2012
Alex Carpenter and Haley Skarupa are both young athletes setting fire to the ice as they play hockey for the U.S. women's team. I will highlight the sports achievements and personal information of both of these young, ambitious girls.
Alex Carpenter
Alex Carpenter was born on April 13, 1994 . She is a center for the women's U.S. hockey team. Carpenter lives in Mass., where she attends Boston College.
It is no wonder that Carpenter became a professional ice hockey player since her entire family grew up skating on the ice. Her father is Bobby Carpenter, a former NHL star of 18-years and a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame . Also living for the ice, is Alex's mother, a figure skater that had enough talent to win her a medal.
Currently, she has 14 goals in 10 games, and before playing for the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team, Alex played on an all boys team.
Watch as Carpenter is interviewed after a game that was lost 3-0.
"Whether it's for my high school team, Boston College or Team USA, I just want to go out there and do my best to help lead my team to victory." - Alex Carpenter
Haley Skarupa
Haley Skarupa is a forward for the women's U.S. hockey team. She is from Rockbille, Md., and her birthday is on Jan. 3, 1994.
From 2008 to 2009, she had a total of 124 points in 71 games. The U.S. won the Czech Republic in the 2011 tournament semifinals 14-1, and Skarupa lead the team by managing to get three goals.
In addition to ice hockey, Skarupa enjoys running track, playing field hockey and lacrosse.
Just like Carpenter, Skarupa began playing ice hockey on a team with boys .
Watch Skarupa in an interview after winning a game against Sweden, 7-0.
"It's been amazing. It's been an opportunity to meet so many new people, to play with the best players in the world - against Canada, the best of the best competition for us. I've just been honored to have this opportunity for three years. I really appreciate it - all the experiences that have come along with it and all the friends I've made, I'm so thankful for it. I think it's really helped me grow as a hockey player and as a person." - Haley Skarupa
New President for Andorra By IIHF.com 1/12/20/2012The Andorran Ice Sports Federation (Federació Andorrana d’Esports de gel) has elected a new President in Mònica López, the former General Secretary of Andorra’s national body for ice hockey and other ice sports.
López succeeds David Palmitjavila. Raquel Puigcernal was named new General Secretary.
The country of 85,000 inhabitants in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain has 56 active ice hockey players using one rink.
Sweden wins Women´s Meco Cup By Eurohockey.com 1/09/2012The meco Cup was played in Germany. Mainly in Füssen but also in Oberstdorf, Miesbach, Lindau and Bad Tölz/Peissenberg.
The Swedish team managed to win all games and finished on top of the standings. They only lost one point, to Canada who was beaten 3-2 in overtime. Jenni Asserholt scored the winner assisted by Erika Holst. Canada who played with its Under-22 team lost also to Finland. 3-2 in a shootout game. Canada and Finland both finished on 11 points, 3 behind Sweden.
The gap down to the last three teams was big. Switzerland beat Russia in a shootout and then Germany 3-1 on the last day to finish 4th. Germany beat Russia to avoid the last place. Russia finished at the bottom with only one point.
Top scorer of the tournament was Finland's Michell Karvinen who scored 5 goals and 4 assists. Canada's Jamie Lee Rattray finished second on 3+3.
Palau de Gel d' Andorra
Swedes work overtime to win junior gold By Chris O’Leary, Postmedia News 01/06/2012There may not have been a more battle-tested team in the 2012 IIHF world junior championship than Sweden.
It should be no surprise, then, that Sweden outlasted Russia in a marathon of a game on Thursday to win its first gold medal at the tournament in 31 years. The Swedes downed Russia 1-0 at Scotiabank Saddledome, upending the defending tournament champs.
In its journey to gold, Sweden played in four overtime/shootout games. They beat Switzerland 4-3 in a shootout on Dec. 28; they erased a 3-0 third period deficit against Russia on New Year's Eve and won in overtime and they came back from a 2-0 hole to score a shootout win over Finland to land a spot in the gold-medal game.
Then forward Mika Zibanejad ended a sensational final match with an equally sensational solo effort, losing Russian goalie Andrei Makarov on a backhanded deke at 10:09 of overtime.
It was the second impressive thing the 18-year-old did that day. In the morning and before the start of overtime, Zibanejad predicted to his teammate Jeremy Boyce-Rotevall that he would net the game-winner against the favoured Russian team.
"They lost the puck and Mika was quick on it," Boyce-Rotevall said of the broken play that would break the Russian's hearts. "I knew he was going to score. He told me (Thursday) morning he was going to finish this game off."
"You have to decide if you want to win this," Zibanejad said. "In the morning it was a joke, but now it's not a joke anymore."
"Everybody can be the hero . . . that's Mika, giving us the big goal when we needed it most," Swedish head coach Roger Ronnberg said.
"I couldn't believe (the goal). I was waiting for the referee to review it or something, I didn't believe it. I still don't believe it yet."
Zibanejad will be remembered as the hero of the game, but it was Makarov who was the star of the show. While his teammates managed a paltry four shots on net through two periods and an overall total of 17 through 70 minutes of ice time, the 18-year-old came through with a monstrous 57-save effort.
Makarov picked up where he left off in the semifinal. There, he came in for Andrei Vasilevski after Canada scored its fifth goal against him late in their comeback bid. Markov shut the door the rest of the way as the Russians hung on for a 6-5 win.
Makarov was back in front of the firing squad against the Swedes, but showed what he's capable of.
"Fifty-eight shots is good for Sweden, good for me, for my stats," Makarov said, drawing a laugh out of the media around him.
To the delight of the decidedly pro-Swedish crowd at the Saddledome, the Russians looked nothing like the suave, fluid team that it was out of the gate against Canada. Thursday night's Russians bumbled with the puck and were completely unable to put shots on Swedish goalie Johan Gustafsson.
Russia's slow start morphed into a bad game in the second period, as they managed just a single shot — and that came from well out of harm's way. When Russian winger Nikita Gusev's clearing shot from centre ice was gloved by Gustafsson, Calgary fans gave the player and his team mock cheers for increasing its shot total by 20 per cent, from four to five.
"It's a big win for Sweden," Russian head coach Valeri Bragin said through a translator. "It was a very hard game, a lot of emotions. We had a game that went to overtime as well against the Czechs and an emotional game against Canada, a lot of emotion and a lot of effort."
The shots finally started to come in the third period for the Russians. Back-and-forth play — a treat at that point in the game — made an appearance as the chances started to come on both sides.
Russian captain and tournament MVP Evgeni Kuznetsov put together his team's first major chance of the night when he clanged a one-timer off of both posts at 9:30 of the third on the power play.
Kuznetsov would give Gusev a golden chance at the game-winner, sliding a gorgeous backhand pass across the ice to his streaking linemate, but Gustafsson answered his biggest test of the night, sliding over and getting his body in front of the shot to take the game to overtime.
Midway through overtime, Zibanejad collected a loose puck just inside the Russian blue-line and burst to the net to finally beat Makarov. The celebration was on from there and the Swedes promised to take the party well into Friday morning.
Canadian juniors must be content with bronze By Vicki Hall, Postmedia News 01/06/2012To Canadians, bronze at the IIHF world junior hockey championship feels much like bronze for Jamaica in the Olympic 100-metre dash.
Lukewarm bordering on empty.
But still, 22 heartbroken Canadian teenagers will forever have a bronze bauble in their possession to show their grandchildren long after the agony of failing to seize gold has faded.
Playing three men short, Canada regrouped from a 6-5 semifinal loss to Russia to blank Finland 4-0 Thursday in the bronze-medal game.
“I’m sorry to our country for us not playing for a gold medal this year,” goalie Mark Visentin said, rubbing the bronze bauble between his index finger and his thumb in the depths of the Scotiabank Saddledome. “We really wanted it. I wanted it so bad. I really wanted to win this year.
“But that’s hockey.”
At the wise old age of 19, Visentin knows better than most how hockey can turn mere mortals into heroes or scapegoats. The Phoenix Coyotes prospect arrived in Calgary three weeks ago in search of a fairy-tale ending to his world junior hockey career.
Redemption, if you will.
No one will ever let Visentin forget the 2011 gold-medal final, a game in which he surrendered five goals in the third period of a 5-3 loss to Russia.
But Visentin wrote a satisfying final chapter nonetheless Thursday at the Saddledome with a flawless performance against Finland.
The game produced two unforgettable moments for the pride of Waterdown, Ont.
In the second period, the Niagara IceDogs netminder lost the handle on his stick in a goalmouth scramble. Much to Visentin’s disgust, the referee awarded Teemu Pulkkinen a penalty shot.
Standing tall and coming out of his net to challenge, Visentin closed the five-hole at the last second to deny the Finnish forward.
The crowd erupted with the most boisterous cheer of the day.
In the third period, Visentin robbed Joonas Donskoi with a beautiful behind-the-back glove save.
The puck literally rolled down Visentin’s back, floated in mid-air over the goal-line and landed in his glove — the most spectacular of his 27 saves.
“Pretty incredible,” said forward Quinton Howden. “I think that one will be on the highlight reel for a while. An amazing save.”
“Really acrobatic,” marvelled forward Tanner Person. “Something I could never do. I’m not that flexible.”
Not many people are. But the Canadians as a whole proved mighty malleable Thursday in adjusting to their circumstances.
They came to Calgary on Dec. 10 with one objective: gold. In the end, they had to get up for the bronze-medal game.
And give them credit: they refused to let their dejection get the most of them in their final match of the tournament.
“We heard all that talk that we weren’t going to be ready,” said the diminutive Brendan Gallagher. “It motivated us a little bit. But at the same time, you have to be professional about it.
“It’s not very often you get to wear this Canada jersey. It’s very special for us. We cherish that.”
Conspicuous by his silence for much of the tournament, Mark Scheifele set up the first Canada goal with a perfect feed in the slot to Barrie Colts teammate Tanner Pearson. On the second Canadian goal, the roles were reversed — Pearson to Scheifele — to give Canada a 2-0 lead in the first intermission.
Thanks to tireless work behind the net by Freddie Hamilton, Quinton Howden sealed the victory in the dying minutes of the third with his second goal of the night.
Freddie and brother Dougie Hamilton are the sons of Canadian Olympians Doug (rowing) and Lynn (basketball).
“It’s always been one of my dreams to win a medal for Canada,” Freddie Hamilton said. “The bronze medal is a huge honour for me. The proudest moment of my hockey career.
“Canada wants gold every year, but there’s a lot of competition in this tournament. We should be proud of the way we played.”
“We wouldn’t have been satisfied with fourth place,” Visentin said. “And I’m not going to say we’re satisfied with bronze. But I’m still proud of having a bronze medal in my hands, and it’s something I’ll be proud of 30 years from now.’’
Kuznetsov named U20 MVP
Russia’s Yevgeni Kuznetsov was voted tournament MVP.
The forward led the 2012 U20 with 13 points.
The media all-star team was also announced:
Goal: Petr Mrazek (CZE)
Defence: Brandon Gormley (CAN), Oscar Klefbom (SWE)
Forward: Yevgeni Kuznetsov (RUS), Max Friberg (SWE), Mikael Granlund (FIN)
