Sunday, April 17, 2011

Team Canada Victorious

Team Canada goalie, Kahleed Devji celebrates
a 5-3 victory over the Solvakia National Team
In a game that ends up being decided in a ten minute span of the opening period, the boys from the BCHL come away with a 6-3 win over the Slovakia National Team. Jarryd Ten Vaanholt got things started for Team Canada at 13:26 of the first period. Bryce Gervais registered a hat trick including a pair in the first to go along with Austin Carroll's single to give Canada a 4-0 lead before the end of the opening period.

The only other goal scorer on the night was Nanaimo Clippers forward Brayden Jaw. Other players getting their names on the score sheet included Justin Fillion and David Killip with two assists each while Malcolm McKinney, RJay Berra, Mike Hammond, Jake Charles, Jason Reardon and Brett Knowles all picked up single points for their assists.

Heading into the game, the players were riding the high of having defeated the Russian National Team just the night before. That win was huge as many players relayed the same sentiments that it felt like winning a championship. Maybe it was partly the mystique of playing in a Canada versus Russia game and partly because this was essentially a team that had played in other International tournaments and has players with professional experience from the KHL.

The adrenaline rush from the win lasted through the night and well into the early game on the final day of the tournament. After building up the 4-0 lead in the first period, the boys seemed to settle down offensively but not physically. There were numerous penalties in the second period including a span of two minutes that saw nine minors handed out including a few coincidental ones.

The teams would trade a pair of goals each in the second period to give Canada 6-2 lead heading into the third period. A much quieter period saw only one goal scored - a shorthanded goal from Slovakia. It was too little too late and the rest of the game rolled on without any incident. At the time of this posting, Team Canada is watching the final game of the tournament that appears to be heading to overtime with the MHL Red Star and Russian National Team deadlocked in a 3-3 tie with only a few minutes to play.

click here for the whole text transcript of Team Canada's 6-3 win over the Slovakia National Team.

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