Post by ocelot on May 20, 2006 19:28:21 GMT -5
Swedes earn berth in final at Worlds
Crosby on the ice
Canadian Press
5/20/2006 5:45:26 PM
RIGA, Latvia (CP) - Team Canada will not return home with a gold medal from the IIHF world hockey championship, but any questions about Sidney Crosby's ability to lead his country for years to come have been answered beyond a reasonable doubt.
The 18-year-old star almost single-handedly helped Canada erase a three-goal deficit on Saturday, but his effort wasn't quite enough to help the team overcome a sloppy start in a 5-4 loss to Sweden.
The game was comfortably in Sweden's control until Crosby was viciously cross-checked in the jaw by Mika Hannula after scoring to make it 5-3 with 35 seconds to play in the second period.
He left the game feeling dizzy, but had a breakaway 10 seconds after returning in the third period. Crosby then set up Patrice Bergeron's goal to get Canada within one and had a few chances to tie it.
''I think it said a lot to us the way Sid came out and played the third period because he was in rough shape during the second intermission,'' said captain Brendan Shanahan. ''It says a lot to hockey fans and the people of Canada who are still trying to figure out what kind of heart and desire he has.
''I thought that the team responded to that.''
They'll be looking for a response of a different kind Sunday when they play Finland for the bronze medal (TSN, 9:15 a.m. ET).
The pain of this loss was written all over the players' faces as they left the ice. They expected to win the tournament and were left searching for positives after losing the chance to do it.
''I think the only thing we can take out of it is that we didn't quit,'' said Crosby. ''It would've been easy, it seemed like everything was going wrong.
''There wasn't one shift where anyone gave up.''
Niklas Kronwall, Jorgen Jonsson, Tony Martensson, Mikael Samuelsson and Jonas Nordquist scored for the Swedes (5-1-2), who will play the Czech Republic for gold on Sunday (TSN, 1:15 p.m. ET). The Czechs beat Finland 3-1 in the other semifinal earlier Saturday.
Crosby, Kyle Calder and Mike Comrie also scored for Canada (6-2-0).
''It's tough when you're playing against a team like this and you give them five goals,'' Shanahan said. ''You've got to score six to win.
''And we almost did.''
Hannula's hit on Crosby dominated post-game discussion. The tournament committee met after the game and decided that the Swedish forward would be ineligible for the gold-medal game.
''It was a blatant cross-check to the face,'' said Canadian coach Marc Habscheid. ''It's disappointing, especially when there's smiles and laughs on their bench.
''He's a great player, I don't know what they were doing.''
The Canadian star had his arms in the air in celebration after poking his own rebound past Johan Holmqvist when Hannula ran him into the end boards. Crosby stayed down for a minute before being taken straight to the Canadian dressing room.
Hannula was assessed a five-minute major and given a game misconduct, but Canada only got a three-minute power play after a melee ensued.
''They were trying to take him out of the game,'' Comrie said. ''I don't think there's any room for that in the game, especially against star players.''
Crosby, who leads the tournament in scoring with 16 points, broke in alone on Holmqvist just after returning and was stopped by the Swedish goalie.
A few minutes later he took control of the puck behind the goal while still on the power play and fed Bergeron, who one-timed it by Holmqvist at 3:38 to narrow the lead to 5-4.
As Canada pressed for the tying goal, the Swedes continued to test Crosby with late hits after the whistle. The teenager's temper was questioned a couple times during the NHL season, but he showed no signs of losing his cool here.
The tying goal never came.
''We were just trying to throw everything we had at them,'' said Shanahan.<
A good start for the Swedes was the key to this win.
Kronwall got the large pockets of yellow-clad fans at Arena Riga into the game early when he ripped a slapshot past Marc Denis at 1:27.
Chants of ''Sverige! Sverige!'' started soon after and the Swedes continued to press as Shanahan was sent to the penalty box for tripping. Jonsson made it 2-0 on the power play at 4:11 after a broken rush left the puck sitting at the top of the circle and he beat Denis.
Mike Richards helped give Canada some life when he spun around and found Calder with a nice pass in front of the net. Calder calmly stepped around Holmqvist and beat him with a backhander at 8:11.
The quick goals at both ends gave the game a frantic feel that only continued when Canada got caught standing flat-footed just over three minutes later. Martensson received a long stretch pass and took a shot that was stopped by Denis, but deflected in off defenceman Brad Stuart as he was skating back into the play.
''The pucks found a way into the net and it's unfortunate,'' said Habscheid. ''But our guys battled back. I thought we had a lot of courage to come back.''
Comrie's determination was responsible for the second Canadian goal. He got the puck back to Jason Williams for a point shot on the power play and went to the goal in time to bat the rebound in at 16:38.
Canada must have felt good when it trailed only 3-2 at the intermission, but goals on the first two Swedish shots in the second changed that in a hurry.
Samuelsson tipped one by Denis at 1:33 before Nordquist beat him after shaking off Williams and batting in a loose puck just over a minute later.
Alex Auld, who hadn't played since a 6-4 loss to the Czechs last weekend, was sent in to replace Denis while Swedish fans embraced in the stands.
''Any time you have a goal as a team and come up short is disheartening,'' Comrie said. ''We were well prepared, we don't have any excuses.''
Notes: Sweden has reached the semifinal in seven of the past eight years, but won just one gold over that period (1998). ... It was the first ever loss in a Team Canada jersey for Denis, who was unbeaten in 13 previous starts ... Canada last took bronze at this event in 1995.
Crosby on the ice
Canadian Press
5/20/2006 5:45:26 PM
RIGA, Latvia (CP) - Team Canada will not return home with a gold medal from the IIHF world hockey championship, but any questions about Sidney Crosby's ability to lead his country for years to come have been answered beyond a reasonable doubt.
The 18-year-old star almost single-handedly helped Canada erase a three-goal deficit on Saturday, but his effort wasn't quite enough to help the team overcome a sloppy start in a 5-4 loss to Sweden.
The game was comfortably in Sweden's control until Crosby was viciously cross-checked in the jaw by Mika Hannula after scoring to make it 5-3 with 35 seconds to play in the second period.
He left the game feeling dizzy, but had a breakaway 10 seconds after returning in the third period. Crosby then set up Patrice Bergeron's goal to get Canada within one and had a few chances to tie it.
''I think it said a lot to us the way Sid came out and played the third period because he was in rough shape during the second intermission,'' said captain Brendan Shanahan. ''It says a lot to hockey fans and the people of Canada who are still trying to figure out what kind of heart and desire he has.
''I thought that the team responded to that.''
They'll be looking for a response of a different kind Sunday when they play Finland for the bronze medal (TSN, 9:15 a.m. ET).
The pain of this loss was written all over the players' faces as they left the ice. They expected to win the tournament and were left searching for positives after losing the chance to do it.
''I think the only thing we can take out of it is that we didn't quit,'' said Crosby. ''It would've been easy, it seemed like everything was going wrong.
''There wasn't one shift where anyone gave up.''
Niklas Kronwall, Jorgen Jonsson, Tony Martensson, Mikael Samuelsson and Jonas Nordquist scored for the Swedes (5-1-2), who will play the Czech Republic for gold on Sunday (TSN, 1:15 p.m. ET). The Czechs beat Finland 3-1 in the other semifinal earlier Saturday.
Crosby, Kyle Calder and Mike Comrie also scored for Canada (6-2-0).
''It's tough when you're playing against a team like this and you give them five goals,'' Shanahan said. ''You've got to score six to win.
''And we almost did.''
Hannula's hit on Crosby dominated post-game discussion. The tournament committee met after the game and decided that the Swedish forward would be ineligible for the gold-medal game.
''It was a blatant cross-check to the face,'' said Canadian coach Marc Habscheid. ''It's disappointing, especially when there's smiles and laughs on their bench.
''He's a great player, I don't know what they were doing.''
The Canadian star had his arms in the air in celebration after poking his own rebound past Johan Holmqvist when Hannula ran him into the end boards. Crosby stayed down for a minute before being taken straight to the Canadian dressing room.
Hannula was assessed a five-minute major and given a game misconduct, but Canada only got a three-minute power play after a melee ensued.
''They were trying to take him out of the game,'' Comrie said. ''I don't think there's any room for that in the game, especially against star players.''
Crosby, who leads the tournament in scoring with 16 points, broke in alone on Holmqvist just after returning and was stopped by the Swedish goalie.
A few minutes later he took control of the puck behind the goal while still on the power play and fed Bergeron, who one-timed it by Holmqvist at 3:38 to narrow the lead to 5-4.
As Canada pressed for the tying goal, the Swedes continued to test Crosby with late hits after the whistle. The teenager's temper was questioned a couple times during the NHL season, but he showed no signs of losing his cool here.
The tying goal never came.
''We were just trying to throw everything we had at them,'' said Shanahan.<
A good start for the Swedes was the key to this win.
Kronwall got the large pockets of yellow-clad fans at Arena Riga into the game early when he ripped a slapshot past Marc Denis at 1:27.
Chants of ''Sverige! Sverige!'' started soon after and the Swedes continued to press as Shanahan was sent to the penalty box for tripping. Jonsson made it 2-0 on the power play at 4:11 after a broken rush left the puck sitting at the top of the circle and he beat Denis.
Mike Richards helped give Canada some life when he spun around and found Calder with a nice pass in front of the net. Calder calmly stepped around Holmqvist and beat him with a backhander at 8:11.
The quick goals at both ends gave the game a frantic feel that only continued when Canada got caught standing flat-footed just over three minutes later. Martensson received a long stretch pass and took a shot that was stopped by Denis, but deflected in off defenceman Brad Stuart as he was skating back into the play.
''The pucks found a way into the net and it's unfortunate,'' said Habscheid. ''But our guys battled back. I thought we had a lot of courage to come back.''
Comrie's determination was responsible for the second Canadian goal. He got the puck back to Jason Williams for a point shot on the power play and went to the goal in time to bat the rebound in at 16:38.
Canada must have felt good when it trailed only 3-2 at the intermission, but goals on the first two Swedish shots in the second changed that in a hurry.
Samuelsson tipped one by Denis at 1:33 before Nordquist beat him after shaking off Williams and batting in a loose puck just over a minute later.
Alex Auld, who hadn't played since a 6-4 loss to the Czechs last weekend, was sent in to replace Denis while Swedish fans embraced in the stands.
''Any time you have a goal as a team and come up short is disheartening,'' Comrie said. ''We were well prepared, we don't have any excuses.''
Notes: Sweden has reached the semifinal in seven of the past eight years, but won just one gold over that period (1998). ... It was the first ever loss in a Team Canada jersey for Denis, who was unbeaten in 13 previous starts ... Canada last took bronze at this event in 1995.
