Daily Canada Recap - 2017 ISBHF World Ball Hockey Championships

Day 9
Early goals made it easy win for Canadian Men over Greece in semi-final. If the Greeks wanted to keep the game tied at zero for some time, they didn’t do very well. They missed on their first chance and then Canada went into a two-goal lead just three minutes into the game. Danick Martel made it 3-0 before the first intermission and Patrick O’Keefe added another one in the second period. Canada easily sailed past the Greeks to take a spot in the final game. Greece has to regroup for a bronze-medal game on Saturday afternoon.

Pinios had a good chance for Greece right at the beginning, but missed and then Canada scored two quick goals. In span of 19 seconds, at first Remi Laurencelle and then Dylan Kelly managed to beat Bitsakis to earn an early 2-0 lead for their side. Danick Martel took advantage of some free space in front of Greek goal later and scored for third goal still inside the first period.

Penalties prevented Greece from creating a pressure and trying to get on board in second period. Also Canada capitalized on one of them when Patrick O‘Keefe blasted the ball into the net for number four.

The game was hyped up, there were some minor conflicts and also a major penalty. Spiro Goulakos got ejected late in the second period and the game was pretty much settled. Kevin Reid scored the fifth shorthanded with ten minutes to go in regulation and it was only a matter of final score since then. Tim Barlow managed to perform some outstanding saves to get the shutout. 

Canada will face Slovakia for the World Championship on Saturday.

Canadian Women drop a heartbreaker 3-2 to the USA in the semi finals. Canada got off to a fast start, peppering Carli Bekkering with shots and opening the scoring in the sixth minute on a blast from the top of the circle by Elysia Desmier. The Canadians had all sorts of other chances in the first couple of periods to widen their lead, holding a wide edge in play and shots, but Bekkering kept her team in it.

 

Four of the first five penalties in the game went against Canada, which killed them off without too much difficulty. However, one penalty in the last minute of the second period and then a charging call against Desmier just five seconds into the third gave the Americans a 5-on-3 advantage and they cashed in this time to tie the game - Stewart’s initial shot was stopped by Girouard, but Kelly Foley was there to put in the rebound.

Amanda Kean’s goal with 7:51 remaining in regulation put Canada back in the lead. Mallory Johnston took the original shot on a 2-on-1 rush, but Kean put in the rebound. But it took just over three minutes for the Americans to tie it back up when Taylor Steadman whacked in a loose ball from a goalmouth scramble with 4:25 to play.

Then in the last minute, with overtime looming, Dobson provided the heroics. Lindsey Wilde perfectly teed up her one-timer that beat Girouard to the glove side, as the American bench and fans in attendance erupted. An even bigger eruption came 34 seconds later when the final horn sounded, ensuring the Americans’ place in the final, and their first-ever medal in women’s ball hockey.

Canada will face Slovakia on Saturday morning for the Bronze Medal.
 

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Day 8
Canada fills last Men's semi-final spot with 5-1 win over Switzerland. Team Canada fulfilled its role of favorite in a game against Switzerland, took a two-goal lead inside the first period and won 5-1. The Swiss decreased the gap back to two in second period, but Canada didn´t let them to get any closer and managed to get it done without nerves.

Stephen D’Abadie opened the goal account of team Canada with five minutes into the game as he tapped it in from backhand. Danick Martel then doubled the lead of favorites with a nice move on a solo breakaway and it later appeared to be the game winning goal.

After the break, Canada made it by three goals with a power play goal from Brian Szolga. The Swiss managed to pull one down thanks to power play as well when Mario Paulik tried to open the zone for his teammates with a slapper from red line and it ended up going into the net. There was another penalty for Canada which would make the Swiss get back into the game, but they could not capitalize off it and went into third period while down by two.

Marcus Power then increased the gap early after the intermission and allowed his side to have an easy going third period, unlike the Czechs or Greeks. The final result was set by Remi Laurencelle who went in between his legs to score a beautiful goal on Sidler who already lied on the floor in the Swiss crease.

Ian Moores (head coach, Team Canada): "It was a good game. For sure, we are happy to win and move on to the semi-finals. The Swiss had a good tournament and they were good opponent today, but we are certainly pleased with the 5-1 win. We played Greece in our first game of the tournament. We came away with the win in the shootout, but we know they’re on a high right now because they beat the U.S. We are going to be prepared; they have a good team. We are not going to take it for granted, I guarantee that. It should be a good and hard game."

Team Canada Men will face Greece in the semi finals on Friday.

Team Canada Women have the day off to rest and prepare for a semi final matchup vs USA on Friday.

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Day 7
Canadian women defeat Czechs 2-1 to top preliminary group. Canada controlled the start of the game and took the lead in the 3rd minute on Michelle Marsz´s power-play goal. The Czechs got some chances late in the period on the power play, but were unable to score. The second period was very similar, as the Czechs had a lot of chances, the biggest in the middle of the period when Linda Hyksova ran alone across the floor. Only the third period was a little bit different. Canada scored its second goal, but 16 seconds before the final horn, the Czechs scored on the power play.
The Men's team was off today but get back to action Thursday vs Switzerland for a quarter final matchup. The game can be seen live @ 15:30 EDT. Click here for live streaming of the game...
 

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Day 6
Canadian women tested by Italy, but emerge victorious. Canada had several moments where they put on enormous pressure, but due to the goaltending of Nicole Paniccia, the Canadians managed only one goal in each of the first two periods. When Alicia Furletti-Blomberg scored for Italy 15 seconds into the third, everyone was stunned. But the Canadians added two more goals for the 4-1 win, setting up a game for first place with the Czechs on Wednesday.
Tom Walsh (General Manager, Team Canada): "It was a very close game if we’re talking about putting the ball into the net. We had a lot of passes and collapsed with our shots. We were surprised by the Italian goaltender; she was really good today. They played very well; better than I thought."

Slovakia wins 1st place showdown with Men's Team Canada. The last game of the group stage was also the most anticipated one, as Canada and Slovakia went head to head for top spot in Group A1. With two goals in the second period, one in the third, and a perfect performance by Stanislav Petrik in goal, the Slovaks won 3-0 and showed that they’re still the team to beat in the world of men’s ball hockey.

Canadian Women will play the host Czech Repubic on Wed @ 13:00. Live strea of the game will be available here...  

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Day 5
The women’s tournament is getting more interesting after Canada’s 2-1 win over the USA. After a scoreless first period, Rebecca Dobson opened the scoring for the USA in the first minute of the second period. However, the Canadian power play struck twice, with Kristen Cooze, Amanda Kean and tournament scoring leader Jamie Lee Rattray combining on both goals to give them the win. The Americans pressed hard for the equalizer and had a late power play, but were unable to beat Nathalie Girouard again. With the win, Canada moves into a first-place tie with the host Czechs, who have a game in hand.
The Canadian Men have the day off to rest and prepare for their final preliminary round game vs Slovakia on Tuesday. The winner of this game takes the top spot heading into the elimination rounds.
 

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Day 4
Canada Women scored 3 in the 1st, 5 in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd to win 11-0 vs Great Britain. Jamie Lee Rattray led the offence with 7 pts as the Canadians evened their record to 1-1-0-0.

Tyrel Spitzer, head coach of Team Canada: "After a tough loss yesterday, we wanted to take a couple steps forward, so I made a few adjustments to our game. We’ve got a bunch of new players this year so it was good to see them in game action. We saw them starting to develop chemistry and create offence, and hopefully we can carry that over into the next game. We also wanted to eliminate mistakes when we don’t have the ball. Slovakia capitalized on their chances, so we want to make sure that, as we move through the tournament, we eliminate the chances against."
The Canadian Men's power play destroys India and will face Slovakia for 1st place. Danick Martel scored three goals, Jordan Escott recorded four assists and Canada went an amazing 5-for-6 on the power play to beat India 8-0, which sets up a game for first place in the group with Slovakia on Tuesday. The score was 2-0 after one period and 3-0 after two before the Canadians pumped in five in the third. Goalie Tim Barlow was replaced by Kevin McHolm in the last minute of the game for a combined shutout. With the loss, India cannot finish any higher than third place, and will need something from their last game to stay ahead of Greece and Finland.

Jordan Escott (forward, Team Canada): "Our power play started clicking. We got a big power-play goal right at the end of the first, which was good for momentum, then we came out in the second and got another one and just kept going from there. We changed things a bit and it’s taken a couple days for things to gel together, but things went really well today. We’ve had that game (vs Slovakia) circled on our calendar. They’re obviously really good and in 2015 they beat us in the quarter-finals, so we’re looking forward to playing them. It should be a good game and we’ll enjoy the day off tomorrow."

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Day 3
Women - Canada narrowly defeated 2-1 by Slovakia in opening clash of champions. Canada started well with lots of action in the first period, but couldn´t get the opening goal. After the break, Slovakia managed to score twice in a span of two minutes with Diana Vargova´s breakaway and Jana Kapustova´s power-play tap-in. Canada got on board with Jamie Lee Rattray´s solo run, but couldn´t put another behind Zuzana Tomcikova in top form.
Jamie Lee Rattray, forward of team Canada: "It was good. I mean, it was first game of the tournament. They have a really good team, they’re great together and they play well defensively, so it was a good game. Obviously, we would have like to win but it was a good start for us for the whole tournament. We need to get going. First game is always the toughest until you get to know each other and get it going. We’re really excited for the next one."

In a thoroughly dominant effort, Canada beat Finland 7-1 in the second game for each team. The Finns got an early power-play goal from Sami Pietsalo but after that it was all Canada, which scored three goals in the first period, two in the second and two in the third from seven different players. Shaq Merasty, Paul Kastas, Kevin Reid and Marcus Power had two points each. Canada now has five points, while the Finns still search for their first.
Ray Cook (Assist coach of Team Canada): "It was tough game, but we had a bigger bench and it decided. I told to my players we have to shoot more and we trained about a couple special things. We have to keep working and make our best perfomarce in games in play-off.“

Game highlights availalable click here...
 

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Day 1
In the last Men's game of the day in Tipsport arena, Greece played Canada to a 3-3 tie after regulation time. In the first period, the Canadians outshot their opponents 13-4, but score was 1-1. In the second period, Greece continued with its solid defensive performance, but due to a Canadian power-play goal, they were trailing 2-1. Greece answered with a power-play goal of their own and a few minutes later even lead 3-2. However, Canada was able to tie the score late. Canada then won in a shootout.

Canada's Head Coach Ian Moores stated, "It was good game. We knew it was going to be a tough game against Greece. A couple years ago in Switzerland, they actually beat Team Canada, so there was a little bit of revenge in our minds. To get the first win with the extra point it is big for us. In next game, we have to stay out of the penalty box."
 
The Men's Canadian squad see action next on June 3 @ 08:00 EDT vs Finland.

Canada's Women's National Team had their first practice today in Pardubice and took in the Men's game afterwards to cheer on the Canadian Men.
 
Canada Women play their first match June 3 @ 09:00 EDT vs Slovakia.

All news, standings, stats and all games will be streamed live on the World Championships website. Click here to visit...