Jonathan Toews Loses Bet to Patrick Kane

Every year, many hockey players and people who cheer for rival national teams who meet in the gold medal game make bets with their friends about who won. And this year, with Canada and USA meeting in the gold-medal game of the World Junior Championship, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane made a bet over who would win. The loser of the bet had to wear the other team's sweater for a day. Here is the result of the bet:

Boy am I glad I didn't make bets with anyone. And I know that these are the types of quality posts everyone loves to see on my blog 😉.

P.S. All Johnny Toews had to do was ask Pat Kane how his team did in the World Cup 😎

Canada is headed to the World Junior Gold-Medal Game!!

Canada won over Sweden 5-2 yesterday night in a crazy game. Connor Ingram, the starter goaltender for Canada, let in two goals on three shots, prompting Dominique Ducharme to pull him and put in Carter Hart. He kept out all the shots he faced while his team scored five times to take the game easily. 

On the other hand, USA downed Russia in a shootout, but just barely, to advance to the gold-medal game, making USA and Canada meet in the World Juniors gold-medal game for the first time since 2010.

Who has the better odds, many have asked? Canada, host to this tournament, has won five times out of eleven playing at home. And while Canada's defence is deeper than the USA's, their offenses are pretty evenly matched and Canada needs to figure out their goaltending dilemma. So, who do you think will win? Let us know in the comments below.

The nation's eyes, both nation's, will be on these young players tonight at 8 pm when the puck drops. The team that wants it more will get it. “Having the whole nation behind you, it’s going to be pretty cool. We’re excited for tomorrow,” Anthony Cirelli said.

Can Canada Win the World Junior Championship?

Gold-medal winners in 2015, but an eighth place finish in 2016; the ride for Canada's junior team has been a bumpy one, in the least. But can they prove themselves this year?

After winning against the Czechs in the quarterfinal, Canada looks to finish off Sweden in the semifinal today and advance to playing the winner of the USA-Russia semifinal in the gold-medal game. However, they have played against weak teams for the majority of the tournament. And the one good team they faced, USA, ended up winning 3-1 and going undefeated for the whole tournament. 

Sweden is a team that is unproven past the first stage of the World Junior tournament. They usually go undefeated, only to lose early in the knockout stage. This time, it is Canada they are playing. Many people are nervous about this game on both sides, because neither team has faced much adversity and both teams are unproven in the World Juniors. 

Once they get past Sweden, Canada faces either USA, whom they lost to 3-1, or Russia, both of which will be tough opponents. Historically, Canada and Russia are almost evenly matched when they face each other in the final; however, Canada does have a few games in hand. On the other hand, it has been rare when Canada and USA face each other in the finals, although it will be an exciting game for both Canadian and USA fans, as the teams are big rivals.

Who do you expect to win the semifinal? How about the gold medal? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. 

Russians Crush Switzerland 7-0, Swiss Baltisberger has to be Carried Off Ice on Stretcher

Anatoli Golyshev was the guilty party in what appeared to be an illegal head check on the Swiss Phil Baltisberger, which had him carried off the ice on a stretcher in Switzerland's 7-0 loss to Russia.

Golyshev, a 19-year-old KHL pro, earned himself a 5-minute match penalty, which automatically comes with a one-game ban, meaning he missed the rest of the game against Switzerland and will miss the game against Sweden. Baltisberger remained motionless on the ice for several minutes before having to be carried off the ice on a stretcher with his neck immobilized. Luckily, Baltisberger was not paralyzed; in the hospital, he was able to move his arms and legs, but his neck really hurt and he did not have to power to get up. However, the Swiss were so worried about him, that their coach had trouble keeping them focused on the bench. “We're all human and we were all worried about him,” he said, “and we didn't get a diagnosis right away.”

Originally, the referees weren't going to award a penalty, and the Russians believe the major was earned because of the injury. “It was just a shoulder check,” Valeri Bragin, the Russian head coach said through an interpreter. “It's a very strange situation and it's unclear exactly what happened. He (Baltisberger) got hit in the side. Our player is shorter (5-foot-9) and the Swiss player is taller (6-foot-1).If there was no head check, it's just a hockey play. If there was, then of course he should be suspended.” The IIHF will decide on whether Golyshev will participate in any games for the rest of the tournament. I honestly hope they don't let him play, as I was watching the game, and it was a very dirty play. I also simply hope Baltisberger can return to the ice soon, and complete his dream of winning the gold medal.

The Russians ended up beating the Swiss 7-0, on amazing saves by Igor Shestyorkin and goals by Pavel Buchnevich, Rushan Rafikov, and Alexander Dergachyov in the first period.

The second period showed the Russians too many penalties, including two 5-on-3 moments for the Swiss, but the Russians scored two goals by Sergei Tolchinsky and Alexander Sharov, making it 5-0 Russia by the end of the second period.

The third period included two more goals by Russians Vladislav Kamenev and Vyacheslav Leshenko, making the final score 7-0 Russia.

IIHF WJC Preliminary Round Scores

I only have time to do a very quick post.. so here goes:

Denmark - Russia 2-3
Sweden - Czech Republic 5-2
Denmark - Sweden 1-5
Czech Republic- Switzerland 2-5
Finland- USA 1-2
Canada- Slovakia 8-0
Slovakia - Finland 2-1
Germany - Canada 0-4

Games to watch out for today: SUI - RUS 5:00 EST, USA - GER 8:00 EST

IIHF WJC Preliminary and Relegation Schedule

  

Obviously, the games you must not miss are USA VS. Finland on Friday at 3:00 PM, Russia VS. Sweden on Monday at 5:00, and USA VS. Canada on Wednesday the 31st at 4:00.

And a topic that confuses most people...the 5A VS. 5B game in the relegation match means that the top teams from Group A will play the top teams from Group B depending on the results of the preliminary rounds. In Group A, there is Team Canada, Team Finland, Team USA, Team Slovakia, and Team Germany. In Group B, there is Team Sweden, Team Russia, Team Czech, Team Denmark, and Team Switzerland. The winners of the relegation match will go on to play four quarterfinals against each other all at different times on January 2 (I will be posting the schedule when the time comes), and the winners of the quarterfinals will play two semifinals, and the losers of the semifinal will play the bronze medal game, while the winners will compete for gold, while the loser wins silver. Good luck to all teams!
Go Team Sweden! Go Team Russia!