Did you watch the game? did you cry? I did!

[Loralee Reach 245]

Canadian Fans Deflated by World Juniors Loss

 

 

Jan 6th 2011 ? 7:07AM

 

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:-(

 

 

CBC News

Canadian fans are expressing frustration over Team Canada's stunning 5-3 loss to the Russians in the gold-medal match of the world junior hockey championship, with many feeling the teen Canucks let up after taking a three-goal lead.

 

"It was a bummer, a big letdown," one fan said as she left HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y., where the final game was played. "We lost it in the third. I guess we didn't want it as much."

 

"It's embarrassing, it's full-on embarrassing," said another disgruntled fan, who also attended the game in Buffalo. "They did not come out and play the way they did against the U.S.

 

"They got three goals and they stood back and did absolutely nothing. Terrible. Shoulda hit, didn't. Lost the game because of it. I don't even want to talk about it anymore."

 

The Canadian team had taken a 3-0 lead before Russia scored five times in the final period.

 

Mark Graff, watching the game at an Edmonton bar, described the loss as "brutal."

 

"They just let up," he said. "They had no stamina and they looked really tired. It's so disappointing."

 

Justin Vanjoff, who watched the game from the same Edmonton bar, blamed part of the loss on young Canadian netminder Mark Visentin.

 

"The goalie just couldn't come through, so unfortunately we lost," Vanjoff said. "I'm extremely upset because I figured Canada had it. We're Canadian. We own the game. It's our game. But not tonight."

 

But one fan at a downtown Toronto bar praised Canada's efforts. "I'm a little disappointed, but they played their hearts out," he said.

 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement congratulating the Canadian team on its silver medal.

 

"Their competitive spirit, sportsmanship and national pride are an inspiration to younger hockey players and fans across the country, and I look forward to following their achievements in the years to come," he said.

[Guest s******ecan****]

I can honestly say I did not cry.......eyes watered a bit after I kicked the hell out of the TV but no it never got to the point of crying.

[PistolPete 61421]

Did not cry, was a little disappointed but we all have to remember something, these players are all so young. Think about the weight carried on their shoulders throughout the tournament, the pressure, the lack of time together, conditioning when the coach shorten his bench in 3rd period.

One last item, the Russian team was full of last year players (not eligible to play next year) they played most of their season against men in the KHL in Russian, so they had the edge there.

 

The comments above in the article, that state "brutal" or blaming the goalie are uncalled for and are from people that just don't get the entire game.

 

We are still the top medal winning country in hockey so be proud,not pissed off.

[Amanda Bella 421]

I did find the game exciting in the first 3 periods which Canada was winning. Then the Russians were getting the upper hand and i got more hopefull thinking "Canada is gone win for sure".

 

But when the Russians changed the whole game to their advantage i just changed chanels, it was desapointing but they played well and you guys are one of the best for playing Hockey, congratulation!

 

 

If you want to feel good about this just imagem Brazilians in a competition like this...... We could never play in the ice for we would just freeze lol....

[Apex2006 1071]

Yes I watch the game and yes I cryed a little

 

But these kids did an amazing job and they did play well!

 

I just think that the OTHER guys had more energy in the third period.

 

Other than the Olympics, this is the best hockey of the year!

[Reddog01 30280]

Good hockey throughout. Life lessons "learned" in the Gold game for the players and those watching. I felt for the players but as someone mentioned, we had a young team and although we won against Russia earlier in the tournament, they (Russia) were able to use their experience in the end and take advantage of the situation after the second period. Wait till next year....

[Winnipegcub 21293]

The conclusion of the game didn't bring a tear to my eye it was more a feeling of shock and disbelief. However, when my heart does get pulled is more in the people stories of the kids who make up our team. Knowing how much they've invested in something they love and the pressure on them in a country as passionate about hockey as Canada. Then also the individual stories of familes. Mothers who passed and asked their boy to play for Canada and not USA, brothers who are competing at other levels at the same time causing families to be seperated during the holidays, and sisters of players who are battling cancer that everyone on the team is fighting along side her. Those are the real life stories that get me and cause the tears to role everytime!

[Maverick 2873]

They didn't deserve to win because they got unfocused. It was a mental collapse and not a physical collapse and it cannot be blamed on their age because every country has young teams and we have won in the past with young teams too. I hope the players can take the lessons they learned and apply it to their futures in junior and professional hockey, and I hope the Russian players learn some humility (they got denied entry to a plane because of rowdy behavior and had to reschedule their flight for later).

[Guest ***nsut***jr]

Good comments Pete

Anyone that has played sports at a higher level would question the effort put in by Team Canada.

Those boys played the best they knew how and were more disappointed than any fan could be.

They were not even favoured to be in the gold medal game or even medal period for that matter.

And does any of those lunkheads stop to think that that bumping and smashing style we were playing might not start to take its toll??? Conditioning? These boys are halfway through a CHL season. They are as conditioned as it get and probably could use some time off rather than playing that level of intensity.

And... I think that there are/were 16 first round draft picks playing for no money, just pride.

Any idea what a major injury would cost one of these guys?

So, no, not brutal, embarrassing or a letdown. Just a bunch of guys doing the best they could.

 

Good for them to give us something to cheer for in the first place.

 

J

[Lowdark 5613]

Our juniors have nothing to be ashamed of. This is a team that wasn't even suppossed to medal this year, while the Russians were highly favoured coming in. What a lot of people fail to realize is that many of Canada's best junior aged players are making the jump to the NHL the year after they're drafted. And since Russia doesn't have a transfer agreement with the NHL, teams are staying away from a lot of their best junior aged players, meaning Russia's available talent pool is actually getting bigger for this tournament.

 

This is a group of teenagers and they did better than thousands of ther players their age could. Thiy're probably heartbroken today but they should hold their heads high and be proud. And Canada should be proud of them. Many of them have bright NHL futures ahead of them and some just may represent us in future Olympic tournaments. Y'know, the elite level competition we won last year.

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

I went down to the pub to watch this game with the locals. A memorable one to say the least. Some very disappointed Canadian boys, which is definitely too bad. Obviously, that's who I was cheering for, and you've got to feel for them in light of how they lost.

 

The Russians exhibited wonderful never-say-die-never-quit fortitude in the face of severe adversity. Watching them celebrate after the final whistle -- in gleeful over-the-moon fashion, and loudly belting out their national anthem with pride and gusto -- was great to see.

 

You've gotta admire these young men, no matter which uniform they were wearing last night!

[Guest o*****a*****r]

It was a great hockey game to watch IMHO but I'm a huge fan of this tournament so my opinions are biased....

 

There is nothing to be ashamed of as we still did well and have iced great teams more then any other country. In a round robin anything can happen in one game, in a best out of seven Canada would have won. Canada didn't stick to the "simple" (dump, chase and hit), game plan but played the Russian game, especially in the 3rd. That's why we lost. For any of you who've played hockey executing the "simple", (dump, chase and hit), game is difficult to do when you're ahead as you always want to try one of your "moves" to beat the other player thinking why not, we're ahead.

 

Anyways, nothing to be ashamed of, we are still the "Hockey Nation" to beat :smile:

 

Did I cry? No... but I did like how well dressed the Canadians were going into the dressing room and how the Russians weren't dressed up like our boys. I've found when in the US that all the hotels really like our hockey players compared to athletes from other profesional sports...