UFA, RUSSIA – Malcolm Subban emerged from the Canadian dressing room in a cape.
He stood on his head – and scrambled, and did the splits – to answer his critics and just maybe steal a game for Canada at the world junior hockey championships, with a 2-1 win over Team USA.
So Team Canada's coaches gave him the cape as the team's superhero for the game.
“No one deserves it more than him,” said forward Ryan Strome. “He proved a lot of people wrong. We knew he had it in him. He quieted a lot people.”
Related: Photo highlights from the game
Subban had been sub-par in games against Germany and Slovakia and some were wondering if it was time to turn to Jordan Binnington. But coach Steve Spott would have none of that talk.
“I'm really proud of him,” said Spott. “Goaltending ... has been under the radar in our country for a couple of years. It's a big moment for Malcolm. It's a big moment for our hockey club.
“Like (goalie coach) Ron Tugnutt said: 'Give him a chance,' and he stood up tall in the net.”
Subban was humble after the win that vaulted Canada into first place in its group.
“It's just one game,” said Subban. “Just trying to do everything I can.”
Canada relied on Subban in a big way after getting off to a 2-0 first period lead on goals by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan Strome.
The Canadian power play went kaput, failing twice to score on 5-on-3s and Canadians then started to take penalties. Jake Trouba got the Americans on the board halfway through third.
Nugent-Hopkins then took a penalty with less than two minutes remaining, but Subban stonewalled the American attack.
“We needed that,” said Spott. “You need to have a lead goaltender to win this tournament. We've seen over the last number of years you need your goaltender to be your best penalty killer and certainly he was tonight.”
The Americans – considered gold-medal contenders – find themselves in a fight to stay out of the relegation pool. They have only one win and need to beat Slovakia in their final game to have any medal chance.
“We have to win or we're out,” said American forward Rocco Grimaldi. “We'll figure it out.”
Canada has nine points thanks to three regulation wins. The Russians have eight, needing overtime to do away with Slovakia.
Canada plays Russia on Monday in the final game of the round robin. The winner gets first place and a trip to the semifinals. The loser will finish second in the group and play the third place team in the other group in the elimination round.
“They come hard, they hit,” said Murphy. “At the same time they capitalize on their opportunities. They'll definitely have the home crowd advantage. I saw about 400 Canadian fans out there. With them in crowd, we won't need any motivation.”
Source: http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/juniorhockey/article/1308482--world-juniors-canada-beats-usa-2-1
 |
| Canada's goalie Malcolm Subban stops a breakaway on Team USA's John Gaudreau during the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, Dec. 30, 2012. - Source: Toronto Star |
He stood on his head – and scrambled, and did the splits – to answer his critics and just maybe steal a game for Canada at the world junior hockey championships, with a 2-1 win over Team USA.
So Team Canada's coaches gave him the cape as the team's superhero for the game.
“No one deserves it more than him,” said forward Ryan Strome. “He proved a lot of people wrong. We knew he had it in him. He quieted a lot people.”
Related: Photo highlights from the game
Subban had been sub-par in games against Germany and Slovakia and some were wondering if it was time to turn to Jordan Binnington. But coach Steve Spott would have none of that talk.
“I'm really proud of him,” said Spott. “Goaltending ... has been under the radar in our country for a couple of years. It's a big moment for Malcolm. It's a big moment for our hockey club.
“Like (goalie coach) Ron Tugnutt said: 'Give him a chance,' and he stood up tall in the net.”
Subban was humble after the win that vaulted Canada into first place in its group.
“It's just one game,” said Subban. “Just trying to do everything I can.”
Canada relied on Subban in a big way after getting off to a 2-0 first period lead on goals by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan Strome.
The Canadian power play went kaput, failing twice to score on 5-on-3s and Canadians then started to take penalties. Jake Trouba got the Americans on the board halfway through third.
Nugent-Hopkins then took a penalty with less than two minutes remaining, but Subban stonewalled the American attack.
“We needed that,” said Spott. “You need to have a lead goaltender to win this tournament. We've seen over the last number of years you need your goaltender to be your best penalty killer and certainly he was tonight.”
The Americans – considered gold-medal contenders – find themselves in a fight to stay out of the relegation pool. They have only one win and need to beat Slovakia in their final game to have any medal chance.
“We have to win or we're out,” said American forward Rocco Grimaldi. “We'll figure it out.”
Canada has nine points thanks to three regulation wins. The Russians have eight, needing overtime to do away with Slovakia.
Canada plays Russia on Monday in the final game of the round robin. The winner gets first place and a trip to the semifinals. The loser will finish second in the group and play the third place team in the other group in the elimination round.
“They come hard, they hit,” said Murphy. “At the same time they capitalize on their opportunities. They'll definitely have the home crowd advantage. I saw about 400 Canadian fans out there. With them in crowd, we won't need any motivation.”
Source: http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/juniorhockey/article/1308482--world-juniors-canada-beats-usa-2-1
No comments:
Post a Comment