Canada Czechia World Juniors | Ottawa Citizen

Article content

OTTAWA — History has devastatingly repeated itself at the world junior hockey championship.

Article content

Article content

For the second year in a row, Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals by a last-minute loss to Czechia.

Adam Jecho scored on the power play off a one-timer with 40 seconds left to spoil a Canadian comeback attempt and give Czechia a 4-3 victory in front of 18,254 disbelieving fans at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Article content

Czechia will now face the U.S. (7:30 p.m.) after Sweden and Finland square off (3:30 p.m.) in Saturday’s semifinals.

Canada will not play for a medal at the World Juniors for the second year in a row, marking the first time that has happened since 1979 and 1980.

The words “it sucks” were uttered by every sullen Canadian player who spoke to the media after Thursday’s gut-wrenching defeat.

The ending of the night’s story looked like it would be vastly different from the beginning when Canada allowed a goal in the opening minute and the final minute of the first period to dig itself a 3-1 hole.

In between, Canada tied things up with a Tanner Howe shorthanded effort that was followed just 2:28 later by a power play marker from Jacob Stancl while the hometeam was killing off a controversial five-minute kneeing major (that included a game misconduct) to Cole Beaudoin.

If the name Stancl sounds familiar to Canadians, it should.

Stancl eliminated Canada in last year’s quarter-final showdown on a shot that went off Oliver Bonk’s stick with 11.7 seconds remaining in regulation time.

Article content

Article content

His goal on Thursday had an eerily similar feeling when his shot rebounded off the end boards and out front before Sam Dickinson, Bonk’s teammate with the OHL’s London Knight, inadvertently knocked the puck into the Canada goal with his glove while trying to clear it from harm’s way.

Stancl’s goal also looked like it might stand as the winner again until Bradly Nadeau completed a comeback that was started by a Porter Martone power-play goal late in the second period, swiping in a rebound off a Luca Pinelli shot with 4:18 to left in the third.

Canada’s penalty kill was tested twice in the final 10 minutes of the third period – the first time when coach Dave Cameron challenged a goal by Mathieu Cataford that was disallowed because the referee ruled that the Rimouski Oceanic forward was guilty of goalie interference.

That challenge was based on the belief that Cataford was pushed into Michael Hrabal by a Czech defender, but after reviewing the play the officials stuck with the call on the ice and Canada was given a delay of game penalty.

Canada survived that shorthanded situation but not the next when Andrew Gibson was whistled for kneeing on another questionable call with 2:27 left.

Article content

Jecho capitalized with a blast through a small opening between goalie Carter George and his right post – a shot that would spell the end for Canada.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play Video

THE GAMBLE THAT BACKFIRED

Cataford thought there was a “50-50” chance the decision to challenge the goalie interference call that denied what would have been his first goal of the tournament

“I was going with full speed to the net, I don’t think I could have put the brakes on and I had back pressure,” said the third-round pick of the Vegas Golden Knights. “Yes, he pushed me a little bit. I don’t know what the ref saw on the replay. We’ll never know what would have happened if that goal would have been allowed, but it sucks, but it is what it is.

“I think it’s a tough call. No matter what the decision would have been, someone would not have been happy, and the other team would have been happy. It’s hard to tell, but I think it could have been a goal.”

BURNED BY PENALTIES, AGAIN

Vowing they learned their lesson about the need for discipline in the loss to the Americans, the Canadians added to their tournament-leading penalty total with 39 minutes – a good chunk of which was on Beaudoin, who it could be argued hit Petr Sikora with more of an open ice check than something that should end his night with a game misconduct (which counts as 10 minutes on his total) and a major Canada had to kill off – along with useless minors for unsportsmanlike slapped on Gavin McKenna and Calum Ritchie after the final buzzer.

Article content

Ultimately, the Czechs had four power-plays, of which they converted two, while Canada had one power-play goal on just three opportunities.

“It speaks for itself,” McKenna said when asked about the officiating. “It was terrible.”

That’s certainly one word. It was questionable at best.

Berkly Catton getting called for diving when he was gently shoved from behind by Vojtech Cihar, who was called for cross-checking, was such a harmless play that should have been ignored. Sending both to the box was a needless waste of time. But sometimes, refs want to remind everyone the are very important people in a game, don’t they?

That said, Canadian players did cross lines more often than they should have, and in the last two games, it proved to be their demise.

THE PUCK STOPS HERE

Canada’s proud streak of not allowing an even-strength goal was ended 43 seconds into the game by Sikora, who was booed every time he touched the puck after the call on Beaudoin. (Did it have to do with claims he was caught smiling, after lying on the ice with “an injury”, when he skated to the bench?).

The Sikora goal was less the fault of goalie Carter George than it was his team, who was sloppy defensively early on.

Article content

Canada was outshot 14-9 in the first period but held a 9-6 edge in the second period and a 14-6 edge in the third.

“I thought we were nervous in the first period, I think we were tentative and they took advantage of that,” said Cameron. “From the second period on, especially after we tied it, we had some real good looks. Disappointed in losing the way we did.”

One chance that will be remembered is a 2-on-0 chance in the third that saw Easton Cowan opt to shoot rather than pass to Bonk, who would have had an open side had he been given the chance.

But it’s easy to be critical when watching the replay.

At the end of the day, the Canadians just didn’t score enough on Thursday or in the tournament, which they finished with 13 goals in five games.

At the end of the night, their goal song “Live is Life” by Opus, wasn’t played nearly enough.

To add salt to the deep wounds, it was heard blaring in the Czechia dressing room after the game.

Article content