posted Apr 27, 2008 9:59 AM by Greg Beaudin
News
27.4-27.5.2008 - Bronze to Canada in the WFC C-division
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Canada won the bronze after a 10-5 victory over Australia. The player of the match was Pare Patrice, who scored five goals today. |
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The first period was even between Australia and Canada as the only goal was scored by Stephane Laporte, putting Canada into a 1-0 lead. In the second period Australia´s Jaxon McSwain evened the score, but then both Lauri Hannelius and Pare Patrice scored two goals for Canada. Canada had a safe looking 6-3 lead after 40 minutes. |
| Australia got as close as 4-6 and 5-7, but then Pare Patrice started
his show. He scored three more goals in the match, collecting 5+1 in
total. The final score was 10-5 to Canada and not surprisingly Patrice
was elected as best player.
Team Canada has improved during the last years and now climbed up one spot as they were fourth in the C-division 2006.
Read more from the official WFC-C division webpage
Pictures: Leo Wittek, Slovak Floorball Association |
posted Apr 26, 2008 10:02 AM by Greg Beaudin
 News
26.4-26.5.2008 - Slovakia will play in the final
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The home team played a brilliant
match against one of the favourites Canada in the first semi-final
match today. Slovakia was under with 0-2 in the first period, but
managed to get back and won the semi-final with 7-6. |
 |
Slovakia got into the lead for the first
time in the second period as they scored two goals within two seconds,
but then Canada used their power play opportunity and it was
3-4. Slovakia did however get into good scoring opportunities in
the opponents defensive zone and also used the chances given, 4-6 after
two periods. |
| Slovakia even got to a three goal lead in the third period, but then Seppo Lattu
scored for Canada and the match was 5-7. As Slovakia received a five
minutes penalty for using incorrect equipment Canada got their chance
to equalise. Canada came as close as 6-7, but no more, and Slovakia
pleased their supporters and will play in the final tomorrow starting
at 13:00 CET. |
 | Canada will play in the bronze match starting tomorrow at 10:00 CET. |
posted Apr 24, 2008 9:47 AM by Greg Beaudin
News
24.4-24.5.2008 - Canada winner of Group A in the WFC-C division
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All the matches in group A
have now been played and Canada secured their first place after winning
the decisive match against Australia with 11-1. |
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Canada crushed Australia today and proved to be one of the best
teams in the C-division. The quality of the passing play was impressive
and of the highest level so far in the tournament. Canada lead 3-0
after 13 minutes and could have scored even more, but the Australian
goalie made some tremendous saves. When Australia had two players on
the penalty bench, Canada increased their lead with two goals to 5-0. |
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Canada, lead by Patrick Ducharme (3+3) and Lauri Hannelius (3+2) who both scored a hat trick, continued to dominate the match. Australia´s only goal was a penalty shot scored by Timothy Boteler and the final numbers were 11-1 to team Canada.
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First victory for France
In the first match today Liechtenstein and France, that both had
lost their previous matches battled for the third position in the A
group.
Liechtenstein began the scoring, but then France took the lead as Beat Glauser scored two and Manaüre Russo-Mendoza three goals. | France took a clear 7-2 victory and will play for the 5th place on Saturday at 20:00 versus the 3rd placed team in group B.
The Final Standings in Group A
The A Group Statistics can be found here
Read more from the official WFC-C division webpage and follow the matches LIVE on Web TV |
posted Apr 22, 2008 12:04 PM by Greg Beaudin
Match summary
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Liechtenstein Men-Canada Men 1-10
|
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Tournament: Men´s World Championships C Division
Date:
22.04.2008
Place:
Slovakia, Bratislava, Sportova hala Mladost
Match started:
17:30
Match ended:
19:30
Spectators:
90
Goals:
| Periods |
Liechtenstein Men
|
Canada Men
|
|
1. Periods |
1
|
2 |
|
2. Periods
|
0 |
6
|
|
3. Periods |
0
|
2
|
| Result |
1
|
10
|
Goals in time order:
Penalties:
Saves:
|
Liechtenstein Men | |
Canada Men |
Rewards:
|
|
posted Apr 21, 2008 11:50 AM by Greg Beaudin
Match summary
|
Canada Men-France Men 12-3
|
|
Tournament: Men´s World Championships C Division
Date:
21.04.2008
Place:
Slovakia, Bratislava, Sportova hala Mladost
Match started:
14:15
Match ended:
16:20
Spectators:
70
Goals:
| Periods |
Canada Men
|
France Men
|
|
1. Periods |
2
|
1 |
|
2. Periods
|
5 |
1
|
|
3. Periods |
5
|
1
|
| Result |
12
|
3
|
Goals in time order:
Penalties:
Saves:
Rewards:
|
|
posted Apr 21, 2008 11:43 AM by Greg Beaudin
The team met for breakfast at 10:00 am with our second friendly game
in mind. We were scheduled to play the Slovakian Club Champ Hurikans
Bratisalva. We got together for a quick strategy talk before leaving
to the arena. Everyone waited impatiently for the lineups to be
announced, with the disappointing loss of the day before in mind.
Coach Oesterman placed a positive spin on the situation, in the very
encouraging way he is so well-known and appreciated for. The Quebec
Red Phoenix line was to stay the same and the other two lines were
juggled considerably. Part of this had to do with Montreal’s Eero
Piilokivi falling ill to a stomach bug and not being available for the
game. The coach did, however, warn that changes would be made in the
third period.
We arrived at the rink quite early and began our warm up. It was
really nice to prepare outside in beautiful 20 degree, sunny weather.
The guys suited up and before we knew it, the first whistle was blown.
The Hurikans came out extremely aggressive, placing a ton of pressure
on the Canadian defense. A very intense first period was played with
no one team dominating the other and the score tied 2 - 2.
Coach Oesterman felt the Hurikans were lucky to be tied and
suggested to his team, drawing on his years of experience, that they
would not have the stamina to sustain such a high level of intensity.
Although period two appeared to be the weakest the Canadians played
and at times looked as defensively shakey as the aweful third period
played against the Slovaks the day before, they were able to walk away
with a 6 - 3 lead. Canada was able to finish their chances and stellar
goaltending from Sam Garrison and Martin Belanger kept the Hurikans at
bay.
As was promised, the coach juggled the lines in the third. The big
change involved the Red Phoenix line which had remained in tact to this
point. I had the welcome opportunity of playing between Canada Cup
scoring champion Patrice Pare and line mate Patrick Ducharme. The
remaining Red Phoenix players were split across the other two lines.
Above this, the Red Phoenix players were to adopt the system the rest
of the team was already playing in place of their more familiar ball
hockey system. The impact was immediate as our line capitalized in the
first minute to start the period. The solid play continued as we added
to our cushion and improved our defense, only relinquishing one goal
against in the period. The final was 9-4 , a well-deserved victory for
Team Canada.
It was nice to get the win we felt we maybe should have the day
prior, especially heading into the start of the tournament. We
returned to the hotel, ate dinner as a team and finished the day with
another strategy talk. The lineups for tomorrow have yet to be
announced and will likely be released during the pre-game practice held
tomorrow morning. We are all focused on winning our first round robin
game against France but naturally we are also individually concerned
with position in the lineup. It will be interesting to see how coach
Oesterman chooses to start the tournament after having significantly
adjusted the lines and achieved solid results in Canada’s very
successful third period against the Hurikans. Can’t wait for
tomorrow’s match! |
posted Apr 21, 2008 11:42 AM by Greg Beaudin
We arrived in Bratislava late Friday afternoon and made our way to
the tournament hotel. Surprisingly it’s quite nice and everyone is very
friendly. Everyone is pretty excited as new faces arrive every few
minutes and greeting are exchanged between old teammates and new.
We get together as a team for the first time around 8:30 pm. We are
missing two Swiss talents, Phil Schuler and Sacha Weber. We learn they
will not join the team until after our first exhibition match, schedule
to take place at 9:30 am on Saturday morning.
We receive all of our gear, everything from uniforms to bags,
apparel and accessories. Everyone start to look like we are on the same
team as we sit in on our first team meeting. The strategy discussion is
very light - we go over some basics and what to expect from our early
morning opponent, Slovakia. Slovakia has been preparing for some time
and just finished losing by a narrow margin and tying the B-Division,
Polish National Team, who won the C-Division in 2006.
We finally address what will be done with the 5 field players from
Quebec, who are all part of the seven-time (consecutive and reigning)
Canadian Ball Hockey Champion Red Phoenix team. They are confident
playing the system the are used to will be the best way for them to
contribute. Johan Oesterman, returning head coach, agrees and the
Quebec line is scheduled to remain a unit, playing a different system
than the other two lines. The five man units meet to quickly chat and
we leave for bed.
Early the next morning, we meet for breakfast. Everyone is very
excited to play, although we complain about not sleeping well and being
jet-lagged. We arrive at the rink just before nine and have an
abbreviated warm-up lead by returning captain Eric Kail and assistant
Lauri Hannelius. We take the court, the national athems are played and
the first whistle is blown. In an amazing start, we go up 3-0, catching
the Slovaks totally off guard. It certainly wasn’t the force we
expected to be up against given that Slovakia had prepared and we were
starting tired and unfamiliar with each other - not even a practice
under our belts before the first shift. The first period ended 4-1 with
Canada in complete control.
The second period shifted. The Slovaks began playing a very physical
and at times uncontrolled game. The referees did not find issue with
the game as fouls and penalties simply weren’t being called. The
Slovaks scored once before the period was out cutting the lead to 4-2.
Goaltender Martin Belanger (Red Phoenix, Quebec) switched with Sam
Garrison at the midpoint of the game having surrendered only two goals.
The third period was a completely different game. The Slovaks
relentlessly forechecked and generated chance after chance creating
many turnovers. Goaltender, Sam was hung out to dry on several
occassions as a two goal lead turned into a two goal deficit. The
pressure continued until the Slovaks found themselves short-handed a
couple of times toward the end of the game. We couldn’t find the back
of the net although we applied some consistent pressure.
It was like three different games were played, one in each period.
In the end we fell 6-4 in a game we all felt slip through our hands.
There are lots of things being discussed as to why things turned sour
but we have time to work things out. I think the concensus is that this
may be a blessing in disguise. Fine tuning our game now and figuring
out how we can be most effective before we get into more important
matches is far better than realizing we need to make adjustments after
it’s too late.
We still have our heads up and look forward to our match against the
Slovakian Club Champion Hurricanes tomorrow. We will meet and practice
later today. With so many issues to tackle given our late game
collapse, it will be interesting to see how the coach responds. The big
question on everyone’s mind at the moment concerns the Quebec, Red
Phoenix line. Will they stay a unit and if so, will they continue to
play their ball hockey system. It won’t be too long before we find out
and collectively take our game to the next level.
Looking forward to our next game! |
posted Apr 20, 2008 8:12 PM by Greg Beaudin
[
updated Apr 20, 2008 8:13 PM
]
April 20th, 2008
Canada - Slovakia, originally uploaded by look2.
It was on a beautiful day in Bratislava
that team Canada was playing their second practice game today against
the Slovakian club team champions, Hurrikan Bratislava, which included
the national team goalie.
With a bit of a break in the morning, the players were able to sleep
in and, for some, fight the jet lag. The team gathered for a meeting at
11:30 under a bright sunny sky and headed towards the gym for their 2
pm game.
In front of a crowd of over 100 Slovak spectators and Slovak TV our
mere 3 Canadian fans were very proud of the Canadian team who played a
convincing second practice game showing that they are here to compete
and ready to start the championships tomorrow.
The game was played in a very nice and modern facility and the
surface was a lot better to play on than the somewhat run-down gym
where the practice game was played yesterday.
The team was able to win the game and overcome the many 2-on-1 and
3-on-2 thanks to good goaltending from Sam Garrison in the first 30
minutes and by Martin Bélanger in the latter part of the game as well
as a stronger presence offensively and good teamwork allowing them to
score many goals.
FIRST PERIOD
A bit less than 5 minutes in the game the Quebec line worked well
together and with a pass from Jean-Sébastien Plante, Patrice Paré
scored from the left side. Less than a minute later the Slovaks were
able to equalize by squeezing in the ball around the net in the bottom
corner. At 7:58, following a bad change from the Canadian team, the
Slovaks scored again taking the lead 2-1, the only time they will lead
the game.
The Slovak team was given a 2 minute penalty at 8:52 after one of
their players pushed Eric Ulli-Vanasse in their defensive zone.
Ulli-Vanasse took his revenge by scoring a few seconds before the end
of the penalty, tying the game at 2-2.
Canada missed a few good opportunities to score including an open net.
SECOND PERIOD
42 seconds in the period, Patrice Paré scored again to give Canada
the lead 3-2. The Quebec line scored again at 7:19 with a goal from
Jean-Sébastien Plante. Canada grew their lead to 5-2 when Seppo Lattu
scored on a shot from Phillip Schuler with a little more than ten
minutes to go in the second period.
Canada was on a roll and Ryan Andreotti scored at 14:01 making the score 6-2.
The Slovaks crawled closer by scoring at 15:13 reducing the lead to 6-3 on a shot that got in between Bélanger’s legs.
Slovaks played more offensively in the second period putting more
pressure on the Canadian team with a few good shots but were not able
to reduce Canada’s 3-goal lead.
THIRD PERIOD
The coach changed up the lines between the second and the third
period by splitting the Quebec players and a little over 2 minutes in
the period, Patrice Paré scored again on a pass by Patric Ducharme.
At 4:31, the Slovaks attacked yet again on a 2-on-1 and added a
fourth goal. That didn’t stop Patrice Paré from attacking again at 5:37
and scoring, his fourth of the game. Canada was keeping their 4-goal
lead at 8-4.
Slovakia took a 2+10 penalty at 7:27 and Canada attacked with 6
players and had a few good passes on the delayed penalty, but
unfortunately stopped by the Slovak defense. With a one man advantage,
at 9:31, Lauri Hannelius, increased the lead; it was 9-4.
Jean-Oliver Vörös took the first and only penalty for Canada with a
little more than 10 minutes to go in the third period but the Slovaks
were not able to reduce the Canadian lead.
With a 9-4 lead, the Canadian coach took at tactical timeout at
16:17 and took out their goalie with less than 1 minute to go in the
game.
Final score: Canada 9 – Slovakia 4
The championships start tomorrow and Canada will be playing their first game against France. Sophie Anne Ferland
|
posted Apr 19, 2008 4:13 PM by Greg Beaudin
CAN : SVK – 4:6
Canada played an exhibition game against the Slovaks Saturday morning.
Despite the fact that Team Canada had not played together as a unit,
not even a practice, they came out strong, showing good positioning.
With the Slovaks putting up little pressure, Canada took a 4:1 lead
after the first period. Lauri Hannelius was in on all of Canada’s
offensive action with 2 goals of his own and 2 assists on goals by
Ryan Andreotti and Eric Ulli-Vanasse.
The Slovaks turned up the heat and played much more aggressively in
the second and third periods and put an end to Canada’s scoring march.
Canada coughed up the ball mid court one too many times in the third,
allowing the the Slovaks to do a quick turn around rush, scoring 4
goals to take the match 6:4.
Erik Kaill said, “we had a pretty good game, considering it was our
first outing without even practicing together before the game. I
think the result was good.”
Over the next two days, Canada will have a chance to go over tactics,
lead by head coach Johan Osterman of Sweden, and run some of his plays
in practice. The team will have to focus as two days is hardly
considered much by any teams preparation standard.
For a more complete review of todays friendly match visit
http://www.wfc2008.sk/news.php?extend.14
Canada will play the Slovakian Champs, Hurikan Bratislava, in another
friendly match tomorrow. |
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