Caps Kids at WJC: Day 9

The medal round began today with Russia taking on Sweden and Canada playing the US.  The winners of these games will face off Wednesday night for the gold medal, while the losers will play for bronze.

In the fist game were Dmirty Orlov and Evgeny Kuznetsov as Russia and Sweden played at 3:30.  The game was evenly matched the whole way through, and with about 3 minutes to go in regulation the game was tied at 2.  Then, Orlov took an ill-timed slashing penalty.  The Swedes converted on the ensuing power play, seemingly killing the Russian’s dreams of gold. 

However, Orlov then did what Kuznetsov did last night: made up for his mistake.  He shot the puck, and the rebound created a scrum around the crease.  In that scrum, the Russians were able to poke the puck through and tied the game with about a minute and a half to go. Orvlov’s effort earned him an assist on the play.

Caps Kids in WJC: Day 8

It’s a week later in the World Junior Championships, and today marked the beginning of elimination play as the two quarterfinals were played.  Philipp Grubauer’s Germany is in relegation play, with Patrick Wey and team USA receiving a bye to the semifinals.  Four of the five Caps prospects are still alive, and Evgeny Kuznetsov blew away the competition, bringing Russia back from the brink.

The first of the bunch to take the ice was Cody Eakin as team Canada faced off against Switzerland at 3:30 pm.  The Swiss jumped on the scoreboard first, less than two minutes into the game.  However, Canada tied it up by the first intermission, and the structured Swiss defense proved to be no match as Canada went on to win 4-1.  Eakin finished with an assist on Louis Leblanc’s third period goal.  He has continued his strong play showing off his speed and work ethic, even if he isn’t in the top 30 of the tournament in points, goals, assists, or plus/minus.  He’s showing Hockey Canada what they missed out on by cutting him last year.

Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov played in the 7:30 pm game between Russia and Finland.  Russia drew first blood, but Finland scored three straight to take a 3-1 lead in the third.  Kuznetsov’s frustration boiled over as his pushed a Finn’s head into the glass with his fist during the second.  He also came into a play after the whistle to throw a punch, though he wasn’t penalized on that play. 

Despite these setbacks, Kuznetsov single-handedly took the game over and brought the Russians back.  He scored a dirty goal in the third period to pull Russia within one, then dangled his way to a semi breakaway.  Maxime Kitsyn scored on the rebound of that breakaway to tie up the game at 3, then returned the favor by setting up Kuznetsov’s goal to win the game in OT.

Orlov had yet another strong game.  He is currently third in the tournament in points, and he leads team Russia.  He was defensively sound yet again while generating more offense.  We saw much more of his booming point shot this game, and the rebounds it generated provided several chances for Russia.  Orlov was named Russia's Player of the Game.  His maturity and leadership has also shown through this tournament, as he has been one of the most consistent players for Russia.  With the win, the Russians will play Sweden tomorrow in the semifinals.

Germany played its first game of relegation play today, losing to the Czech Republic 3-2.  Philipp Grubauer stopped 37 shots, but it wasn’t enough as the Czechs took the 3-2 lead for the win with less than a minute remaining in the third.  This tournament has been a learning experience for both Grubauer and the German team.  It wasn’t the best of tournaments, but they will get to continue their learning in the relegation round.

Tomorrow, the Gold Medal re-match everyone has been waiting for will take place…just a little sooner than everyone expected.  Canada will take on the US, who are working off of two days of rest.  That game starts at 7:30 pm, while Russia will take on Sweden in the other semifinal at 3:30 pm.  At least one more of the Caps prospects will lose their dream of World Junior Gold tomorrow.  Who will it be?

Caps' Kids in WJC: Day 2

While yesterday all five of the Caps World Juniors prospects were in action, only Philipp Grubauer of Germany.  Despite giving up four goals in the first period of his debut yesterday and being pulled after that period, he got the nod again tonight.  This time he got through the first without a problem, stopping every piece of rubber that came his way.  He let in a goal just eight seconds into the second period, Germany was able to recover and tie it up at one before the end of the frame.

Grubauer held up under siege toward the end of the third period, and the teams headed into overtime tied at 1.  Just over a minute into the extra frame, Germany took a penalty.  Slovakia was able to convert with just under a minute and a half before the shootout would have begun.

This brings Grubauer’s World Junior record to 0-1-1.  He doesn’t have as strong a team to work with as the other Caps prospects, as last year Germany wasn’t even eligible for the tournament.  The overtime loss to Slovakia is respectable for the German program.

Tomorrow (Tuesday), Cody Eakin and team Canada take on the Czech Republic at 4:00pm.  Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, and the rest of team Russia will take on Marcus Johansson’s home land in team Sweden at 7:00pm.  Patrick Wey and team USA will play Slovakia at 8:00pm, while Grubauer and team Germany get their first day off of the tournament.

Caps' Kids in WJC: Day 1

The 2011 IIHF World Junior Championships began today in Buffalo, N.Y, and all five of the Caps prospects participating in the tournament were in action. It began today at 12:30 when Germany took on Switzerland. Prospect Philipp Grubauer minded the net for the German team, who had to fight back from an early 4-0 Swiss lead in the first period.  While Germany would go on to score three goals, it wouldn't be enough to complete the comeback and Grubauer picked up his first loss of the tournament.  He was relieved by backup Niklas Treutle during the first intermission.

At 4:00 pm, excitement filled the air as longtime rivals Canada and Russia faced off to open their tournament play. Three of the Caps prospects played in that game, with Cody Eakin suiting up for Canada and Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov playing for Russia. Eakin played a feisty game, creating chances for himself and his linemates. He even drew a penalty, even though he took a slashing call halfway through the third period as well. Overall, he did his job and filled his role, helping Canada to a 6-3 victory over Russia.