Canada wakes up with solid win vs. Switz.
Colin
Canada 3, Switzerland 1
Canada wakes up with solid win
By PIERRE LeBRUN -- Canadian Press
PRAGUE -- That was more like it.
Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers scored twice Wednesday as Canada
finally began resembling defending world champions in a solid 3-1 victory
over Switzerland.
Brendan Morrison of the Vancouver Canucks also scored as Canada (2-0-1)
wrapped up the preliminary round by winning Group D. The Canadians will face
Germany, Latvia and the host Czech Republic in the qualifying round starting
Friday (TSN, 10:15 a.m. EDT).
Switzerland's Marcel Jenni snapped Roberto Luongo's shutout bid less than
seven minutes from the end but the Florida Panthers netminder had a
confident outing.
Martin Gerber of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks was sharp in goal for
Switzerland, but couldn't shut down Canada's onslaught in the second and
third period.
Switzerland, ranked ninth in the world, was cheered on by a sea of red
Swiss jerseys at Sazka Arena, thousands of supporters incessantly chanting
"La Suisse! La Suisse!"
And a scoreless first period gave them hope.
A timid start by Canada saw the Swiss jump out to an 8-0 shot advantage
early on although few shots were from in-close and Luongo confidently
handled their perimeter attack.
The Canadians headed to the dressing room outshot 12-6 in the opening
period and wondering when exactly things would fall into place.
Head coach Mike Babcock then shuffled his forward lines, putting Brenden
Morrow with Heatley and Daniel Briere and the new combination struck 44
seconds into the second period, Heatley getting his second goal of the
tournament after shovelling a loose puck inside the post and past Gerber.
The Canadian bench jumped to its feet and pumped their fists, a sense of
relief apparent on their faces.
The goal spurred on an energetic attack by the pumped-up Canadians, as they
came in waves in the Swiss zone and finally imposed the superior skill on
their opponent in this tournament.
They were outshooting the Swiss 12-1 midway through the period and making
them pay for carrying the puck with punishing checks. This was Canadian
hockey.
Canada got further rewarded for its dominance when Morrison scooped up the
puck behind the net and swiftly stuffed a one-timer between's Gerber's legs
to make it 2-0 at 11:07.
By the time the buzzer sounded at the end of the second period, Canada had
outshot the Swiss 18-3 and the result of the game was no longer in doubt.
Canada then sealed it during a 5-on-3 man advantage 3:19 in the third
period, Heatley, at the side of the net, one-timing a cross-ice saucer pass
from Briere past a helpless Gerber.
Canada remained unbeaten all-time versus the Swiss at the world
championship at 21-0-2, but the gap has definitely narrowed. Canada beat the
Swiss 2-0 last year in Turku, Finland, and 3-2 in 2002 at Karlstad, Sweden.
Gerber is the only current NHLer on the Swiss roster this year but it's
nevertheless a deeply skilled lineup made up mostly of Swiss league pros,
generally regarded as the best league in Europe.
Defenceman Julien Vauclair is an Ottawa Senators prospect who played with
AHL Binghamton this season.
Canada carries three points into the qualifying round, its win over France
discarded because the French didn't advance. The Swiss advance with only one
point while surprising Austria has two.
Summary
PRAGUE (CP) -- World hockey championship Tuesday:
First Period
No scoring.
Penalties -- Morrow Cda (elbowing) 13:40, Cooke Cda, Ambuhl Swi (roughing)
14:55, Jenni Swi (inteference) 15:50.
Second Period
1. Canada, Heatley 2 (S. Niedermayer) 0:44
2. Canada, Morrison 1 (Cooke) 11:07
Penalties -- Ambuhl Swi (cross-checking) 4:09, Morrow Cda (high-sticking)
5:44, Jenni Swi (hooking) 11:56, Fischer Swi (tripping) 15:58.
Third Period
3. Canada, Heatley 3 (Briere, Morris) 3:19 (pp)
4. Switzerland, Jenni 2 (Ziegler, Bezina) 13:17
Penalties -- Ziegler Swi (high-sticking) 1:16, Vauclair Swi (elbowing)
1:33, Jeannin Swi (tripping) 5:12, Morrow Cda (hooking) 6:44, Jenni Swi
(high-sticking) 7:39.
Shots on goal by Canada 6 18 10--34
Switzerland 12 3 7--22
Goal (shots-saves) -- Canada: Luongo (W, 1-0-1), Switzerland: Gerber (L,
1-1-1).
Power plays (goals-chances) -- Canada: 1-7; Switzerland: 0-3.
Referee -- Christer Larking. Linesmen -- Ales Lesnjak, Roman Pouzar.
Attendance -- 14,892.
john smith
the
> puck behind the net and swiftly stuffed a one-timer between's Gerber's
legs
> to make it 2-0 at 11:07.
Alright, we all know Mo is a gifted goal-scorer, and he's potted a few
highlight reel goals, but I'm having a hard time picturing this one.
He scooped up the puck from behind the net, so he had the puck. How did he
manage a one-timer? Aren't one-timers usually off a pass?