Canada Sweeps 4 Games in Russia

Team Canada was coming into their game today up 3-0 in the Canada/Russia Super Series. They were looking to make it a 4-game sweep of the games in Russia.

Russia started out the game great, putting the pressure on the Canadians from the puck-drop. But Canada managed to get a goal from Brad Marchand near the end of the period to take a 1-0 lead. Same Gagner then added on to the lead with a early 2nd period goal. John Tavares got the final goal of the period, his first in the series and Canada's third of the game with a power-play goal at 12:19 thanks to a heads-up play by Claude Giroux.

But Russia wouldn't go away. In front of the home-town crowd, Russia sored 2 quick ones to get within 1 of the Canadians. But Brad Marchand came up big once again with a goal off a rebound. That took the wind out of the Russians sails, and the Canadians played it safe for the rest of the game. The final score was 4-2 for Canada.

The key to the game was Canadian goalie Steve Mason. As in the 1st game, Mason stopped all but 2 shots in the game helping Canada to a win. If Canada gets even a tie in Winnipeg on Tuesday, Canada will have won the series.

Canada Takes 3-0 Lead In Super Series

Team Canada was facing the Russians today in the 3rd game of the Canada/Russia Super Series. Canada was trying to keep the momentum going from last game, a game that they won 3-0.

The Russians were starting the game with some bad news, as one of their best players, Alexei Cherepanov was out for the rest of the Super Series. Cherepanov suffered a concussion when he collided with Canadian forward Brandon Sutter in the first period of Game 2. He did not skate this morning and is still in hospital.

So Russia came into the game a little short-handed, and it sure showed. Sam Gagner started Canada off with a quick goal, and then, on the powerplay, Kyle Turris blasted a shot above Russian goaltender Semen Varlamov. Russia answered back though when Pavel Doronin scored a short-handed goal. But near the end of the period, Colton Gillies scored on a breakaway to give Canada the 2-goal lead.

After a 2nd period where Russia scored 1, Canada turned it on in the 3rd. Claude Giroux scored a beautiful goal in the slot to start off the Canadian team, and then Stephan Legein wired a slapshot over the Russian goalie to give Canada a 3-goal lead. From then on, Canada coasted, scoring another one just to be sure. The final score was 6-2 for Canada.

The Canadian team had four power-play goals, including two to open the scoring. Goaltender Leland Irving of the Everett Silvertips got the victory. The next game will be tomorrow in Omsk, and then the scene shifts to Canada.

Canada Takes 2-0 Lead in Super Series

After Team Russia dominated Canada in the 1st 10 minutes of game 1 of the Canad/Russia Super Series on Monday, the Canucks turned it up a notch. They came back and won the game 4-2. Today, they were looking to keep the momentum from that game going, as they faced Russia in game 2 of the Super Series.

The Canadians got the lead in the 1st from Kyle Turris after a great give-and-go with David Perron. Canad brought the lead into the 2nd. In the 2nd frame, tempers were flaring. A simple push started a huge fight in which almost all players on the ice contributed in. But Canada got their revenge with their play.

With a minute left in the 2nd, Stephan Legein blasted the puck past the Russian goalkeeper to give Canada a 2-0 lead. In the 3rd period, fog started rolling into the new arena in Ufa, Russia. But the teams kept on playing. The players participated in a few fights during the period, and Canada sealed the win when David Perron scored to give Canada a 3-0 lead with less than 5 minutes remaining. The final score was 3-0 for Team Canada to give them a 2-0 in the best of 8 series.

The Canadians did everything right in their game today, and were much more disciplined than last game. The Canadians had excellent goaltending for the second game in a row. Lewiston's Jonathan Bernier earned the shutout.
Related Info

Games 3 and 4 of the series are Friday and Saturday in Omsk. The Canadian team has a two-hour flight to Omsk on Thursday.

Canada Wins Game 1 of Super Series

35 years ago, something special happened in hockey. It was the Summit Series between Team Canada and Team Russia, or guess back then, The Red Army. Canadians watched as their dream team, which included Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr lost 2 games and tied 1 in the 1st 4 games at home! It was apparent to both Canadians and Soviets that the Canucks had a fight a head of them.

When Team Canada arrived in their opposing teams country, they again lost. But with a new found respect for the Soviets, Canada turned it on for the final 3 games and won all of them. It was Canada's greatest accomplishment in their history with sports.

Today, Canada and Russia honoured the great series by playing another one. But this time, we got to see Canada's juniors represent in what is called, "The Canada - Russia Super Series.

The 8 game series started off in Ufa, Russia today with both teams ready to roll. The Russians though were the ones who started off with an edge as they scored 2 quick goals to take the lead. But Canada responded with goals 45 seconds apart, one of them off a penalty shot from Kyle Turris to tie it up. In the 2nd period, Canada grabbed the lead when Sam Gagner scored early in the period, and extended that lead later in that period.

From that point on, London Knights goaltender Steve Mason stole the show. He made many spectacular saves the keep the 2-goal Canadian lead and rarely gave up a rebound. He stopped 40 of 42 shots to lead the Canadians to a 4-2 win in the 1st game of the Super Series.

The key to the game was Canada's penalty kill. They killed off 14 penalties plus 2 2-man advantages. If Canada had let even one of those powerplays score, than nobody knows what could of happened with a 1-goal lead.

The second of the eight-game series is Wednesday (Sportsnet, 9 a.m. ET) in Ufa and then two games will be played in Omsk on Friday and Saturday.

Canada Wins It's LLWS Opener

The Little League World Series started out with a bang yesterday with one of the most dramatic games in recent memory. By today, many people were still buzzing about the play that Michael Rando made, but for a lot of the LLWS teams, they had games to play. One of those teams were Canada, who were playing their 1st game of the tournament against Saudi Arabia.

The Canucks sent 6 foot 2, 200 pound Shaylen Buis to the mound, and started off smoking. His 1st 6 outs were all off strikeouts and took a 5-0 lead into the 5th. But the Saudis equaled Canada's 5 to tie it up and chase Buis out of the game. But Canada's bats were not fazed by the shaky inning.

Parker Stefaniuk and Jackson Temple both homered in the inning, which highlighted the 8 runs the Canucks scored. Canada then shut down Saudi Arabia for their 1st win of the tournament. Temple said his players weren't discouraged despite blowing a five-run lead.

''These guys have been in this position before,'' he said. ''They knew what had to be done. There was no panic. We weren't heading for the lifeboats.''

Canada's next game is Monday afternoon against Japan (1-0), the favourites in Pool D. The Japanese pounded the Caribbean 10-3 in their tournament opener Friday, and if they are not careful against them, they may be heading for the lifeboats after all.