My sister and I ventured to Niagara University last night to catch the experience of the World Junior Championships, it made sure to meet my expectations. We went to the Czech vs Norway game since being in college doesn't make it hard to pick between 20 and 40 dollar tickets, especially when neither game is of significant importance to you. I quickly realized that it was an international event based on the large number of security people around the rink, although there was surprisingly little search at the door.
The crowd for the game was a full one, other then the reserved seats at the end of the ice almost all of the bleachers were filled up before the game started. The crowd was very neutral and just there to see some good hockey, other then a pack of Canadian fans behind us that were rooting for Norway to knock off the Czech team and make the road to a pool win easier for team Canada.
One of the main things I was interested in at the game was to see if the players or coaches had any significantly different traditions of things in the game. The only major thing that I noticed was the way the coaches were dressed; the Norway coaches wore suits and ties while the Czech coaches wore team jackets over regular shirts and ties. I was also surprised that the teams were not sponsored enough to have someone get them all matching equipment. For example the Norway goalie was wearing green pads despite the teams red, white, and blue colors. Another reason for that could be the lack of preparation time with the exact players for the teams but it was still surprising.
The game itself was a great one despite there being an obvious difference in the level of play for each team. The Czechs were clearly the better team from the start, though both teams took a while to get going. The first few shifts seemed to be a feeling out time though it resulted in a early power play for Norway. The fans in our area lacked more then a basic understanding of the rules of hockey. They complained about all of the penalties, despite some of them being quite obvious, and didn't understand the concept of hand pass or off sides at times. The style of game surprised me the most out of anything, I was expecting a fast paced game with a lot of scoring. Instead of faced paced, most of the players on both teams were over six feet tall and the main focus was on the physical game. I noticed that a few players were wearing full face shields, as is required in college hockey, and assumed that a contract of some type was the reason for them wearing them in the tournament.
I was also disappointed to see TV timeouts, I know its part of having a big event and making money but nothing takes the flow out of the game like stopping for a minute and a half. The second period was the perfect example of this, the Czech were going on a power play with the momentum but a TV timeout took away all of the built up advantage. Despite hating the timeouts it was neat to see most of the respective countries represented at the game.
At the end of the first the score was tied at zero, shots were seven to six in favor of the Czechs. The game seemed to be controlled by the Czechs much more then the shots and score indicated.
The second period brought a slightly faster pace to the game, but continued the Czech domination of play. The Norwegian's generated good chances when they could get going but they struggled to do so. A delay of game penalty on Norway off the face off was one of the only times I have ever seen a penalty called. The center took too long to get set, a violation of the rule that you do not see enforced very often. Later in the period, right after a TV timeout, the Czech's won a face off toward the Norway goaltender. The winger crashed the net hard and was able to bury the puck and give the Czech's a one nothing lead six minutes into the period. The emotion from the goal was awesome to see, it was like watching the Olympics with players that are still trying to earn their shot at glory. After a full like celebration on the boards, all five players went down the bench and then back to their own goalie to celebrate, just like it should be done.
Norway was being themselves for most of the game, they were failing to complete passes in any zone. Because of this they could not break out of their own zone, nor could they generate any pressure in the offensive zone. The only time they had any sustained pressure was the last few minutes of the period, where they generated most of their six shot for the period. The Czech's had 17 shots in the period bringing the two period total to 24-12 in their favor.
The third period brought about a much more back and forth tempo. Once again the period started off with a penalty, this time only 47 seconds into the frame. Norway's goalie kept it a one goal game with a beautiful save after the Czech's moved the puck around the outside. The third penalty of the period was a ten and two for contact to the head on the Czechs, something that has been all too common so far in the tournament. The Czechs were the ones to benefit from their own penalty. The Czech player worked out of the corner on a one on two, beating both defenders and beating the Norwegian goalie 5-hole to make it a two score game.
Norway eliminated their power play chance by taking a charging penalty halfway through the initial penalty. Even when Norway was getting chances they weren't taking advantage. Many of their shots were just missing the net, they could have easily doubled their shots for the game had they just made the goalie make a save.
Norway got another power play halfway through the period after a scrum in front of the net where only one player received a penalty. They were finally able to generate some control on this power play, getting three or four shots on goal in the two minutes, but still not able to score a goal.
With only a few minutes left in the game, my play of the game occurred. The Czech player was behind the Norway net with four defenders around him. He was able to come up with the puck and walk out of the corner where he found his teammate all alone in front of the net. The Norway goalie made the save but the ability of the player to come out with the puck was impressive. The rest of the game provided a few chances each way, though Norway was never able to hold on to the puck long enough to get their goalie out of the net. Final shots for the game were 38-21 in favor of the Czech team, reflective of the way the game seemed to be played despite the score being only 2-0.
After the game, a player of the game award was awarded to both teams. The Norway goalie deserving receiving the award. The Czech national anthem was played as both teams stood on the blue line, an excellent way to celebrate a well played game by both teams.
I thoroughly enjoyed my junior championship experience and wish that I could do it again, especially to witness a Canadian or US game. If anyone has extra tickets be sure to let me know, id easily make the trip to see these kids play with all their energy and emotion in a game that really cannot be beat by any other sport.
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