I was lucky enough to see many of the games for the Firs World Championships in London, Ontario. Let me tell you, the tourney started off fairly slow (with a few exceptions) but finished with a bang.
First off, Firs plays with these smaller nets. At first, I didn't like it. But then, when you see the games, it really makes sense. The game becomes more like lacrosse or basketball where you can't just walk in and fire a slapper. You've got to setup, move the puck around, get the goalie moving, and shoot. I'm a big fan of those smaller nets now.
The final between Canada and USA was probably the most exciting game of hockey (ice or roller) that I've been at ever. Canada started off slow while the US came out flying. The first ten minutes were the difference really. The US beat Canada to the puck every time and caused Canada to take the lazyman penalties (hooking, holding, etc). The US took a 2-0 lead. Then Canada began to turn it up.
I am biased (being a Canada fan) but I'd say after the initial 10 minutes, Canada was the better team. Victor Gervais disappointed me. He looked lazy and didn't really generate much. St Cyr is a mean bastard who has sweet hands. Hugo Belanger has all the intangibles. Canada has this young player named Brendan Brooks. He's gotta be the fastest skater I have ever seen. Every time he touched the puck it was dynamite. Watch out for him at Narch and such in the future.
As for the US, they didn't have name bars so it was tough for me to keep track of the names. But let me tell you that I wasn't at all impressed with CJ Yoder. I thought there were better players on the team and he was marginal at best. You'll also see his scoring wasn't all that great.
Thompson arena was packed. Probably about 3000 people I'm guessing. A good mix of Canadian and American fans (about a 75/25% mix).
Canada really came out flying, and in my opinion, dominated the second half but just couldn't put the puck in the net.
With a minute left, Canada is down 3-2. They pull their goalie. The place is going crazy. They tie it with 1 second remaining. I though the roof was going to come down with the noise in the place.
The first overtime settles nothing. Canada, I think, was the better team in overtime but the US had some phenomonal chances (two breakaways).
In the second overtime, CJ Yoder scored on what looked like an innocent play. A shot and he whacked in a loose puck.
Still, the game was phenomonal even though Canada lost.
Canada and the US were the best teams, but the US had to squeeze through the semis with a 3-2 controversial win over Italy.
Spain, Czechs, and France all had good teams. Give them a few years and it'll be interesting...
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