Canada opens scoring however Argentina wins and advances in Montevideo
The primary 5 minutes glided by in a flash. Canada’s Jude Nicholson acquired Canada on the board by ending off a pleasant passing play from Robin Thind. The kids mixed to inject Canada with an exhilarating begin to the match. Earlier than blinking, Argentina had stormed again and tied the sport. From there, it was all Argentina as they added three extra first quarter targets and an entire flurry within the third.
Nicholson’s aim, together with different sturdy stretches within the second and fourth quarters, confirmed that Canada has the juice to play with a top-8 nation like Argentina, however the slumps within the sport present the hole between the 2 nations. Canada’s males’s facet hasn’t defeated Argentina in a match since 2009 on the BDO Hockey Champion Problem and the 2009 Pan American Cup (Canada’s final gold at this occasion). Regardless of feeling proper in it for sections of the sport, it’s all the time a problem developing towards a world hockey superpower, a former primary and 2016 Olympic Champion.
The Pan American efficiency up to now by Canada’s attacking rookies in Thind and Nicholson reveals an enormous spark and a profitable grade on the expertise system in Canada. Each gamers have come by way of the NextGen system and have vital expertise on the Junior stage earlier than making the transition this yr. The truth is, each have eligibility for the Junior World Cup in December. There’s a group of younger males which have performed in a number of Junior World Cups and Junior continentals that can be graduating into senior hockey within the subsequent 5 years. This cohort of males’s nationwide group gamers together with the expertise of the veteran senior gamers is constructing their resume and thickening their pores and skin sport by sport. This prime stage expertise will get them that a lot nearer to future World Cup performances and the LA2028 Video games.
Watch the bronze medal match dwell on Watch.Hockey
Canada will now advance to the bronze medal sport with an opportunity to play for a podium end. Standing of their means can be both USA or a rematch with Chile. The group will look to assessment the tape from the primary three video games, determine the sturdy areas and areas to enhance and ship their strongest efficiency of the occasion. Brendan Guraliuk, who will play his fiftieth cap on Sunday morning within the bronze medal match, mentioned that Canada has stretches of actually good play and want so as to add that stage of consistency to indicate good outcomes towards top-8 world ranked groups. Sunday’s bronze medal tilt can be a take a look at for this younger Canadian facet and can be a possibility to place out their greatest efficiency of the match as a bunch. With a younger squad, the advance may be swift, even inside a match setting.