Posted on 09/14/2004 9:56:49 PM PDT by drtom
CBC SPORTS ONLINE - Canada remains on top of the hockey world after defeating Finland 3-2 in the World Cup of Hockey final on Tuesday.
Shane Doan's goal only 34 seconds into the third period stood as the winner as Team Canada hoisted the plastic-wrapped World Cup trophy before a partisan crowd of 19,370 at Toronto's Air Canada Centre.
"That was pretty special," Doan said. "It's something I'm never going to forget.
"It was incredible, this whole experience has been incredible. It's a dream to score that goal."
The win reaffirmed Canada's status as the preeminent hockey power, mirroring gold-medal performances at the Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games (2002) and the past two IIHF world championships (2003-04).
"I have been really fortunate to have been in good situations and been on top four times now," noted Canadian defenceman Eric Brewer. "It's quite rewarding."
But with the collective bargaining agreement expiring Wednesday at midnight ET and a lockout looming, it might well have been the last meaningful game played by NHLers for the foreseeable future.
"It's definitely disappointing after the high we're having now that we might not be able to play," agreed Canadian goaltender Martin Brodeur. "But the business side enters now."
Joe Sakic and Scott Niedermayer also scored for Team Canada (6-0-0), which never trailed the entire tournament.
"With all the young players, we have a great future here in Canada," Sakic figured. "It's nice to win some tournaments."
Speaking of youngsters, Joe Thornton had two assists and Vincent Lecavalier was named the tournament's most valuable player.
"I was surprised," claimed Lecavalier, whose seven points in six games trailed only Frederik Modin's eight points for Sweden.
"It's well-deserved," said reigning NHL MVP Martin St. Louis, Lecavalier's Tampa Bay Lightning teammate.
"He was a late addition, but when he came here he wasn't going to be a passenger. He wanted to make a difference.
"He definitely did. He made the best of it and he deserves to be the MVP."
As expected, Brodeur started in goal despite a sore left wrist and turned aside 27 of 29 shots.
"I was 100 per cent, I didn't feel a thing out there," admitted Brodeur, who also backstopped Team Canada past Finland 2-1 in the quarter-finals en route to Olympic gold at Salt Lake.
Riku Hahl and Tuomo Ruutu both tallied for Finland (4-1-1) with Toni Lydman adding two assists.
Netminder Miikka Kiprusoff made 30 saves, but permitted a weak goal in the second period.
"Kipper didn't play his best game," Finnish head coach Raimo Summanen acknowledged. "Our defence didn't help either (but) I'm proud of the spirit and the attitude on our team."
Teemu Selanne hinted afterward that it might have been his final game in North America, pending a prolonged work stoppage.
Selanne also revealed that he must undergo knee surgery.
Finland certainly lived up to its advanced billing as a tireless team blessed with grit, speed and cancer survivor Saku Koivu as its inspirational leader.
But the Canadians looked much smoother than they did in last Saturday's skittish semifinal versus the Czech Republic, won 4-3 in overtime.
"Team Canada proved they are the best and we were able to go head-to-head against them," Koivu said. "There's a lot of things to build on."
Canada opened the scoring with its first shot just 52 seconds into the contest on a crafty play by Mario Lemieux.
Alertly flipping the puck over the stick of a pinching defenceman at centre ice, he skated into the Finnish zone and threaded a pass through heavy traffic to Sakic, who ripped a shot high to Kiprusoff's glove side for a 1-0 lead.
It was Sakic's fourth goal of the tournament.
Finland tested Brodeur moments later, but he blocked a rising shot then slid to his right to rob Niko Kapanen on the rebound.
The Finns continued to press until Hahl finally tipped Lydman's point shot past Brodeur as he cruised through the slot at the 6:24 mark.
It remained tied 1-1 until Niedermayer put Canada ahead just over three minutes into the second period.
Joining three forwards on the offensive rush, he received a pass from Kris Draper and snapped a low shot from the circle that squirted between Kiprusoff's pads.
Canada gradually assumed control from there, only to be stymied by Kiprusoff, whose biggest save of the period came on Jarome Iginla at the doorstep with four minutes left.
Ruutu then took matters into his own hands and scored the tying goal on a splendid solo rush with exactly a minute remaining.
Gathering steam at centre ice, he dashed by Brad Richards, eluded Simon Gagne's bodycheck, deked around Niedermayer and fired a quick shot by Brodeur to make it 2-2 through two.
Canada regained the lead 34 seconds into the third period as Thornton backhanded a pass from behind the net out front to Doan for the decisive goal.
"I've had so many chances, it's nice to finally get one," Doan told CBC Sports.
"It was a total team effort and I'm so proud of the guys," Thornton said. "It was four great weeks of my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything."
Bear Poops in Wood.
I suspect you reply would have been quite different if the US won it. ; )
Hey, no offense to my Canadian brothers.
We expect you to win the Hockey World Cup. Anything less would be disappointing.
But is this newsworthy?
Let's do a test. It's multiple choice. Which headline would be newsworthy?
A. Canada captures Hockey World Cup.
B. Bear Poops in Woods.
C. Kennedy endorses Bush.
D. France surrenders.
Proudpapa. You're right. While I'm happy about our cup win, this is hardly Free Republic worthy news. I'd much rather see articles about Canada revealing what a sick, twisted, lefty dysfunctional bunch of morons run our country. I am glad we won though, it's one of the only things I can still say I'm proud about my country for.
I didn't know it had gotten loose.
I wonder how great Mario would have been without the health problems. He is one of the most talented individuals to ever play hockey.
Hope y'all enjoyed it. It's the last hockey we'll be seeing for awhile.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.