A Collapse of Epic Proportions

A heartbroken Team Canada squad looking in disbelief as they blew a 3-0 third period lead to lose 5-3 to Team Russia in the gold medal game at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo, Ontario.

           Team Russia scored five unanswered third period goals to beat Team Canada 5-3 to win the gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championships. This game was much different than any World Junior game that I’ve watched, as I was actually attending the game in Buffalo with my sister Sarah.

            Ryan Ellis opened up the scoring in front of the 18,000 plus fans dressed in red and white in HSBC’s Buffalo, Ontario location. All in all, Canada dominated that first period, taking a 2-0 lead into the intermission. The first 20 minutes were extremely loud and an unbelievable hockey environment to be apart of.

            The play was more even in the second period, but I made the mistake of making a mid-period bathroom stop. As soon as I walked into the washroom, all I heard was the goal horn. Brayden Schenn had sniped another goal, which was his 18^th point of the tournament. As a result, the Russians pulled goaltender Dmitri Shikin in favour of Igor Bobkov. The Canadians tested Bobkov on several occasions, but he shut the door. Canada held a 3-0 lead heading into the third frame and the entire crowd (including myself) thought it was over.

            In my opinion, the turning point of the game happened as the Canadians skated onto the ice before the start of the final period. As goaltender Mark Visentin was sprinting towards his net, he completely wiped out. This was a bad omen that basically summarized the play of the Canadians during the period. Russia seemed like a new team, scoring five goals to turn the crowd into a quiet one, with the exception of the 10 Russian fans going nuts. I’m guessing they secretly flew Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin into Buffalo and told them to shave and disguise as some of Russia’s players.

            Russia simply outworked Canada in the third period. They seemed hungrier to win the game, fighting off Canadians in the corners and they won every battle that occurred throughout the final 20 minutes. Canada’s youth and inexperience really was evident in that final stanza, as they just couldn’t keep their emotions in check. Pierre McGuire called it “the worst collapse he’s ever seen,” and it was definitely surreal to watch. It was the worst collapse since the Metrodome went down under. All joking aside, the epic collapse belongs in the same category as the Miracle on Manchester. This was when the Edmonton Oilers blew a 5-0 third period lead to lose 6-5 in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings.

            Even though Canada came out on the losing end, the experience was truly unbelievable. Sarah and I actually got a pair of really nice seats for the bronze medal game between Sweden and the USA, which turned out to be a great game for $60 combined. The sea of red in the stands for Canada’s game was indescribable and when they scored it was deafening. In fact, my ears are still ringing as I write this. It would have obviously been unbelievable if they had won the gold, but attending ‘medal day’ at the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships was a remarkable experience and a once in a lifetime opportunity.