With Canada’s first tune-up match, we kick off our coverage of the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship being held in Calgary and Edmonton. All Habs will of course be providing you with reports on Team Canada, and the three prospects of the Montreal Canadiens: Brendan Gallagher, Nathan Beaulieu and Michael Bournival. But let’s not forget that Jarred Tinordi still has a chance to make Team USA with the final squad expected to be announced on December 22. Many think that Daniel Přibyl was a sixth round steal by Trevor Timmins from the 2011 NHL Entry Draft — he could find himself on the Czech junior team.
Look for WJC game reviews and features as part of our commitment to comprehensive coverage of the Canadiens organization. Oh, and wondering about our original artwork that accompanies the article? It comes from the creative talents of @czechtacular — we would love to hear your comments — and if you are interested in the genesis of it, we have added a note below the game review.
written by czechtacular, AllHabs.net
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | T | |
| Canada | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Finland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
MONTREAL, QC. — Team Canada’s inaugural pre-tournament matchup was Monday, featuring two teams that will face each other once again on Boxing Day, when the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championships are officially underway. Finland’s Teemu Pulkkinen opened the scoring in the first period, but goals from Boone Jenner of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, Mark Stone of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings and Brendan Gallagher of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants eventually procured Canada a win by the final score of 3-1.
Canada’s Ryan Murray was serving an interference penalty in the first period when Pulkkinen let a shot go from the left faceoff circle that got the better of goaltender Mark Visentin. In the second, Brett Connolly set up an odd-man rush, with the prime beneficiary Jenner tying the game with the help of a deflection off an errant stick belonging to one of the Finns. Meanwhile, Nathan Beaulieu was on the ice for Mark Stone’s goal six minutes later, as Stone picked up his own rebound to put it past Finnish netminder Christopher Gibson. While Gibson, who plays for Chicoutimi in the QMJHL, was later relieved by Sami Aittokallio after the conclusion of the middle stanza, he was responsible for shutting the door on a number of Canadian chances throughout two periods.
The final frame was even tighter, as neither team wanted to sacrifice a goal to buy their opponents the necessary momentum to topple the game completely in their favour. However, with under two minutes remaining, it was Michaël Bournival that set up Brendan Gallagher, who in his usual style went hard to the net and potted in the insurance marker at 18:21. The two Habs’ prospects are among the eight different Canadian players who registered points in the game.
Canada’s next pre-tournament matchup will be at the Enmax Centrium in Red Deer, as they face Switzerland on Thursday at 9:00 p.m. EST. In the meantime, Habs’ prospects Jarred Tinordi and Daniel Přibyl will be in pre-tournament action on Tuesday against Russia and Latvia respectively.
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The issue of photos for the World Junior Championships is an interesting one. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has an agreement with Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum (HHOF) to license and distribute images taken at the tournament. Last season we were contacted by a member of the HHOF to remove images from our website.
The series of articles were our contribution to provide information to our readers and to promote the tournament. The HHOF complained to us about content which they didn’t even cover on their website. If anything, we felt that the promotion of the event likely drove customers to their online store.
We can’t be sure which mainstream media outlet complained to HHOF about our use of the photos. Sure it was petty but we took the gesture as a compliment — someone out there was jealous of our coverage.
The silver lining is that now you will be treated to original creations to accompany the WJC articles. We should caution that the artwork is copyrighted. If the HHOF, mainstream media, or new media website is interested in using images, we will be pleased to consider your request.
Enjoy the tournament everyone!