December 25, 2001 - Team Canada won its first game in the World Junior Championship against France by a score of 15 to 0. 
Scoring first was none other than Chuck Kobasew of the Kelowna Rockets. Canada was on the powerplay when one of his 
linemates took a shot in close and the rebound ended up right on the stick of Kobasew, who was in a pefect, wide open position to 
score. Scoring next was Scottie Upshall of the Kamloops Blazers who jumped out of the penalty box, picked up the puck and made
the score 2 - 0. Canada killed off a 5 on 3 penalty during which they created scoring chances. Rick Nash and Jay McClement also 
scored nice passing goals later on in the 1st period. Jared Aulin, also of the Blazers, opened the scoring in the 2nd period, followed 
by goals from Garth Murray and Stephan Weiss. France changed netminders upon Canada's 8th goal, scored by Mike Cammalleri.
Then Brad Boyes got his first goal of the game to give Canada a 9 - 0 lead at the end of the 2nd period. Scoring in the 3rd period
was as follows: Cammalleri, Upshall, Cammalleri, Weiss, Boyes, and Aulin. Although the score was so one-sided, give credit to the 
French team for coming to play and working as hard as they did. They were at a complete disadvantage as far as size and strength 
were concerened since their enire team was so tiny compared to Canada. In goal for Canada was Pascal Leclaire, who stopped 10 
shots. Mike Cammalleri was Canada's player of the game with a hattrick and 4 assists. Canada's next game is against Switzerland,
Thursday at 6:00 am on TSN. 

December 27 - The WJHC game between Canada and Switzerland started out quite competitive with both teams appearing equally
matched, but the final score ended up 6 to 1 in favour of Canada. Brad Boyes opened the scoring for Canada midway through the 1st
period. He won the faceoff, skated in and got the goal off a nice, high shot. A shorthanded goal with less than a minute remaining got 
Switzerland on the board but Canada regained the lead 25 seconds later after a great pass in front of the goal from Jared Aulin to 
Mike Cammalleri, who scored at the side of the net. Late in the 2nd period, Chuck Kobasew scored off of a nice pass from Jason
Spezza to make the score 3 to 1 in favour of Canada. After two periods filled with penalties, whenever a player went down in the 3rd
period eyes immediately turned to the ref but he was relatively silent. If there was any doubt about the outcome of the game, Canada 
erased it in the 3rd period with a dominating preformance. The line of Steve Ott, Brian Sutherby, and Jarret Stoll finally registered 
points after a great passing play ended with a goal by Ott. Garth Murray scored next, followed by Boyes off a bad angle shot. In 
goal for Canada was Olivier Michaud. Today's Canadian player of the game was Boyes with 2 goals. Canada plays Russia Saturday 
at 6:00 am on TSN.

December 29 - After another penalty filled game, Canada came away with a 5 to 2 victory over the Russians. Jarret Stoll opened 
the scoring for Canada with a shorthanded goal in the 1st period. Jason Spezza and Chuck Kobasew assisted Stephan Weiss for 
the 2nd goal of the game. The period ended with Russia on the powerplay, which became a 5 on 3 right away in the 2nd period. 
Canada then took another penalty and shortly thereafter Russia scored to bring the game within one. After a scramble in the 
Russian zone the puck ended up in the net, but the goal was waved off because of goaltender interference; it was an easy call to 
make. Canada worked hard for the next goal, which got just behind the goalie and Mike Cammalleri nicely tapped it in. Steve Ott 
bumped Alexander Svitov in the corner and though the Russian greatly exaggerated the hit, it was after the whistle and Ott was sent
to the box. A steady stream of penalties for Canada gave Russia another 2 man advantage and they scored. In the third period, 
Canada got on a 5 on 3 and after the confusion over the timeclock died down, Jared Aulin was able to get a good shot away for 
another Canadian goal. Jason Spezza assisted the goal by Chuck Kobasew which crossed the line seconds before the net was 
knocked off its pegs. Later on off a faceoff, Dan Hamhuis was hit hard into the boards and a bit awkwardly at that. He looked to be 
in a lot of pain and had to be helped up and assisted off the ice. The injury looked to be with his shoulder but nothing was confirmed.
Canada received a 5 minute powerplay but no one scored. The game finished in a powerplay for Russia. Pascal Leclaire was in goal
for Canada and he was very sharp as Russia only scored on the 2 man advantage. Svitov was the player of the game for Russia, 
although he didn't get a single point, and for Canada it was Jared Aulin. Canada's next game is tomorrow at 9:45 am on TSN.

December 30 - Team Canada received its first loss today at the hands of Team Finland. With about 12 minutes remaining in the 1st
period, Jared Aulin opened the scoring off the rebound from a shot by Brad Boyes. Later on Finland tied it up after a straight hard 
shot flew past everyone including goaltender Olivier Michaud. Then with 11 seconds left in the period, Finland took a 2 to 1 lead. 
Early in the 2nd period, Brian Sutherby was hit from behind but he looked to be ok. Though Finland had some great chances, one of
which was a sure goal if not for Nathan Paetsch who jumped behind the goalie to keep the puck out, Michaud played very well and
there were no goals in the period. Great puck movement by Finland led to an early 3rd period goal that Michaud had no chance on.
Canada tried to come back, but the game was put out of reach when Finland got another goal to make the final score 4 to 1. Overall,
the game was completely in Finland's favour as Canada lacked the intensity and emotion that they had yesterday against Russia. 
Jay Bouwmeester was Canada's player of the game. Canada's next game is on Tuesday at 8:30 am on TSN and is against Sweden.

January 1 - A sigh of relief was felt throughout Canada as our World Junior team rallied from a 2 - 0 deficit to beat Team Sweden 
5 -2 and advanced to the next round of the playoffs. With  about 5 minutes remaining in the 1st period, Sweden scored twice but
Mike Cammalleri quickly came back and scored off a close, sharp angle shot. The next goal was the result of hard work and good
positioning. Jarret Stoll was able to get a shot away which was stopped by the goalie but as Stoll went around the back of the 
net, Steve Ott jumped on the loose rebound and passed back to Stoll who shot the puck nicely into the open net. Sometime during
the period, Stephen Weiss hurt what seemed to be his shoulder and was gone for the rest of the game. Canada started off great in
the 2nd period but faded a little as it progressed. Although Sweden spent more time with the puck, Canada took advantage of their
opportunities and got the goals: Brad Boyes on the powerplay and  Garth Murray after some hard work and a pass by Scottie 
Upshall. The 3rd period was better for Canada as they defended their 2 goal lead very well, but it was also very tense with the 
realization that there was still a lot of time left in the game. However, when Brian Sutherby scored into the empty net with less than
a minute remaining, the Canadian victory was sealed. In goal for Canada was Pascal Leclaire and returning to the lineup was Dan 
Hamhuis after sitting out Sunday's game with a bruised shoulder. Jarret Stoll was Canada's player of the game. Canada's next game
is against Switzerland tomorrow at 7:30 am on TSN.

January 2 - In today's semifinal game between Canada and Switzerland, our team put forward a dominating effort and came away 
with a 4 to 0 win. Although there was no scoring in the 1st period, Canada had 4 powerplays and led in shots 18 to 9. Events worth
mentioning: a Canadian shot deflected off a stick and hit Scottie Upshall in the mouth, but he seemed to be ok; and goalie Pascal
Leclaire was nearly caught way out of his net after trying to play the puck. Steve Ott opened the scoring in the 2nd period with a 
shorthanded goal after the Swiss goalie was unable to cover up. Mike Cammalleri got the next goal, followed by one from Brian 
Sutherby. For this goal, Ott broke away and took a shot that was stopped by the netminder who thought he had it under him but 
didn't. Sutherby then raced in for the rebound and put it in. After a relatively penalty filled period, Canada led 3 to 0. The 3rd period
was in favour of Switzerland and Leclaire absolutely stood on his head to get the shutout and the win. With a minute and a half 
remaining in the game, Ott scored into the empty net. As expected, Ott was Canada's player of the game with 2 goals and an 
assist. Canada's final game is against Russia at 11:00 am Friday on TSN.

January 4 - Woo hoo!! Team Canada is bringing home the silver medal!! In the final game of the World Junior Hockey Championship,
Canada wasted no time getting started and opened the scoring 22 seconds into the 1st period with a goal by Brian Sutherby. Chuck
Kobasew scored next to give Canada a 2 - 0 lead but Russia returned quickly with a goal by Alexander Frolov, which sparked his 
team. The opening period was awesome with end to end action and pressure by both teams. Scottie Upshall, assisted by Jason 
Spezza, scored right away in the 2nd period and Canada carried the momentum until Steve Ott recieved a delay of game penalty. A 
Russian player was then able to get behind Jay Bouwmeester and score. Although Canada had its chances, most of the pressure 
was by Russia and Canada's game was broken apart. The defense watched as Russia skated in and scored after Pascal Leclaire 
was out of position for the shot. The guys were surprised, frustrated and didn't seem to know where to be or what to do. Russia took 
advantage with another goal and made the score 4 - 3. Coach Stan Butler didn't call a time out but was still able to settle the team 
down. With 1:30 remaining, Spezza skated from end to end and took a hard shot that rang off the crossbar. Russia came out hard in 
the 3rd, intent on keeping their lead but it was challenged when Kobasew tipped in a shot from Dan Hamhuis five minutes into the 
period. Canada played well and tried to get ahead, but the tie was eventually broken by Russia off a long shot after the faceoff. 
Canada again tried to come back, but they always seemed to be a half a step behind. Kobasew, Canada's player of the game, had a 
lot of ice time in the 3rd period but was unable to get the hattrick and the final scored remained 5 - 4 in favour of Russia. From a 
Canadian standpoint, there really isn't anyone who can be singled out and blamed for this loss because the entire team simply didn't
play a gold medal game. As the cliche goes, you win as a team and you lose as a team. In my opinion, Canada had a great team, 
filled with so much skill and character that I'm amazed they didn't come away with the gold. However, it basically came down to the
last half of the 2nd period when Canada fell apart. I would argue that the Russians won not so much because of their own talent, but 
because of the Canadian breakdown. In a similar situation any other opponent would have done the same as Russia. As far as I'm 
concerned, Team Canada was great today and throughout the tournament. The guys worked so hard and every game was played 
with heart. Congratulations guys for the silver medal!!