'You can't win if you don't score': Canadian men left stifled by Swedish defence in hockey quarter-final
CBC
Canada is a nation full of armchair Olympic general managers, with an educated fanbase that knows its hockey.
Clearly, the Hockey Canada brain trust subscribed to the philosophy that inexperience can prove costly on the Olympic stage. And it turned out that Jack McBain — one of five college/junior-aged players on the Canadian roster — committed a costly turnover in a 2-0 loss to Sweden in the Olympic quarter-final.
With the game tied 0-0 midway through third period, McBain attempted a drop pass at his own blueline. An opportunistic Lucas Wallmark swooped in and ripped a shot that deflected off Eric O'Dell's stick to give Sweden a 1-0 lead.
The hard-checking Swedes added an empty-netter to send Canada home without an Olympic medal in men's hockey for the first time since 2006.
WATCH | Sweden stifles Canadian attack to win quarter-final:
The youthful Americans also lost their quarter-final to Slovakia, setting up an all-European semifinal.
"Obviously it sucks not winning," said O'Dell, one of Canada's top scorers in the tournament with two goals and five points. "We're expected to win all the time.
"Defensively we were solid but tonight couldn't get some goals for our goaltender. We had fun, but it's obviously tough not to get a medal."
McBain's miscue is clearly not the only reason Canada is not advancing. Far from it, in fact, given Canada's failure to muster any sense of sustained offensive pressure against the suffocating Swedish defence.
"The biggest thing is they clog up the ice really well," Canadian forward Landon Ferraro told CBC Sports during the second intermission.
WATCH | Full replay of Canada vs. Sweden quarter-final:
"You can't win if you don't score," bemoaned defenceman Owen Power, who logged the most ice-time for Canada with a tournament-average of 21:38. "They just clogged up the middle and didn't really let us get any entry."
In hindsight, Team Canada head coach Claude Julien might regret parking Kent Johnson on the bench to start the third period.
The University of Michigan standout arrived in Beijing as a member of the taxi squad, joining the active roster only as a last-minute replacement for Daniel Carr, who was in COVID-19 protocol.
