Ramblings about the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championship Gold Medal Game

It's tough to be incredibly critical of a team made of players who are under the age of 20. They are, almost by definition, lacking experience in these sorts of high pressure games, and don't necessarily know how to react. with that said, what happened in the gold medal game was rather dreadful.

For two periods, the Canadians dominated the game, building up a three goal lead. It seemed as though all was in control, and the Canadians took their foot off the gas pedal. This lead to a great comeback by the Russian team, scoring 5 goals in 16 minutes and winning the gold medal game.

One can only hope that the Canadian team learned a lesson in not letting up and that you do not earn the reward without completing the task. That this will make them better players in the long run. But for now, it sucks. And it makes one want to yell at his country's junior team.

(I don't mean to take anything away from the Russian team, who showed immense character in 3 comeback victories during the elimination round. They never gave up, and recovered from a disasterous start to the tournament to win the goal medal.)