Defending champion Canada head into the World Hockey Championships confident they can shake the host jinx and capture their 25th title.
Mindful of the misfortunes of previous tournament hosts, Canada are seeking to become the first team to win gold on home soil since 1986, when the former Soviet Union defeated Sweden in the final in Moscow.
Sweden came close in 1995 when the tournament was held in Stockholm, but lost to Finland and had to settle for silver.
“It has been a long time since the home team won gold,” said Bob Nicholson, president of Hockey Canada. “We have come back to defend our gold. That is what we are here for.”
Canada are favorites along with Sweden, Russia, Finland and the Czech Republic. The Canadians arrived Tuesday to begin preparations for their tournament opener Friday against Slovenia. Fresh off a 4-1 exhibition loss to Russia on Monday in Quebec City, the Canadians practiced for the first time on Tuesday at the Halifax Metro Centre arena.
Canadian coach Ken Hitchcock said the Russians played with greater determination Monday and that should help get his team going.
“Their tenacity was a lot better than ours,” Hitchcock said. “Now we know how we have to play to win.
“Anybody who was just dipping their toes into the water yesterday got a wake-up call,” he said.
Canada won 12 of the first 13 Worlds but they no longer dominate like they used to, winning just three of the past 10 titles.
In their most disappointing international performance in recent years, Canada was eliminated in the quarter-finals at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.
Hitchcock said general manager Steve Yzerman and the coaching staff have implemented a couple of significant changes over the past few years in order to adapt better to international showcases.
One was getting younger stars like Rick Nash, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley more international experience. The other was finalizing the roster as early as possible to avoid the distractions that come with bringing players after the tournament has started.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was