Last night, I had the privilege to attend one of amateur hockey’s premiere events, the world under-20 men’s hockey championship, or the WJC, for short. Purchasing a day pass, I was able to attend both semi-final games on the day, the first featuring the favoured team Sweden against team Russia, and the second a rematch of last year’s gold medal game as Team Canada took on Team USA.
The host for this year’s tournament was Buffalo, New York, and in spite of being on American soil, its proximity to the Canadian border meant that a wave of Red and White dominated the local scene. It first started at the local establishments, as we checked out the Pearl St. Grill and it’s downstairs pub, Angry Dave’s. Both establishments were loaded with red and white sweaters, maple leafs as far as the eye could see.
Many bore jerseys with the names of Canadian greats on the back: Lemieux, Sakic, Gretzky, Iginla, Toews, several Crosby jerseys, a few Yzermans and Nashes spread amongst the crowd. You’d get the occasional fan in Red White and Blue, conversing with the Canadian contingent over a few pints and some of Buffalo’s famous wings. Remembering prior match ups, listing former greats and reminiscing about the history of the rivalry, which really began to take off with the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
As we marched towards the HSBC Arena, a red and white snake slithering through the streets, some cars honked in support. Ontario license plates were everywhere. The famed beer tent erected outside of the HSBC arena had a similar red hue to it as Canadian fans took in some of the local atmosphere and some ‘imported’ Labatt Blue while awaiting the start of the first semi-final of the day, pitting Russia against Sweden. Major news outlets were everywhere, taking in the action as a group of Canadian fans sung the national anthem in a group, beers in hand, as the camera rolled.
While almost a sell out, many of the seats went unfilled, particularly in the upper bowl where I was situated. This allowed us to move up to get a better view. The tempo was cautious early, and it was hard to tell who the fans would side with. Did we want the supposed better opponent in Sweden? A chance to redeem our 6-5 OT loss a few days earlier? Or would we rather face the Russians, a match up with more history and the supposed easier roadblock on our path to gold.
A few early blitzes around the Russian goal brought the crowd out of it’s slumber, and soon after Russia took a 1-0 lead on what was a nothing play, silencing the small group of Swedish fans sitting near the Swedish bench. The game moved quickly and was moderately paced as neither club was very physical, preferring to try deking and deft passing to gain the zone. Early on, some Hockey Canada representatives handed out free t-shirts to members in the lower bowl.
The Russians added to their lead early in the second and started to turn the crowd in their favour. Russian goaltender Dmitri Shikin held the Swedes at bay, as wave after wave of Swedish attackers were able to break the Russian defense. I got a pretty good view of this action as I took advantage of the empty seats to move down behind the Russian goal, and to my surprise ended up sitting near several scouts who were taking notes on the game.
The Swedish speed was too much for the Russians to contain at times, leading to a string of penalties that saw potential #1 pick in the 2011 draft, Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson, break through with a power play goal to pull the Swedes within 1. They were then able to tie it up in the third period, drawing boos from the crowd. The crowd was even more vocal as another Russian was called on a soft hooking penalty, and the Swedes didn’t take long to cash in and garner a 3-2 lead with less than 4 minutes remaining. The Canadian fans were solidly behind the Russians at this point.
Shortly afterwards, the Russian offense grinded out the tying goal, poking at a loose puck in the crease, and the crowd erupted. A small group of Russian fans in the lower section managed to a get a brief chant going as Russia was able to force the overtime. The Russians played very conservatively in the extra frame as the Swedes tried to end it, preferring to test Sweden in a shootout rather than risk losing the game in the overtime period.
The shootout was filled with excitement as the Russian goaltender stopped all 3 shooters while watching his team put one on the board to seal the upset victory and advance the Russians to the Gold Medal game. The Russians crashed the net and jumped all over the place, and the jubilation caught on with the fans who were banging on the glass and cheered in celebratory fashion, something unusual given who they were cheering for.
It was then back to the Pearl St. Grill, which was even more packed this time with Red and White as there was only about an hour and a half before the big match up. This time, the trip to the arena was more like a tidal wave than a snake, with fans taking over the streets and interrupting traffic on their way back to the HSBC arena. Several fans were draped in Canada flags, others had face and body paint, there were even a few morph suits on display. Scalpers were clamouring for tickets, while another man was selling bootleg Canada shirts from the back of a truck.
And even though the arena was filled with Team USA gear and several fans sported Sabres jerseys, it was truly an extension of Canada. The atmosphere was electric; there would be no home-ice advantage for the Americans this evening. Early chants of “Buffalo, Ontario” and “This is our house” rang out from the partisan crowd as team USA hit the ice. The media’s attempts at getting a “U-S-A” chant going were quickly drowned out by a “Ca-Na-Da” chant. US goalie Jack Campbell was endlessly mocked with chants of “Camp-bell, Camp-bell”, and occasional cheers when he made a routine save.
Canada dictated the play early on and doled out several big hits, each one drawing cheers from the crowd. The crowd erupted as Canada netted the first goal just two minutes into the game. Cheers and high fives were to be had all around as the building just exploded in a wall of sound. The crowd soon settled in to watch the rest of the game unfold as the Americans threatened occasionally with their speed, but a second goal late in the period lifted their spirits again. It seemed the crowd was expecting a close game, and were just waiting for the Americans to answer back.
The Americans didn’t have an answer. They couldn’t solve Canadian goalie Mark Visentin, they couldn’t answer the Canadians’ physical presence and solid defensive positioning. They couldn’t cash in on a few Canadian penalties. Their best chance came off a deflection in front by Charlie Coyle, that Visentin was able to catch with his left arm. Another goal put Canada up 3-0 at the end of the second and the Canadian fans were sure to let the Americans in attendance know about it, starting up many loud chants and getting on Campbell’s case repeatedly.
Campbell, for his part, kept the Americans in it, but a nice breakaway by Zach Kassian to start the third sealed the victory and put Canada up 4-0. The Americans would tally a late power play marker, but couldn’t get many shots on net, and chants of “Ole, Ole” and the famed “Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye” were heard throughout the third period as the fans anticipated the inevitable conclusion: A Canadian victory, and redemption for last year’s stunning OT loss, breaking Canada’s run of 5 straight gold medals.
Most of the crowd remained to watch as the respective goaltenders were named the players of the game, and the Canadian national anthem was sung by the 17,000+ in attendance. The fans engaged in more revelry and singing as they departed the arena, taking their celebration to the beer tent, the streets, the concourse; everywhere you looked was a sea of red.
The fans made their way through the various parking lots and boroughs, honking horns and waving flags. I was parked relatively close to the stadium, which turned out to be a big mistake. 20 minutes worth of fans, both on foot and in vehicles, paraded past me before I was able to join in on the fun. Some fans had set themselves up on a major intersection, eliciting honks from passing drivers and high-fiving everyone they could.
The experience was unparalleled, as the quality of the competition was intense and the atmosphere was fantastic. There was even a little snow on the way home, the perfect way to cap off the celebration of the great Canadian game, played in it’s purest form. If only for a few hours, it really did seem like the city of Buffalo had been relocated across the border, as we adopted it as our own.
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Born and raised in Northern Ontario but currently living in Toronto, Tyler wouldn't have it any other way. Home to his two favourite sports teams, Tyler revels in the day to day sports experience that is Toronto. 