Canada kicked off its quest for hockey gold versus the massive underdog, Norway.
1st period
Team Canada was unable to sustain any kind of offence early in the frame, as Norway did a great job quickly clearing the puck. Norway managed to test Carey Price a few times with a decent scoring chances, however Price was equal to the task.
A power play led to Canada’s first real period of sustained offence, where Sidney Crosby received a nice feed from John Tavares, but Haugen managed to make the save. Patrick Marleau tested Haugen again a few minutes later, but once again the Norwegian netminder shut the door.
The rest of the period played out in very competitive setting, as Norway did a great job shutting down shoot lanes, providing defensive coverage & not allowing Canada to capitalize on any rebounds.
Canada did build up momentum towards the end of the first period, however Haugen wasn’t forced to make any spectacular saves, relying mostly on good positioning.
A late penalty by Ryan Getzlaf meant that Carey Price had to bail out his team a few more times in the frame, including one or two good scoring chances.
The score was 0-0 heading into the second period, with Canada holding a shot advantage of 9-8.
2nd period
Canada started the second frame with much more jump than they did in the opening 20 minutes.
Jamie Benn, Jeff Carter, Rick Nash and Chris Kunitz all managed to get scoring chances against Haugen in the first few minutes, which saw Canada apply some good sustained pressure in the Norwegian defensive zone.
Shea Weber finally broke the deadlock thanks to some smart play by Jamie Benn on the boards. The puck ended up on Weber’s stick, where he managed to put everything behind the shot. Haugen had no chance. Duncan Keith and Patrice Bergeron were awarded assists.
Canada continued to carry the play, applying pressure whenever possible and establishing a strong attack in the offensive zone.
A Drew Doughty point shot found it’s way to the Norwegian net via a Jonathan Toews tip, however it struck the post. On the resulting scramble Patrick Sharp missed wide on an open net chance. Canada continued to dominate the play in the second which resulted in a great play by Patrick Bergeron to set up sniper Jamie Benn. Benn beat Haugen stick-side, and the Canadians went up 2-0.
Norway’s first shot of the period came at 18:10 of the first, during a power play. As much as Norway kept the game play close in the second, they were completely outclassed in the second. The shots were 14-2 in favour of the Canadians in the frame.
3rd period
Norway opened the frame on the power play, thanks for a penalty given to Patrick Sharp in the dying seconds of the second. They did not fail to make the best of it, as they scored 22 seconds into the frame off a deflection that fooled Carey Price. It was the first time Norway scored on Canada in over 30 years.
Drew Doughty decided to respond immediately. He split the defence and managed to secure a partial break amongst a sea of Norwegians. Alone in front of Haugen he went high blocker side and restored Canada’s two-goal lead.
Canada continued to dominate the frame, in what looked like a five-on-five power play for the Canucks.
It’s worth noting that despite Canada’s dominance in the final two frames, Norway did quite well considering how shallow their hockey talent pool happens to be. The shots ended up 38-20 in favour of Canada.
Canda’s next test comes against Austria tomorrow at 12:00 PM ET. Roberto Luongo is expected to get the start, and Habs’ defenceman P.K. Subban will slot into the lineup.
