Scanadian Floorball

Daily updates:

Sunday April 27^th, 2008 – Canada bounces back

It was not the match that we had hoped for but a third place in the C division was a one place improvement from 2006 and this is what the players had in mind this morning before their 10am game against Australia.

It did not really show how bad they wanted it though as their last game against Australia, played in front of about 150 spectators, was rather flat. Canada was not convincing at all, with many of their passes getting intercepted in the offensive zone and again showing their weakness in defense.

Following the disappointing loss against Slovakia yesterday, the Canadian players seemed to lack the team chemistry built during the last week but they still found the last bits of energy in them in the second half of the game to increase their lead against Australia and win the game. They had trouble against a team they easily beat 11-1 last week and while they had 51 shots on goal in their previous match-up, they only had 30 shots today against the same team. Sam Garrison was in the goal for Canada for the second time of the Championships stopping 23 of the 28 shots on goals from the Aussies.

Congratulations to Patrice Paré! With his 5 goals and 1 assist in today’s game, he received the player of the game honors.

Slovakia’s team won the C-division today against Spain, beating them rather easily 6-2 in front of 750 very enthusiastic fans. With today’s win, Canada is now ranked 23^rd in the world in floorball behind Slovakia and Spain.

Here are the other awards of the championships:

Best forward: Patrick Ducharme, Canada
Best defender: Enrique Gomez, Spain
Best Goalkeeper: David Antic, Serbia

There will be no divisions at the 2010 Championships, but the final standing will affect the ranking of the teams when the ballot is made for the WFC Qualification groups.

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Here is where our journey ends this time around and gradually players will be heading back home during the night to catch their flight or will leave during the day tomorrow. The players still have one more night all together tonight at the team dinner to enjoy some time with each other and celebrate a well deserved 3^rd place.

Well boys, it was a pleasure to spend the week with you, to spend more time with the ones I knew and to get to know new players and I, for one, can say that I am very proud of how you played this week and am proud to be your #1 fan! J

Go Canada!

FIRST PERIOD

Canada seemed rusty and unmotivated throughout the first period giving Australia good scoring opportunities but it was Stéphane Laporte who scored first to put Canada in the lead, assisted by Patrice Paré at 6:15 into the period. Canada was not as dominating as we had seen earlier during the week and the Quebec line was lucky no goals were scored on the couple of 3-on-1 the Aussies generated. To save the play on an offensive giveaway, Stéphane Laporte got the first penalty of the game for high stick at 15:50 giving Australia a 2 minute one man advantage. Australia blew its power play by also taking a penalty one minute into it for incorrect pushing. Both team played 4-on-4 for about one minute and Canada missed a few good scoring opportunities on their own power play but could not finish off the passes to score. The first period ended with Canada in the lead 1-0.

SECOND PERIOD

Canada had a lot of trouble still in the second period which allowed the Aussies to tie the game with less than 2 minutes played in the period. A few seconds later, Australia took a 2 minute penalty but unlike the previous match between the 2 teams where Canada scored 6 times on as many power plays, this was a completely different match and Canada was multiplying the mistakes and was not as efficient on the power plays.

After receiving a hit in the face not seen by the referees, Patrice Paré went on to score on a pass by Patric Ducharme, Canada was back in the lead 2-1. Australia took another penalty at 10:41 for hitting the stick and this time Canada took advantage of it with Lauri Hannelius increasing the lead by 2 goals at 11:45 on a pass by Philip Schuler. This goal seemed to have woken up Canada a little bit who added to their lead a few seconds later, at 12:16 into the period, when Ryan Andreotti scored the 4^th goal for his team. Unfortunately less than 30 seconds later, Australia replied with a goal, it was 4-2.

On a jumping ball that got behind the Aussie goaltender, Lauri Hannelius scored for Canada on a pass by Erik Kaill but the Aussies once again replied right after with a quick goal, it was 5-3. With less than 2 minutes to play in the second period, Patrice Paré scored again on a pass by Patric Ducharme giving a 3 goal lead to Canada at 6-3, which is how the period ended.

THIRD PERIOD

Australia scored a 3:07 into the last period. Canada was still in the lead 6-4 but the Aussies were continuing to attack and taking advantage of the Canadian defensive mistakes. Both teams then had good chances of scoring but it was Patrice Paré who scored again on a pass by Simon Leblanc with a little less than 10 minutes to play in the game. It was 7-4 for Canada.

As it often has been the case, Canada did not take advantage of the momentum and allowed the Aussies to score a few moments later; we were back with a 2-goal lead at 7-5. Patrice Paré beat the goaltender for the fourth time of the game on a pass by Patric Ducharme and then Randy Sa’d increased to the Canadian lead a few seconds later at 12:56 on a pass by Seppo Lattu: it was now 9-5 for Canada. Canada was on a roll and following an Aussies’ defensive mistake, Patrice Paré scored yet again, his fifth of the game on a pass by Sascha Weber with less than 5 minutes to play in the game.

Eero Piilokivi took a penalty for Canada for incorrect hit at 16:23 giving a chance to Australia to get back in the game, which they once again blew by getting a penalty as well 15 seconds later, obliging both teams to play 4-on-4.

With less 30 seconds to play in the game, Canada took a penalty for having too many on the field but it was too little too late for Australia and Canada won the game, finishing in third place of the C division.

Final Score: Canada 10 – Australia 5

For the official game stats, please visit:

http://www.floorball.org/default.asp?sivu=5&alasivu=251&kieli=826

http://www.floorball.org/joukkuekortti.asp?joukkue_id=1203341711&sarjaId=20&dbSarja=1203340296

To watch the games live on Web TV, please visit:

http://www.robur.sk/floorball/schedule-sk.php

Sophie-Anne Ferland

Saturday April 26, 2008 – Canada now aiming for the bronze

Today was the day we were all waiting for: playing against the Slovaks! You could feel the energy in the bus as both teams traveled together to the gym and with the Slovaks already singing songs in the bus.

One hour prior to the game the stands were starting to fill up and 30 minutes prior, the Slovaks fans were already getting busy with their drums. It simply cannot get better than that!

A huge thank you to our friends from the French team who came to cheer with us and helped us not feel so lonely in the crowd of over 600 people. Merci les Bleus! J

The Canadian team seemed more unified than ever as they held each other during the Canadian national anthem and sang it for the first time of the championships.

Both teams seemed very nervous before the beginning of the game and it showed on certain plays. The game was very intense and both teams showed their skill level with great plays and agile passes but the Slovaks were more aggressive and created more scoring opportunities the whole game as well as playing better defensively making it really hard for the Canadian team to execute the great passes that we saw all week.

Other than the overall Canadian defensive zone coverage that was shaky today, the lack of floorball experience on the Canadian team started to show as the Quebec line, the Canadian Ball Hockey Champions having played floorball less than a year, showed signs of trouble against the Slovaks. The Canadian goaltender – Martin Bélanger, also from Ball Hockey, played well again today but his defensemen often left him do all the work and allowed many 2-on-1 and 3-on-2.

Today was Canada’s first loss but unfortunately the one that took them out of the top 2 spots. They will play Australia tomorrow at 10:00am for the bronze.

Far from taking anything from the Slovaks who played a better game than Canada and deserved the victory today, it is rather impressing that Canada is even able to compete and be such a threat to the Slovaks considering there are only 200 registrated players in 15 clubs in Canada versus the 65 floorball clubs and over 5000 registered players in Slovakia.

FIRST PERIOD

It took longer than in their other games but Canada was once again the team to take the lead at 9:06 into the period with a goal by Patrice Paré on a pass by Patric Ducharme. That goal seemed to wake up the Canadian team with Lauri Hannelius scoring less than a minute later assisted by Eric Ulli-Vanasse. Canada was increasing their lead to 2-0 but following a mistake in Canada’s defensive zone, Slovakia got on the scoring board at 13:54.

Slovakia took advantage of a miscommunication between the 2 referees to score at 19:06 as one of the referees clearly showed advantage to Canada but in fact meant advantage to the Slovaks. By the time he changed his arm, the Slovaks had started the play and the Canadians were caught off guard. The Slovaks had just tied the game. A few seconds before the end of the period, the Slovaks had a good chance to take the lead on a 2-on-1 after a defensive mistake from the Canadian team but Patrice Paré saved the goal leaving the game tied, 2-2, after one period of play.

SECOND PERIOD

The Canadian team started the period playing with 2 lines which didn't stop the Slovaks who were more dominant and created better scoring opportunities than Canada. A few seconds after a delayed penalty call against Canada, the Slovaks took the lead 3-2, the first time Canada was trailing in a game. A few seconds later Slovakia scored again from the center; it was 4-2 for Slovakia.

Canada got its first power play at 6 minutes into the period and Canada needed to take advantage of it to get back in the game, which they did. Philip Schuler scored on a pass by Patric Ducharme at 7:44 reducing the Slovak lead to 4-3.

Slovakia took back their 2 goal lead by scoring a few seconds later, it was 5-3.

At 9:00 into the period, Canada got its second power play and Patric Ducharme scored at the same time as the penalty ended assisted by Simon Leblanc. The score was 5-4 Slovakia.

At 15:18, the Quebec line, now playing with Sascha Weber replacing Jean-Sébastien Plante, had trouble again defensively and allowed the Slovaks to score; it was 6-4 for Slovakia.

THIRD PERIOD

After playing their worst period so far in the championships, the coach of the Canadian team made some more changes in the line-ups hoping to strengthen the Canadian defensive, one change being that the Quebec line got separated.

The team was playing better but following yet another mistake in the Canadian defensive zone, Slovakia was taking the lead with 3 goals at 7-4 with less than 3 minutes into the period.

Ryan Andreotti from Canada missed a good opportunity to score and it was Seppo Lattu who allowed Canada to get back in the game at 3:58 assisted by Patric Ducharme. Canada reduced the lead to 7-5.

Canada got its third power play of the game at 6:09 into the period following a penalty for incorrect distance to Slovakia. The power play line was on again but unfortunately Canada was not able to reduce the Slovak lead, taking instead a penalty a few moments after their power play. Canada killed the penalty and Martin Bélanger made some important saves for Canada.

With less than 3 minutes to play the Canadian team asked for a check on an illegal Slovak stick which in fact proved to be illegal and therefore Slovakia took a 5 minute penalty along with a red card for it. With that, Slovakia had to play the remaining of the game with 4 men, and Canada decided to go with 6 players and take out their goaltender. This action created quite a bit of controversy and both the crowd and the Slovaks players showed their dissatisfaction with it. One of the Slovak players, Majernik Stefan, even showed the finger to the Canadian bench. This was clearly an unsportsmanlike reaction that could have deserved a match penalty.

The game went on and with less than one minute in the game, Patrice Paré was able to reduce the Slovak lead by one goal when he scored on a pass by Philip Schuler. But it was too little too late and Canada was not able to tie the game by the end of the 60 minutes of play, loosing its first game of the championships and blowing its chances for a top 2 spot.

For the official game stats, please visit:

http://www.floorball.org/default.asp?sivu=5&alasivu=251&kieli=826

http://www.floorball.org/joukkuekortti.asp?joukkue_id=1203341711&sarjaId=20&dbSarja=1203340296

To watch the games live on Web TV, please visit:

http://www.robur.sk/floorball/schedule-sk.php

Sophie-Anne Ferland

Thursday April 24^th, 2008 – Aussies not a match for Canada, who wins Group A.

The biggest crowd so far, more than 250 people, came to see the game which made it even more fun and entertaining to watch. For both Australia and Canada, each having won their 2 first games, this was the face-off to see who would be leading the Group A. We were able to recruit a few spectators, especially young kids who were waiving the Canadian flag with us, which was great as we didn’t feel so lonely anymore! Our goaltender Martin Bélanger and other players were even asked for autographs at the end of the game.

Canada was ready to play against Australia, the B-division team who had been relegated down to the C division after finishing last at the 2006 World Championships.

Therefore, the Canadian team played its most convincing first period and game of the championships so far against a team that was said to be their strongest opponent in the round robin games, leading 5-0 after the first period and scoring 6 goals on as many power plays during the game.

No need to tell you that none of our predictions were close to reality as we all believed it was going to be a closer game, but Canada, with its 51 shots on goal versus the 20 shots from Australia, was in complete control of the game from the beginning of the game and capitalized on all the penalties taken by Australia during the game.

Canada once again showed there are here to compete and a much stronger team than in 2006. With this convincing win, Canada finishes first of its group and will play either Slovakia or Spain in the semi-final on Saturday (other team to be determined in tomorrow’s game opposing both of them)

Here is what could be read on the IFF website following today’s game against Australia:

Canada crushed Australia today and proved to be one of the best teams in the C-division. The quality of the passing play was impressive and of the highest level so far in the tournament. Canada lead 3-0 after 13 minutes and could have scored even more, but the Australian goalie made some tremendous saves. When Australia had two players on the penalty bench, Canada increased their lead with two goals to 5-0.

Canada, lead by Patrick Ducharme (3+3) and Lauri Hannelius (3+2) who both scored a hat trick, continued to dominate the match. Australia´s only goal was a penalty shot scored by Timothy Boteler and the final numbers were 11-1 to team Canada.

After a great performance in today’s game, Patric Ducharme got the Player of the Game honours for Canada.

Go Canada!

FIRST PERIOD

Canada sent its power play line with less than a minute played in the game following a penalty to Australia for obstruction which opened the door for Eric Ulli-Vanasse to get Canada on the scoring board. Canada was once again the first to take the lead in the game with the pass of Lauri Hannelius. Canada got a lot of good shots on net all saved by the Aussie’s goaltender until Lauri Hannelius put it in the goal at 6:24, unassisted, bringing the score to 2-0 Canada. After a few minutes Patrice Paré scored again on a pass by Patric Ducharme at 12:35 into the first period. 3-0 Canada.

On a delayed penalty for holding, Lauri Hannelius got slashed as he was getting ready to attack and therefore a second penalty got called for Australia giving Canada a 2-man advantage for 2 minutes. It took less than a minute for Canada to take advantage of it when Lauri Hannelius scored his second of the game on a pass by Patric Ducharme; Canada was leading 4-0 with 1:17 still left on one of the penalties. Sure enough, Lauri Hannelius scored yet again before the end of the penalty on yet another pass from Patric Ducharme.

SECOND PERIOD

Quite uneventful period for the first 10 minutes of the game until Sascha Weber took the first penalty for Canada for slashing, which gave a chance to Australia to get on the score board, but with no positive outcome for their team. Instead, back at 5 against 5, The Quebec line made a beautiful play and Patric Ducharme scored at 13:25 on a pass from Patrice Paré.

A short time later at 15:05, Philip Schuler scored after going through the Australia defense on a pass by Sascha Weber putting the score at 7-0 for Canada.

With less than 2 minutes in the period, Australia took another penalty for obstruction and, yet again Patric Ducharme scored with the power play line assisted by Lauri Hannelius. Canada was then in the lead 8-0. With less than a minute in the game, the period ended when Stéphane Laporte from Canada took the second penalty for his team, this one for pushing.

THIRD PERIOD

Period started with a penalty kill for Canada for a little more than 1 minute but Australia simply could not get deep in the offensive zone to get a good shot and therefore no dangerous shots were sent toward the Canadian goaltender Martin Bélanger.

Australia took another penalty with less than 5 minutes into the period and Canada took a shot on the delayed penalty but was saved by the Aussie goaltender. Canada sent its power play line and…scored their fifth goal of the game in as many power plays. Once again, Philip Schuler was the one to beat the Aussie goaltender during their one-man advantage on a pass by Lauri Hannelius resulting in 9-0 for Canada. Seppo Lattu took the third penalty for Canada almost half way in the third period but that didn’t stop Simon Leblanc to score, short handed, on a pass by Jean-Sébastien Plante.

With 10 seconds left to the Canadian penalty, an Australian player took a 5 minute penalty for roughing on Simon Leblanc. During a play Philip Schuler blocked an Aussie player’s stick on a break away and a penalty shot ensued which Martin Bélanger was not able to stop. Australia scored their first goal of the game bringing the score to 10-1 with less than 10 minutes to play in the game. To finish off the game, Patric Ducharme scored the 6^th power play goal of the game on a pass from Simon Leblanc with less than 4 minutes to play.

Final Score: Canada 11 – Australia 1

The Final Standings in Group A

Team	M	W	T	L	GF-GA	PTS
Canada Men	3	3	0	0	33-5	6
Australia Men	3	2	0	1	16-21	4
France Men	3	1	0	2	16-21	2
Liechtenstein Men	3	0	0	3	7-25	0

For the official game stats, please visit:

http://www.floorball.org/default.asp?sivu=5&alasivu=251&kieli=826

http://www.floorball.org/joukkuekortti.asp?joukkue_id=1203341711&sarjaId=20&dbSarja=1203340296

To watch the games live on Web TV, please visit:

http://www.robur.sk/floorball/schedule-sk.php

***If you watch the game on the internet, please note that the announcers were working with the old game sheets and therefore #23 has been announced as Risto Parikka when it should have been Patrice Paré. This has been corrected as of today.

Sophie-Anne Ferland

Tuesday April 22nd – Canada continues to dominate!

Canada was playing Liechtenstein today, new comers in the World Championships this year and therefore expected to be the weakest team in the round robin in Canada’s division. The Canadian team perhaps assumed this was going to be an easier game than against France, but they realized that the team they were facing not only had an amazing goaltender who made great stops on the Canadian shots, but also good players, most of them playing in the 4^th division in Switzerland.

The first period was a slow start for Canada and even though they dominated the game, many of the passes were intercepted by their opponent and after a period the score was 2-1.

In the second period, Canada got its groove back and started the machine by quickly scoring at the beginning of the period. Canada was dominant all throughout the game and clearly demonstrated its talent and control of the ball and of the play.

Canada could count of a little more than 7 fans today…a record so far! Thanks to Seppo Lattu’s family who came to watch the game. The timing was perfect as he won today Canada’s Player of the Game honours.

Furthermore, Canada made a very good impression yesterday. Here is what we can read on the International Floorball Federation (IFF) website following yesterday’s game:

The second match between Canada and France clearly showed the fast development of Floorball. It looked like a number of the B-division teams might have a hard time with these two teams. The teams played tough, but fair and with a lot of speed and a high technical level. France did not have the strength to resist the repeated fast counterattacks made by the Canadians, who won the match with clear numbers 12-3.

FIRST PERIOD

As for all their other games since arriving in Bratislava, Canada was the first to take the lead with a goal by Simon Leblanc assisted by Patric Ducharme at 4:37 into the first period. Canada showed its dominance early in the game with their good and agile passes and good positioning, but just like yesterday’s first period against France, a lot of passes were blocked in the Liechtenstein defensive zone which made scoring for Canada harder.

Seppo Lattu had a good chance with less than 5 minutes to play in the period but the goaltender was able to stop it and Liechtenstein attacked right after and scored at 15:21. 8 seconds later the Québec line replied to take back their lead with a goal by Patrice Paré on a pass by Patric Ducharme. The score was 2-1 for Canada.

The period ended on a one-man advantage for Canada when Liechtenstein got a 2 minute penalty for obstruction. Canada sent its power play line hoping to add to their lead before the end of the first period, but Canada was not able to capitalize and therefore the period ended at 2-1, the exact same score after 20 minute of play as in the game against France yesterday.

SECOND PERIOD

The Canadian team came back on the field and started the period with a bang with Ryan Andreotti scoring unassisted a little after one minute into the period, followed, a few moments later by a goal by Seppo Lattu on a pass by Philip Schuler. Quickly, the score was 4-1.

Canada took advantage of another power play after 3 minutes of play for incorrect hit from a Liechtenstein player so the power play line was on and sure enough added to their lead with a goal by Philip Schuler assisted by Simon Leblanc. Canada was in the lead 5-1.

Canada took their first penalty at 12:35 for having too many men on the field and that gave Liechtenstein an opportunity to get back in the game, but Canada took instead the opportunity to add another goal, this one short handed by Simon Leblanc on a pass by Stéphane Laporte putting the score at 6-1.

Liechtenstein took another penalty with a little over 5 minutes to play for obstruction and Canada attacked again with their power play line allowing Eric Ulli-Vanasse assisted by Patric Ducharme to score Canada’s 7^th goal of the game. Short after, Canada scored yet again with less than 4 minutes to play in the period. The score was 8-1 thanks to a goal by Philip Schuler on a pass by Jean-Olivier Vörös.

THIRD PERIOD

With a 7-goal lead, Canada started the third period with the same energy and some changes to the lines. On a delayed penalty in the beginning of the period, Canada had a few good chances to add to their lead but it wasn’t until their one-man advantage that Philip Schuler scored, following an amazing exchange of passes from the power play line in the offensive zone. The Canadian team continued its attack as Seppo Lattu scored their 10^th goal a few moments later on a pass from Patric Ducharme.

Liechtenstein got another penalty, this one for incorrect hit with a little more than 3 minutes to play in the game but no goal was scored during the rest of the third period.

Final Score: Canada 10 – Liechtenstein 1

Next game for Canada is on Thursday against Australia, so there will be no update tomorrow.

To read an article on the Québec players and on the championships visit:

http://www.floorballquebec.ca/?q=en/node/355

For the official game stats, please visit:

http://www.floorball.org/default.asp?sivu=5&alasivu=251&kieli=826

http://www.floorball.org/joukkuekortti.asp?joukkue_id=1203341711&sarjaId=20&dbSarja=1203340296

To watch the games live on Web TV, please visit:

http://www.robur.sk/floorball/schedule-sk.php

Sophie-Anne Ferland

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Monday April 21st – Let the Championships begin!

Another beautiful sunny day in Bratislava and what could better than a great match of floorball?

After training in the morning, the team gathered at the hotel for a light lunch prior to their 2pm match against France.

It only took a few minutes for both the French and the Canadian teams, traveling together, to get to the venue. We were all very impressed by the venue and for many players it was the first time playing on the official IFF surface.

We had time to watch the end of the game between Australia and Liechtenstein which Australia won 8-4.

France and Canada seemed ready and energized during the pre-game practice as it was the first match for both teams. Given the fact that a few players had to accommodate to the playing surface, the passes in the first period were not as accurate as usual combined with the fact that France played intense and back checked a lot. It didn’t take too long though for the players to get used to the surface and in the second period, they were ready to increase their one goal lead.

The Québec line formed by the Red Phoenix Ball hockey players having played floorball for less than a year, played very well again today, adapting to the surface and the style of play scoring 6 of the 12 goals.

In the goal for Canada was Martin Bélanger, also a Red Phoenix Ball Hockey player with little experience in floorball, who played a very good game.

Congratulations to Patric Ducharme from Québec who received the “Best Player” of the game award at his first international game!

FIRST PERIOD

Quickly in the game Canada took the lead with the first goal by Philip Schuler after a minute in the game. 10 minutes into the period, Canada already had a few good shots on the net but the ball did not want to go in until 11:09 when Stéphane Laporte scored on a pass by Patric Ducharme. The score was 2-0 for Canada.

The French team got a penalty for slashing a little after 15 minutes into the period and Philip Schuler had a good shot on the goaltender but unfortunately Canada was not able to increase their lead.

After a defensive mistake in the offensive zone France got a 2-on-1 and was able to reduce Canada’s lead with less than a minute to play in the first period. France got another penalty with 13 seconds to play in the period for blocking the stick. The first period ended with a tight score of 2-1 for Canada but with Canada dominating most of the first period.

SECOND PERIOD

Canada started the period with a one-man advantage and Philip Schuler gave back the 2-goal lead to Canada 48 seconds into the period to put the score at 3-1 Canada. The Québec line added to their lead with a goal of Stéphane Laporte on a pass by Patric Ducharme at 6:10 into the second. It didn’t take long for them to add another goal when Eric Ulli-Vanasse put it in the net at 6:40. It was 5-1 for Canada. Canada was on a roll with Randy Sa’d scoring yet another goal at 15:11, on a pass from Eric Ulli-Vanasse. Canada was then leading 6 to 1.

France got a penalty with less than 3 minutes left in the period for slashing and Canada sent 6 players on the field during a delayed penalty, but was not able to add another goal, nor during their one man advantage that followed.

Before the end of the penalty, France was awarded a penalty shot that they were able to convert putting the score at 6-2. The Canadian team protested the validity of the goal as the ball clearly seemed to have been dragged back on the penalty shot, but the referees still accepted the goal. That didn’t seem to bother the Canadian team too much as a few seconds later, with less than a minute to play, Canada scored again with a goal from Patric Ducharme on a pass from Lauri Hannelius. The score at the end of the period was 7-2.

THIRD PERIOD

France started the period with a one man advantage but it didn’t stop Eric Ulli-Vanasse to score on his own rebound on a break away. France was not able to score on their power play but did a few moments later with less than 5 minutes played in the 3^rd period bringing the score at 8-3. Canada replied when Patrice Paré scored, assisted by Stéphane Laporte. And Canada didn’t stop there, as a few moments later Stéphane Laporte scored; Canada was now leading 10-3.

France took a penalty with a little more than 11 minutes to go in the third and while Canada did not take advantage of their one-man advantage, they scored their 11^th goal of the match a few second after the end of the penalty. The goal was made by Lauri Hannelius on a pass from Patric Ducharme at 10:56.

France changed their goaltender with less than 7 minutes to play in the game which didn’t stop Patrice Paré from the Québec line to score again with a little less than 5 minutes to play in the period bringing the score to 12-3.

France took another penalty with 4 minutes 25 seconds left to play, this one for incorrect hit and the Canadian power play line was back on the field but did not score.

Final Score: Canada 12 – France 3

Next game for Canada is tomorrow against Liechtenstein.

For the official game stats, please visit:

http://www.floorball.org/default.asp?sivu=5&alasivu=251&kieli=826

http://www.floorball.org/joukkuekortti.asp?joukkue_id=1203341711&sarjaId=20&dbSarja=1203340296

To watch the games live on Web TV, please visit:

http://www.robur.sk/floorball/schedule-sk.php

Sophie-Anne Ferland

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday April 20th – Canada is ready to compete!

It was on a beautiful day in Bratislava that team Canada was playing their second practice game today against the Slovakian club team champions, Hurrikan Bratislava, which included the national team goalie.

With a bit of a break in the morning, the players were able to sleep in and, for some, fight the jet lag. The team gathered for a meeting at 11:30 under a bright sunny sky and headed towards the gym for their 2 pm game.

In front of a crowd of over 100 Slovak spectators and Slovak TV our mere 3 Canadian fans were very proud of the Canadian team who played a convincing second practice game showing that they are here to compete and ready to start the championships tomorrow.

The game was played in a very nice and modern facility and the surface was a lot better to play on than the somewhat run-down gym where the practice game was played yesterday.

The team was able to win the game and overcome the many 2-on-1 and 3-on-2 thanks to good goaltending from Sam Garrison in the first 30 minutes and by Martin Bélanger in the latter part of the game as well as a stronger presence offensively and good teamwork allowing them to score many goals.

FIRST PERIOD

A bit less than 5 minutes in the game the Quebec line worked well together and with a pass from Jean-Sébastien Plante, Patrice Paré scored from the left side. Less than a minute later the Slovaks were able to equalize by squeezing in the ball around the net in the bottom corner. At 7:58, following a bad change from the Canadian team, the Slovaks scored again taking the lead 2-1, the only time they will lead the game.

The Slovak team was given a 2 minute penalty at 8:52 after one of their players pushed Eric Ulli-Vanasse in their defensive zone. Ulli-Vanasse took his revenge by scoring a few seconds before the end of the penalty, tying the game at 2-2.

Canada missed a few good opportunities to score including an open net.

SECOND PERIOD

42 seconds in the period, Patrice Paré scored again to give Canada the lead 3-2. The Quebec line scored again at 7:19 with a goal from Jean-Sébastien Plante. Canada grew their lead to 5-2 when Seppo Lattu scored on a shot from Philip Schuler with a little more than ten minutes to go in the second period.

Canada was on a roll and Ryan Andreotti scored at 14:01 making the score 6-2.

The Slovaks crawled closer by scoring at 15:13 reducing the lead to 6-3 on a shot that got in between Bélanger’s legs.

Slovaks played more offensively in the second period putting more pressure on the Canadian team with a few good shots but were not able to reduce Canada’s 3-goal lead.

THIRD PERIOD

The coach changed up the lines between the second and the third period by splitting the Quebec players and a little over 2 minutes in the period, Patrice Paré scored again on a pass by Patric Ducharme.

At 4:31, the Slovaks attacked yet again on a 2-on-1 and added a fourth goal. That didn’t stop Patrice Paré from attacking again at 5:37 and scoring, his fourth of the game. Canada was keeping their 4-goal lead at 8-4.

Slovakia took a 2+10 penalty at 7:27 and Canada attacked with 6 players and had a few good passes on the delayed penalty, but unfortunately stopped by the Slovak defense. With a one man advantage, at 9:31, Lauri Hannelius, increased the lead; it was 9-4.

Jean-Oliver Vörös took the first and only penalty for Canada with a little more than 10 minutes to go in the third period but the Slovaks were not able to reduce the Canadian lead.

With a 9-4 lead, the Canadian coach took at tactical timeout at 16:17 and took out their goalie with less than 1 minute to go in the game.

Final score: Canada 9 – Slovakia 4

The championships start tomorrow and Canada will be playing their first game against France.

Sophie-Anne Ferland

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Saturday April 19^th - Hello Bratislava!

After 2 years, it was very pleasant to see again all the players and friends met at the last World Championships in 2006 in Madrid. A good opportunity as well to meet new people as half of the team this year is made up of new players.

Here is the 2008 Canadian Team:

Name	Country of residence	First Championships
Eero Piilokivi	Canada
Eric Ulli-Vanasse	Switzerland
Erik Kaill (C)	Sweden
Jean-Olivier Vörös	Switzerland
Jean-Sébastien Plante	Canada	Yes
Lauri Hannelius	Switzerland
Martin Bélanger	Canada	Yes
Patrice Paré	Canada	Yes
Patric Ducharme	Canada	Yes
Paul Stasiewich	Canada
Philip Schuler	Switzerland
Randy Sa’d	Canada
Ryan Andreotti	Switzerland	Yes
Sacha Weber	Switzerland	Yes
Sam Garrison	Canada	Yes
Seppo Lattu	Belgium
Simon Leblanc	Canada	Yes
Stéphane Laporte	Canada	Yes

The players arrived in Bratislava throughout the day on Friday. To get there, some traveled a few hours from Sweden, Finland and Switzerland and others were quite tired after a long night of traveling coming from Toronto, Edmonton and Montreal.

In the evening, all the players gathered and once again this year, all the equipment and clothing was given by our generous sponsor: ZONE and everybody was happy to get their set of gear. A meeting to discuss tactics followed.

The exhibition game was played this morning against Slovakia, probably the top team to beat this year. It was a great opportunity for the Canadian team to practice and play for the first time all together.

FIRST PERIOD

Lauri Hannelius was the mastermind of every goal of his team in the first period, scoring 2 and assisting 2. Ryan Andreotti and Eric Ulli-Vanasse scored the 2 other goals. The only goal from the Slovaks was scored following a miscommunication in the Canadian defensive zone, and so after one period the score was 4-1 to Canada.

SECOND PERIOD

Slovakia scored their second goal a little over 8 minutes in the second period.

The first penalty of the game was given to Patric Ducharme but Canada played well defensively closing the door to their opponent, even creating a break-away by Stéphane Laporte that was stopped by the Slovak goalie.

Perhaps due to frustration, the Slovaks started to play rougher throughout the second period and a few seconds before the end of the period they received their first penalty.

THIRD PERIOD

Starting the period with a power play, Canada was not able to add to their lead. The Slovaks scored their third goal after 8 minutes of play. Canada then had a few good chances to score, but lost the ball to the Slovaks who tied the game 4-4 with less than 10 minutes to play by coming alone with the goalie and going around him to score. Slovakia then took the lead with 2 quick goals, scoring on Canada in 3 shifts in a row pulling away to a 6-4 lead.

At 17 minutes 30 seconds in the last period, Slovakia took two simultaneous penalties for hands and unsportsmanlike behavior. Although pulling their goalie and putting heavy pressure on the Slovaks, Canada was incapable of scoring, so the game’s final score was 6-4 to Slovakia.