Day 8Canada Swiss-taked
In a game that was supposed to be a warm-up for tougher opponents, Switzerland shocked the Canadian men's hockey team 2-0 at the Torino Olympics Saturday morning.
After stunning the Czech Republic Thursday with a 3-2 win, using speed and great goaltending, the Swiss displayed the same formula to upset Canada at Torino Esposizioni. Former Montreal Canadiens forward Paul di Pietro scored two goals and goalie Martin Gerber of the Carolina Hurricanes played superbly, making 49 saves for the shutout.
Team Canada outshot the Swiss 24-1 in the third period. The loss doesn't affect Canada's chances of winning a goal medal, but it may change its seeding for the quarter-finals and beyond.
Defenceman Chris Pronger said Canada didn't take its rivals lightly.
"I don't think so, it certainly didn't seem like that in the locker-room," Pronger told CBC Sports. "Along that road you're going to face some adversity and this is certainly an obstacle we need to learn from."
It's Switzerland's first-ever win against Canada in international competition. Looking sluggish from the start of the game, the Canadians couldn't generate consistent pressure on the fast-skating Swiss. Canada's power play struggled for the second straight contest, missing several opportunities.
Gerber, starting in place of No. 1 goalie David Aebischer, made several great saves, including two from in front of the net on Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton in the third period. Despite being outshot in the first period, Switzerland took a surprising 1-0 lead at 18:19.
Thornton gave the puck away in the neutral zone as the Swiss were allowed to control the puck in Canada's end. Patric Della Rossa was able to fight off two Canadian defenders behind the net and flipped a pass to an open di Pietro in the slot. The winger then beat Canadian goaltender Martin Brodeur with a quick shot to the stick side. Canada got into penalty trouble in the second period that resulted in a 2-0 deficit. With the Swiss controlling the puck off the draw, di Pierto scored at 8:47. Brodeur had anticipated the point-shot coming through but the puck was deflected to di Pierto who made no mistake on his one-timer.
It appeared Canada cut the lead to 2-1 on the power play after Rick Nash's shot looked to cross the goal-line while the puck was in Gerber's glove. After the play was reviewed for several minutes, the officials disallowed the goal. Gerber's glove save was still spectacular as he originally seemed out of position. The Canadians had several chances to take the lead in the first period but went 0-5 on the power play, including a 30-second two-man advantage.
"We had a lot of scoring chances but the goalie saw them," Pronger said. "A lot of times the goalie is going to make that first save."
DiPietro, born Sault Saint Marie, Ont., played 192 NHL games with Montreal, Toronto and Los Angeles. He scored 31 goals and 49 assists during his career that was highlighted by a Stanley Cup championship with the Canadiens in 1993. DiPietro has been playing for the Swiss league since 1998-99 and received his Swiss passport last February.
The Canadians finish their preliminary round against two difficult opponents. They face Finland Sunday and finish against the Czech Republic Tuesday.
Italy shows no love to Gushue
Canada's Brad Gushue suffered a major setback Saturday, losing 7-6 to Joel Retornaz of Italy in the men's curling competition at the Torino Olympic Winter Games. Retornaz deftly drew to the four-foot on last rock, bumping inside Canada's shot rock to clinch the upset win in an extra end.
Team Canada trailed throughout, but rallied with five points over the final five ends to extend the game. Canada now sits 4-3 in the overall standings, tied with the Italians. Great Britain tops the leadboard at 6-1 through seven draws followed by Finland and the United States, both at 5-2.
Retornaz jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening end and stole one in the third when Gushue overthrew a last-rock draw in the second. Gushue covered the pinhole with perfect draw weight to get on the board in the third and caught something of a break when the Italians overlooked an opportunity to count three in the fourth. Lying one on the button behind a trio of Canadian stones, Retornaz elected to draw for two rather than attempt a triple, only to rub a guard and settle for one.
Italy led 5-3 in the eighth when Retornaz cut the edge of the rings on a takeout to score one, but relinquish the hammer. Trailing 6-3, Gushue and second Russ Howard, a two-time world champion, spent several minutes strategizing as Italy lay three in tight and Canada one on the cusp in the ninth. Although third Mark Nichols removed only one Italian rock, Retornaz fired his first stone untouched through the house, giving Gushue the opening he needed for a double-takeout. Retornaz replied with a double of his own, leaving Gushue to hit and stick for two.
Behind 6-5 in the 10th, Gushue bumped his first rock to the back of the four-foot with his second, creating enough separation between the two to make a double-takeout difficult. The gamble paid off as Retornaz managed to remove only one, giving Gushue a steal of one and a 6-6 tie.
Japan stuns Kleibrink in curling
Ayumi Onodera of Japan pulled off the biggest upset thus far in the women's curling competition at the Torino Winter Games on Saturday.Onodera skipped her rink to a stunning 5-2 victory over Canada's Shannon Kleibrink at Pinerolo, Italy.
"Canada is a very strong team," Japan's third Yumie Hayashi told reporters. "Beating them now we have a lot more confidence."
Japan improved to 2-3 in the standings and Canada dropped to 4-3.
"I'm not happy, I'm very frustrated," said Amy Nixon, Canada's vice. "My impression is they played well and we didn't."
Sweden tops the leaderboard at 6-1 with Switzerland (5-2) in second place. Norway and Great Britain (4-2) are tied for third ahead of Canada. The top four rinks advance to the medal round. Canada takes on Italy on Sunday at 8:00 a.m. EST and plays its last contest of the round robin Monday against Denmark at 1:00 p.m. EST.
Prior to the Olympics, CBC curling analyst and 1998 Olympic gold medallist Joan McCusker warned not to dismiss the Japanese.
"They lack experience in pressure-filled strategy," McCusker stated. "But technically they are very, very good,"
"They have the potential to make a big move up the rankings."
Japan was first on the scoresheet with a deuce in the third end. Poor shooting by Canada allowed Onodera to steal a single in the fourth for a 3-0 lead. Kleibrink scored one in the sixth, but gave up the hammer in the process. Japan capitalized by scoring one in the seventh end to restore its three-point advantage. With last-rock advantage, Kleibrink scored one in the following end, but could not steal a single point in the final two ends as Japan scored one in the 10th to seal the win.
Later,
Kenaz
