USA-Gold Sweden-Silver Russia-Bronze Canada- 4th

First off, congrats to the Americans for winning their third consecutive gold medal at the IIHF WJ U18 Championships. Although it took overtime for the victory, the Americans are deserving of the championship.

Canada however, wasn't so lucky in the bronze medal game against the Russians. Andrew D'Agostini got the start in goal over Malcolm Subban and Nail Yakpuov put on an offensive clinic against him.

However, Ryan Murphy put on a clinic of his own for Canada. After Nikita Kucherov opened the scoring at 11:36 with an unassisted goal, Murphy blasted a powerplay goal at 18:47 to even things up. Alan Quine assisted on Murphy's fourth of the tournament and that would end the first period.

At 3:07 of the second, Quine would score his first on the powerplay to put Canada up 2-1 on the powerplay with Mark Scheifele and Murphy drawing the assists. But the Yakupov show would take over with the Russians scoring 3 times in less than three minutes.

Yakupov got it started at 7:40 with the assist going to Roman Konkov. Yakupov would then set up Vladimir Tkachev at 8:24 to put the Russians ahead 3-2. Finally at 10:25 Yakupov would score short handed, his second of the game, from Tkachev to pull the Russians ahead by two. At 15:42 Kucherov would score his second from Mikhail Grigorenko and  Albert Yarullin to put the Russians up 5-2. Ryan Murray would score on the powerplay, his third, from Eric Locke to cut the lead to two before closing out the period.

Brett Ritchie would score his fourth at 18:20 to make it an interesting finish, Murphy drew the lone assist on the goal, his 13th point of the tournament which made him the highest scoring Canadian in the history of the tournament.

But it just wasn't enough as Yakupov would notch his third of the game from Kucherov to close out the scoring.

Murphy would be named the top defenseman in the tournament while Kucherov was named the top forward.

USA 5 Canada 4 OT

Team USA beat Team Canada 5-4 in overtime Saturday to set up a Sunday Bronze Medal game between Canada and Russia and a Gold Medal Game between the USA and Sweden.

Brett Ritchie would start things off for Canada at the 4:37 mark on the powerplay when he tipped in a Ryan Murphy shot from the point. Alan Quine would draw the other assist. J T Miller would tie it at one with his fourth after he blocked a shot just inside his own zone and sped up the ice and beat Malcolm Subban five hole.

The teams would head to the locker room tied at one. The Canadians had the shot advantage, 12-4 as well as 3 powerplays while the US had none.

It took 16:10 into the second to see that periods only goal when Reid Boucher scored his seventh to give the Americans a 2-1 lead. The Americans came out strong in the second outshooting Canada 21-13. The US also had 4 powerplays including a two man advantage for 1:35 but could not convert.

Zach Larazza would score his first at 6:43 of the third, a short handed goal to put the US up 3-1. Travis Boyd would draw the assist. Then, just 33 seconds later, Boucher would notch his second of the game from Miller to put the US up 4-1. It was another short handed goal and on the same penalty.

Canada would make an attempt at a comeback. Ritchie would score his second of the game at 9:15 on the powerplay from Quine and Nick Cousins. At 18:25, and with Subban on the bench for an extra attacker, Murphy would score his third from Murray on the powerplay.  Murray would then assist on Mark Scheifele's 6th goal with just 51 seconds remaining to even the score up at 4.

The US would outshoot Canada 14 - 12 in the period.

Overtime would last just 4:22 when Tyler Biggs scored his second to send the US to the Gold Medal game and a chance to win their third straight tournament.

The US also improved to 7-2 all-time vs Canada in this event.

Good Luck to the Americans in the Gold Medal game !!

Canada Blanks Norway 5-0

Team Canada goaltender Andrew D'Agostini made started his first game at the Under 18 Championships and he made the best of it stopping all 19 shots he faced for Canada's second shutout of the tournament. Malcolm Subban had the other.

Nick Cousins got Canada on the board at the :58 second mark when he converted on a set up  From Mark Scheifele and Brett Ritchie. Scheifele then scored a goal on his own on the powerplay at 7:39 to put Canada up 2-0. Mark McNeill and Travis Ewanyk drew the assists. Colin Smith closed out the first period scoring when he was set up by Brent Andrews and Daniel Catenacci. Canada would outshoot Norway 22-6 in the opening period.

The second period would have as much domination as the first with Norway being outshot once again 19-4. But only the red hot Scheifele would be able to beat Norwegian goaltender Steffen Soberg. Ryan Murray would draw the lone assist on Scheifele's goal on the powerplay.

In the third it was once again the Soberg show as Canada continued to dominate the shot board, this time 21-9 making the game total 63-19. And once again Canada was only able to slip one past Soberg, this time by Slater Koekkoek at 11:01 on the powerplay. Charles Simard-Hudon would assist.

With the win Canada improved to 3-0 and lead Group B. They will face Sweden today at 10:00 a.m. (TSN and RDS in Canada), their strongest competition to date in the tournament.

Canada 5 Finland 4

Canada improved to 2-0 in Group B at the IIHF World Under 18 tournament in Germany today with a 5-4 victory over Finland who dropped to 1-1. Malcolm Subban made 34 saves for Canada while Samu Perhonen made 30 for Finland.

Eric Locke score the only goal of the first period on the powerplay with the assist going to Ryan Murphy. Finland would out shoot Canada 9-8 in the period while going 0/1 on the powerplay. Canada was 1/1.

In the second period, Joel Armia tied the game at 1-1 when he scored on the powerplay at 3:24. Miro Aaltonen and Toni Kallela would assist. Armia and Kallela would then team up to set up Olli Maata at 11:56 to put Finland up 2-1. Murphy would tie it with an assist by Colin Smith at 17:46 to close out the second period. Finland would outshoot Canada again, this time 16:11. Both teams went 0/3 on the powerplay.

Armia would score an unassisted powerplay goal just 1:06 into the third period to make it 3-2. Canada would respond by scoring twice in 40 seconds to take the lead.

Mark Scheifele scored from Cody Ceci at the 10:05 mark. That was immediately followed up by a Nick Cousins goal with the assist going to Ryan Murray. Colin Smith would get an unassisted marker at 14:44 to put Canada up 5-3. Maata would score with 1:55 remaining to make it close. Armia and Markus Granlund would get the assists.

Canada will face Norway on Monday at 1:30 EDT followed by the preliminary finale Tuesday vs Sweden which will be televised on TSN.

Team Canada 5 Czech Republic 0

It was a chance to shine for 2012 draft eligible goaltender Malcolm Subban as he stopped all 26 shots he faced in leading Team Canada to victory over the Czech Republic in their opening match at the 2011 IIHF World U18 Champioships in Germany. Subban is the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens defenseman P K Subban.

Eric Locke got Canada on the board just 1:10 into the game when he converted on a set up from Ryan Murphy and Alan Quine. Just 2:34 later, Morgan Rielly would put Canada up 2-0 when he was set up by Quine and Mark McNeil.

At 14:28 of the opening period, Ryan Murray and Ryan Murphy would set up Mark Scheifele on the powerplay to put the Canadians up 3-0. You have to wonder what goes through opposition teams minds when the are on the penalty kill and two quarter backs are coming at you in Murray and Murphy.

Bruins fans have a saying when Tuukka Rask starts in goal for Team Canada : Two U's, Two K's = 2 points. Well, I figured we needed one for Murray and Murphy on the Team Canada powerplay, so I'll coin this phrase: Two R's, Two M's = Too Easy !

The teams skated to a scoreless second period. But in the third Locke and Daniel Catenacci would set up Scheifele for his second goal of the game to put Canada up 4-0.

At 14:33 of the period and on the powerplay Two R's, Two M's = Too easy were at it again. Murray set up Murphy to cap off the scoring and make the final 5-0.

After the game Coach Mike Williamson not only commended the two star defensemen on their offensive game but also their defensive game, specifically "negating chances and blocking shots".

The OHL's Matej Machovsky was in goal for the Czech Republic and he faced 29 shots.

14 OHL Players Named To Team Canada

There were 14 OHL players named to Team Canada for the Ivan Hlink Under 18 world championships in Germany set to go from April 14-24.

Here are your OHL players named to the 22 man squad

Goaltenders:
Andrew D’Agostini, Peterborough Petes
Malcolm Subban, Belleville Bulls

Defencemen:
Cody Ceci, Ottawa 67’s
Scott Harrington, London Knights
Slater Koekkoek, Peterborough Petes
Ryan Murphy, Kitchener Rangers

Forwards:
Austen Brassard, Belleville Bulls
Daniel Catenacci, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Nick Cousins, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Seth Griffith, London Knights
Eric Locke, Barrie Colts
Alan Quine, Peterborough Petes
Brett Ritchie, Sarnia Sting
Mark Scheifele, Barrie Colts

All but Cody Ceci, Slater Koekoek and Eric Locke, and goaltender Malcolm Subban are draft eligible in 2011.

Scheifele excelling against OHL's best competition

"It's been tough having to go against players like (Avalanche first-round draft pick Joey) Hishon and defensemen like (Maple Leafs second-round pick Jesse) Blacker," Scheifele told NHL.com. "It's been tough, but you've got to take it as a challenge and this is going to make me better, it's going to help me become the best player I can be. It's definitely tougher to get points and tougher to get opportunities, (but) it's a fun challenge. Sometimes it's harder when they're hitting you and stuff, but it's definitely a challenge I like to take."

Full story from nhl.com

OHL Draft Eligible Power Play Goals Leaders

OHL draft eligible power play goals leaders

Matt Puempel - 15
Ryan Murphy - 14
Mark Scheifele - 13
Alan Quine - 13
Brandon Saad - 12

Draft Eliible Assists Leaders

OHL draft eliible assist leaders

Ryan Strome - 73
Ryan Murphy - 53
Mark Scheifele - 53
Dougie Hamilton - 46
Daniel Catenacci - 45

Mark Scheifele Interview By hockeyprospect.com

Mark Scheifele sits down for an interview with hockeyprospect.com. You can listen to the complete interview here

OHL Announces Academic Players of the Month for October

Central Division - The OHL Academic Player of the Month for October in the Central Division is centre Mark Scheifele of the Barrie Colts. Scheifele, 17, a native of Kitchener, Ontario, is a Grade 12 student at Innisdale Secondary School in Barrie.  Colts Academic Advisor Randy McIntyre had this to say about Mark, “Mark has shown a very mature approach to life in the OHL, balancing his academics with his hockey commitments.”
Full story on ohl.com

Belleville Bulls and Barrie Colts player updates

After attending the Bulls/Colts game last night, i thought i would update the over dozen draft eligible players involved in the game.

Tyson Teichmann - Belleville - although he had some shaky moments in the game Tyson Teichmann still showed why he will be one of the top goaltenders selected in the NHL entry draft. He has excellent lateral movement, picks up the puck through bodies, very good rebound control, excellent positioning and is very quick at dropping to his knees and back on his skates to go along with amazing reflexes. Teichmann will just need to find consistency in his game.

Steven Strong - Belleville - the smooth skating defenceman has very good speed. Steven Strong can play in all situations. A very good power play quarterback, he can move the puck up ice almost at ease. He is an excellent passer who sees the ice very well. Although he worked on adding strength to his lower body, he still needs to get stronger on his feet. He gets knocked off his feet to often. He will need to learn when to pinch and when not to pinch. The good thing is defence can be taught and he already possesses offensive ability, so things are looking very good for Strong.

Austen Brassard - Belleville - a big power forward, Austen Brassard is one of the hardest working players on the ice. He skates well, makes good passes and has a deceptive shot, although I'd like to see him shoot more. He cycles the puck very well and comes back on the backcheck hard. He doesn't have good speed and could work on that.

Michael Curtis - Belleville - a linemate of Austen Brassard, Michael Curtis is a speedy hardworker with offensive potential. Along with Brassard, he cycles the puck very well. Also a strong backchecker, he is often the first forward back in his own zone. He has a very good shot and despite his size, is not afraid to go into the corners or along the walls or to the front of the net.

Mark Scheifele - Barrie - a big forward who can play center or wing, Mark Scheifele is an excellent playmaker who is always making perfect passes. But he has a good shot and his pass first mentality takes that away from his game. He's a very good skater technically with average speed. He could work on that.

Dylan Smoskowitz - Barrie - we all saw last night why Dylan Smoskowitz was said to have potential. The speedy forward got a hat trick, He plays with a lot of heart and tenacity, always willing to pay the price to get the job done. He'll go straight to the net, go full speed into the corners, whatever it takes to get the puck. He has excellent playmaking abilities as well. He's definitely proven he can take his game to another level.

McKenzie Braid - Barrie - I haven't even profiled Braid yet, but I'll include him here anyway. The big defenseman sees time 5 on 5 and on the penalty kill. He is strong defensively. He is very good at standing players up and taking the man and allowing his partner to take the puck. He gets his stick into the lanes very well to take away passing options.  Once he adds some bulk, I'm certain he will take his physicality to another level. You can see the compete level and the passion every time he's on the ice.

Zach Hall - Barrie - didn't play because of a broken wrist

Mark Scheifele

Mark Scheifele - Barrie Colts
6'3" - 175

The 7th round pick (134th overall) was traded from Saginaw to Barrie after  Scheifele didn't appear for the Spirit's rookie camp. It was believed at the time that Scheifele was going to take the NCAA route. But the Colts gambled, and won. After the trade Scheifele turned down a four year scholarship with Cornell to play for the Colts.

The smooth skating, offensively talented and playmaking Scheifele led his Kitchener Dutchmen Jr. B squad in both assists and points last season recording 18 goals and 37 assists for 55 points in 51 games.

Scheifele can play both center and wing. With his size, if he can add some bulk, he may be better suited for wing, but will have to get grittier in the corners and along the wall. But his superior playmaking abilities may make him better suited at center.

He's definitely a project with great potential for a team that can wait it out a couple of years and he should draw a lot of attention from NHL scouts playing in Barrie.