Canada skates outdoors as rivalry game against Team USA approaches

By Alec Gearty

Posted 12/28/17

From the moment Canada began its practice at New Era Field on Thursday, a yell erupted as the team started to skate around the rink. It wasn’t from head coach Dominique Ducharme, though.

 

The cry can be traced back to Ducharme’s skaters. Members of Team Canada found it hard to contain their excitement because the next time they step onto the ice, it’ll be against the United States.

 

Canada forward Taylor Raddysh grew up watching much of the outdoor games the NHL produced. He was 9 when Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby propelled the Penguins over the Buffalo Sabres at the 2008 Winter Classic, the last time an outdoor hockey game was held in Buffalo.

 

“It’s something you dream of playing in,” Raddysh said. “You always want to be a part of and now that our time has finally come, it’s going to be a fun evening.”

 

Over 40,000 people are expected to be in attendance when Canada and the United States play the first outdoor game the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship has held, surpassing the original record of 20,380 set at the gold medal game in 2009.

 

Faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.

 

Like many of his teammates, Raddysh plans to have his family travel to New Era Field to watch amongst the record-breaking crowd — roughly 15 to 20 people according to Raddysh. While he’s on the ice, Raddysh can only offer a simple suggestion, “They’re going to have to dress warm.”

 

There’s a chance weather might play a significant factor in Friday’s matchup, but despite the cold weather, Raddysh said, “You’ve just got to block it out and do what you do best.”

 

Goaltender Carter Hart didn’t have much issue with the temperature outdoors. His toughest battle was with the sun.

 

As Hart stood in net, there was a noticeable difference where the sunlight hits the rink. Hart, who led Canada to a 4-2 win over Finland on Tuesday, stood in the shadow that covered most of his defensive zone. He was opposite the bright reflection that came with the opposition’s rush.

 

 “It’s definitely a little bit different,” Hart said. “I know for the start of practice, one end was kind of sunny, one was shadowed so that was a little bit different but by tomorrow, the sun should be down by 3 o’clock so we should be good.”

 

Canada started practice at 1:30 p.m. but Ducharme abruptly ended the session after a half hour. Ducharme’s plan wasn’t to run any specific drills or cram in last-minute preparation for the United States.

 

The short session was scheduled so the team could become acclimated with the outdoor conditions ahead of its first meeting with the United States since last year’s loss in the gold medal game.

 

For Canada, the outdoor game isn’t being used as a revenge tactic. Instead, it’s about embracing the rivalry amongst countries.

 

“It’s probably one of the biggest rivalries in sports,” Hart said. “The U.S. and Canada are probably the two biggest hockey powers in the world so any time they are meeting whether it’s World Juniors, World Championship or Olympics – any of that international stuff – it’s a pretty big rivalry and we’re excited.”