World Juniors: USA Saves Best for Last, Clips Canada in Shootout
This was indeed a special occasion.
First and foremost, it was the first outdoor game in World Junior Championship histor.
It was successful, attendance-wise, because the combatants were the USA and Canada. 44,592 hardy fans braved the snow and chill -- 16ºF/-9ºC -- at the Buffalo Bills' New Era Stadium.
They were a factor before the game even started:
|
This event was as much about the fans as it was the players.
Especially fans braced with their own versions of anti-freeze.
For the Americans, it was also a key contest in terms of bracket seeding.
Because of their upset loss to Slovakia, falling to Canada would've left them with a more challenging opponent in the one-&-done stage.
Strangely, though, it took the USA a while to warm to the challenge. Resplendent in a hockey version of the Bills' uniforms, they began the outing by playing like the Bills.
Canada had no such issue. Still, it's not how you start ...
That is pulling a crucial two points outta the bag and totally stoking the USA-Canada rivalry.
Besides the American celebration serving as a huge sigh of relief, the lasting memory of this game will be a truly northern visage of outdoor hockey as it's played on frozen ponds:
And the snow-removal crew logged almost as much ice time as some of the defensemen:
Don't think for a moment that's not a specialized skill.
The thrills and spills never end this time of year.