There will come a time in this province when hockey fans will be cheering for Vancouver Canucks draft picks Quinn Hughes and Ty Madden.
But it wasn鈥檛 Wednesday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre as a capacity crowd rooted lustily for underdog Slovakia in the 2-1 U.S. victory which opened Pool B play in the 2019 IIHF world junior championship.
It indicates the U.S. has arrived as a hockey power, so neutral fans see them as the overdogs in such matchups.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what that鈥檚 about,鈥� said Hughes, about the crowd reception.
鈥淯SA Hockey is going to get better over the next 10-15 years. This is just the start of it,鈥� added the talented blue-liner, selected seventh overall by the Canucks in the first round of the 2018 NHL draft.
U.S. captain Mikey Anderson, a Los Angeles Kings draft pick, said it is part of the vibe and he鈥檚 fine with it: 鈥淚t adds to the fun. We have to create our own momentum in the building.鈥�
U.S. forward Jack Hughes, brother of Quinn and the projected No. 1 overall selection for the 2019 NHL draft, concurred.
鈥淔or us, it doesn鈥檛 matter. It was a sold-out house and it was fun,鈥� said the younger Hughes.
It almost wasn鈥檛 fun for the Americans as Slovakia took a 1-0 lead in a tense and terrific game that had just about everything, including missed penalty shots by each team.
Slovakia entered the third period leading 1-0 on a second-period goal by Marek Korencik. The U.S. won it on third-period goals by Anderson, assisted by Jack Hughes, and Evan Barratt, with Madden drawing the primary assist.
鈥淭he first two periods were not the way we wanted to start but it happens,鈥� said Quinn Hughes.
鈥淏ut staying patient was obviously big for us . . . patience was the key.鈥�
Anderson said it was 鈥渇irst-game jitters.鈥�
Madden described it as 鈥渨eathering the storm . . . we had our chances but we had to finish.鈥�
That finishing touch came just in time against Slovak goaltender Samuel Hlavaj, who was outstanding, as the U.S. held a 34-14 shots-on-goal advantage.
鈥淚t was awesome to get my first point,鈥� said Madden, of his assist on the game-winning goal by Penn State鈥檚 Barratt at 5:42 of the third period.
鈥淚t was special as [Chicago Blackhawks third-round draft pick Barratt] ripped it top corner.鈥�
Slovak forward Milos Roman of the Vancouver Giants is not used to receiving cheers during Western Hockey League games on Blanshard against the Victoria Royals.
鈥淲e had two very good periods and then two mistakes in the third period,鈥� said Roman, a fourth-round draft pick of the Calgary Flames.
Roman said 鈥渋t felt good to play for this crowd鈥� but does not feel the Slovaks need be treated as underdogs.
鈥淭hey [Americans] have a lot of first-round guys but we are here to beat them,鈥� he said.
That is what Slovakia did in pool play against the host and eventual bronze-medallist U.S. in last year鈥檚 world junior tournament in Buffalo, New York, before falling just short of repeating the upset Wednesday.
鈥淲e鈥檒l build and learn from every game,鈥� said Jack Hughes.
Scandinavian neighbours and traditional hockey powers Finland and Sweden played in Wednesday night鈥檚 late Pool B game on Blanshard. The game featured rosters dotted with AHL pros and projected high 2019 NHL draft picks. Included in the latter group is Kaapo Kakko, the Finnish forward tabbed No. 2 overall behind Hughes.
Thanks to a pair of goals from Erik Brannstrom, Sweden prevailed by a 2-1 score. Netminder Adam Ahman picked up the win, making 27 saves.
Pool B in the 2019 world juniors continues today at the Memorial Centre with Sweden meeting Slovakia at 3:30 p.m. and upstart qualifier Kazakhstan making its tournament debut at 7:30 p.m. against Finland.
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鈥� WEDNESDAY RESULTS
USA 2 Slovakia 1
Sweden 2 Finland 1
鈥� THURSDAY'S GAMES
Slovakia vs. Sweden, 3:30 p.m.
Finland vs. Kazakhstan, 7:30 p.m.
鈥� All games at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre
