World U17: Team Quebec vs Team Sweden – Game Story

Photo JC Pinheiro, Hockey Canada Images

January 3^rd Quebec Vs. Sweden (U17 World Championship)

This game started out with Sweden controlling most of the play and Nylander was able to walk out to the slot on the power play for a nice shot right from the slot. Lindblom displayed some really nice hands to gain the offensive zone and move the puck around well. Engvail was reading the play to pick off a pass in the neutral zone and then rush the puck back in off the wing for a nice shot off the rush, and later Nylander had an excellent end-to-end rush where he took the puck all the way behind the opposition’s net and moved out front to Lindblom who opened the scoring of the game just under 8 minutes into this one. [sociallocker]

On the power play Nylander made a great pass down low to an open man next to the net for a great one-timer chance on the power play, but that was the only chance they would get. Perron then put some excellent pressure and physicality on the fore-check to take the puck and move it out front to Ayotte who had a nice chance right in the slot and drew a penalty. On the power play Pepin walked right into the slot and took a great shot to snipe Quebec’s first goal of the game to tie this one up. Just a minute after that he got another chance from the exact same spot but the result was not the same this time. Nylander had his hands, agility and puck distribution on full display in the offensive zone with some great plays and was getting the puck out front to Lindblom for some really good chances. Audette was coming back for Quebec showing some really good speed off the wing to put some good shots on net and to get the puck into the offensive zone, as Leblanc took the puck from behind the net and made an excellent back-hand pass out front to Aube-Kubel who scored a nice goal to give Quebec the 2-1 lead in this one. Nylander responded by carrying the puck into the offensive zone with some really dazzling hands to dangle a defenseman and get in deep into the offensive zone with the puck, and then with just over a minute left in the period Engvail took a weak shot from the high slot with traffic in front that fooled the goaltender to tie up the game at 2-2 going in to the second period, and Audette was blocking shots in front of his own net to keep this one tied going in to the intermission.

In the second period Nylander made some really nice moves on the power play to create some time and space then moved the puck down low to an open man right next to the net for a good chance. Kemp then made a really nice end-to-end rush a few plays later showing some really nice speed to get into the offensive zone with the puck. Franzen was doing an excellent job walking into the slot off the rush with some good puck protection short-handed to put a shot on, and Lindblom scored on the rebound to give his team the lead at 3-2. Sweden kept pressing but it was Carrier who made a really nice defensive play to knock the puck off their stick and break up the chance after he got beat wide with speed, and then Quebec had their own chances as Richard made a really nice pass off the rush to the slot for a good chance in front of the net, and Nantell showed some really great speed and pressure on the puck carrier to force a turnover and draw a penalty. On the penalty kill however it was Sweden with the best chances this time, as Lindblom rushed the puck up the ice short-handed and cut to the middle for a good chance but missed the net on the opportunity from the slot. Karlsson was able to take the puck on a long pass also short-handed to put a shot on from the high slot which beat Billia on a weak shot to allow Sweden to take the 4-2 lead heading into the third period.

In the third period Quebec went on the power play early and was really trying to work the puck down low and jam it in from beside the net, but it was Kubel who got the play started as he did a nice job skating the puck with speed in behind the Swedish net to pass it back to the point for Leblanc to put a shot on and score Quebec’s 3^rd goal of the game on the power play and bring the game to within one. Just a few seconds later off an offensive draw Deslauriers had a great chance from in tight on net but was denied. Perron did a nice job in his own end to block some big hard point shots. Bagenda then took some nice passes right in the slot after opening up well to take the feed and put on some shots from good scoring areas, and had a great net-front presence as he was battling hard for pucks in front of the net. Lindblom then did a good job forcing turnovers to get a break on net but hit the post on his chance, as Sweden went to the power play Aho just threw a puck on net from the side wall and it was Lindblom battling in front to knock the puck in and score the team’s 5^th goal of the game.

It didn’t take long for Quebec to respond though, just 43 seconds later Pepin had a really nice wide drive with good puck protection and speed to put a good shot on from in tight, and then got the puck back and made an excellent pass down low to Audette to score Quebec’s 4^th goal of the game and make it a one goal game again. Nantel did a really nice job coming in with speed on the next shift to drive the puck down low to the net for a chance on the power play, but as the puck went back the other way Lindblom was able to take a pass with time and space in the high slot for a great chance on his shot. Sweden went on a 5-on-3 advantage and as things looked rough for Quebec, Richard made an excellent play by wining the face-off and winning the race to the puck to get it in to the offensive zone and draw a penalty by holding on to the puck. It was now only a 4-on-3 for Sweden and Nylander and Lindblom had a ton of space to work with as Nylander set up Lindblom in the high slot for a one-timer but he missed the net high on the shot. Nylander then walked into the slot for a great shot, then got his own rebound and took the puck back into the slot for another good chance. Lindblom was taking some good passes down low to put some great shots on net, and Johannson was jumping up into the attack to take a nice pass next to the net for a good chance in tight. It was almost an identical play a few minutes later as Johannson took a nice pass from Tornqvist to put a shot on from in tight to score Sweden’s 6^th goal of the game to give them the cushion that they needed to win this one 6-4 in the end.

HockeyProspect.com 3 Stars of Game:

20 William Nylander: Nylander has some really nice speed to his game, he passes the puck very effectively and can control and cycle it well in the offensive zone. He gets to scoring areas to put some good shots on net and creates chances almost every shift, and is very dangerous if given any time and space. He finished this game with 2 assists but could have had a ton more goals with all the chances he was getting.

23 Oskar Lindblom: Lindblom finished this game with a hat trick and could have been much more if he hadn’t been robbed on a few chances and hit the post on others. He has some really good sense in the offensive zone to get to good scoring areas and opens up really well to take passes. He can distribute the puck very effectively and drives the puck towards the net to create chances from in tight.

23 Daniel Audette: Audette finished this game with only 1 goal and 1 assist but boy is he a player. He is the type of player that you win games with as he works so hard and creates chances by using his body and going to the dirty areas. He finishes his checks hard and blocks shots and has some great offensive instincts as well as to how to get open in good scoring areas and when to move the puck.

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