The 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship has been surreal for Canadian hockey fans. They saw their countrymen lose in round-robin play for the first time in six years. Two days later, their youngest player guaranteed guaranteed that his Canadian team would win the gold. John Tavares, 17, and Team Canada beat Finland 4-2 this morning in the quarterfinal round to draw one step closer to that bold proclamation.Boston Bruin draft pick Brad Marchand scored the game-winner midway through the third period. Marchand had cost the Canadians in round-robin play with a late giveaway against Sweden in a 4-3 loss on Dec. 29. That loss meant Canada had to play in the quarterfinal round rather than have a bye into the semifinals.
The Canadians will now face the United States in Friday's semifinal round at 2 p.m. EST (NHL Network). The Canadians beat the Americans twice in Sweden en route to the 2007 World Junior title, including a 2-1 shootout victory in the semifinal round. The Americans would have to settle for bronze. This season, the U.S. went a perfect 4-0-0-0 in round-robin play to earn the bye into the semis.
The Canadians haven't lost a playoff-round World Junior game since January 5, 2004. That's when Team USA beat a 16-year-old Sidney Crosby and Team Canada 4-3 to claim their first World Junior Championship gold medal.
Below is a video clip of the 2007 shootout between the U.S. and Canada:
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