Winnipeggers lead Canada to international ball hockey glory

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This article was published 04/07/2023 (1183 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A crew of nine Winnipeggers helped Canada win six consecutive games including a 12-3 triumph over Slovakia in Sunday’s gold-medal game to capture the ISBHF World U20 Ball Hockey Championship in Liberec, Czechia.

The Canadians were led by tournament MVP Conner Roulette, a right-winger, who scored three times in the championship game, and left-winger Dawson Pasternak, who chipped in two goals and four assists against the Slovaks.

“We had our sights set on gold for sure,” said Canadian head coach Paul Kastes of Winnipeg. “We knew how talented our team was and we definitely had a goal to win gold but anything can happen in those tournaments.

“The international style plays a little bit different and the way it’s reffed is a little bit different. So you never really know what kind of game you’re getting into out there and we definitely didn’t see a 10-3 win in the final in the cards, but we just knew we had a really good group.”

Roulette (Saskatoon Blades, WHL) and Pasternak (Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL) were joined on the club’s top line by centre Evan Friesen of the WHL’s Wennachee Wild.

Roulette tied for the tournament lead with 11 points, including six goals, while Pasternak (three goals, 10 points) and Friesen (five goals, eight points) also had a major impact.

Friesen, Roulette and Pasternak were joined by fellow Winnipeggers Owen Weihs (forward, Selkirk Steelers, MJHL), defenceman Rory Neill (Portage Terriers, MJHL), defencemen Tyler Teasdale (Blackfalds Bulldogs, AJHL) and blue-liner Luke Janus of Winnipeg (Maryland Black Bears, North American Hockey League) and goaltender Cole Plowman of Winnipeg (Steinbach Pistons, MJHL). Neill was named the tournament’s top blue-liner.

The Canadians swept through the round-robin portion of the tounament with four consecutive wins, beating the U.S. 4-3 in a shootout, Slovakia 4-3, Czechia 7-5 and Switzerland 12-1.

In the semifinals, Canada thumped the Americans 7-4 before thrashing the Slovakians 10-3 in the gold-medal game.

“We knew they were tired but they still gave it everything they had,” said Friesen of the Slovakians. “We came up hot and strong — we were up 5-0 in the first five minutes.”

Slovakia had beaten Czechia a day earlier to advance.

“They’re actually a really good team and they had a really emotional game, coming back from a few goals down in the semis to win an overtime the day before, and we kind of knew that they were going to be emotionally riled up,” said Neill. “We jumped on them early and got a couple of quick ones.”

Roulette, a Dallas Stars draft pick and the Canadian captain, may have had the highlight of the weekend with a Michigan goal in the title game.

“I’ve never seen it done before,” said Kastes. “I guess it’s easier to pick the ball up but then it’s harder to get moving from behind the net on foot.”

Kastes added that Friesen was crucial to Canada’s success, taking important faceoffs and playing on the first unit of the power-play and penalty-killing units.

“He’s everything, is absolutely everything you want from a player when you’re trying to win a championship for sure,” said Kastes.

The Canadians adapted well to the bigger playing surface used in Europe.

“I actually think it helped our team because we have such a skilled, fast team,” said Friesen. “We were able to move the ball quick and get the ball around. I thought it was an advantage for us.”

All of the Manitobans had played together frequently in various ball hockey events.

“Anytime you get to wear the Maple Leaf, regardless of what sport it is, and represent your country and then play against other top players in the world, it’s a pretty cool experience,” said Neill. “We knew we had a good team going in, so it was just a matter of getting the buy-in from everyone and having everyone play a role.”

Kastes was impressed with the commitment of his players.

“The boys put a ton of work into it,” said Kastes. “I always say it takes a special someone to want to play this sport, right? You’re playing for nothing but pride. There’s no scholarships, there’s no professional leagues, there’s no university opportunities.

“You’re playing for pride and this sport is not forgiving on the body. These guys were beaten down there. They were bruised and the lineup for the training table was long by the end of the tournament.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14