Around the NHL: PWHL Boston forces a decisive Game 5, Team Czechia wins gold, and more!
1 month ago
On top of the Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs, there are some important seasons coming to an end.
The IIHF World Championship came to an end on Sunday, the Professional Women’s Hockey League has decisive Game 5, and the Memorial Cup is in full force.
Let’s dig into the latest edition of Around the NHL!
Czechia wins the gold medal
On Saturday, Team Canada was knocked out of contention to win back-to-back Gold Medals, as they fell 3-2 to Team Switzerland in a shootout. The latter was looking for their first ever Gold Medal at the tournament.
Unfortunately for Team Switzerland, they fell 2-0 to the Czechia, who hosted the tournament. Only one current/former Flame won a Gold Medal, as captain Roman Červenka played 39 games with the 2012-13 Flames where he had nine goals and 17 points in 39 games, the only games he played in the National Hockey League.
Even more unfortunate was Canada’s Gold Medal loss to Team Sweden, as they fell 4-2 to go home empty handed. Unfortunately for current Flame, Andrew Mangiapane, his goal and seven points in 10 games wasn’t enough for Canada to pick up a medal.
Day 3 of the Memorial Cup is in the book
With the Saginaw Spirit’s 4-3 win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs, we are halfway through the round robin of the Memorial Cup.
Here are each team’s records:
Saginaw Spirit (host): 2-0-0-0
London Knights (OHL winner): 1-0-0-0
Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL winner): 0-1-0-0
Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL winner): 0-2-0-0
The team with the best record gets a bye, while the two teams with the next best records play in a semi-final, the winner faces the team with the best record.
There are no current Flames prospects participating in the tournament.
PWHL Boston forces the decisive Game 5
The first real classic of the Professional Women’s Hockey League was played on Sunday.
PWHL Boston was looking to keep their Walter Cup hopes alive and send it back to Boston for a decisive Game 5. The game was scoreless for nearly five periods, that was until Sophie Jaques buried it to win Minnesota the Walter Cup… or did she?
After a lengthy review, the goal was called back and play continued. It didn’t take long for the actual first goal of the game, as Alina Müller buried a shot in the slot to send the series back to Boston for Game 5.
This game was a classic, simply put. Nearly five periods of scoreless but exciting hockey, culminating in a dramatic no-goal where a team thought they won the inaugural championship. Hopefully, Game 5 will be even better, as that’ll be played on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. MT.
Jacob Trouba’s elbow in Game 3
Turning back to the only NHL news in this article, we’ll take a look at what could lead to a suspension for the New York Rangers captain.
Late in the second period of Game 3, Jacob Trouba stuck out his elbow and hit Evan Rodrigues in the head with it. He received a two-minute minor for elbowing (along with a two-minute slashing minor), but was not kicked out of the game.
This was definitely not a hockey play, as he made no attempt to play the puck, but also leaned his elbow into Rodrigues’ head. It’s not like he doesn’t have a track record of problematic hockey behaviour in the past, as in late January, he was suspended for two games for elbowing Vegas Golden Knights’ forward Pavel Dorofeyev, among other incidents.
Trouba received a $5,000 fine for the incident with Rodrigues.
After blowing a 4-2 lead heading into the third period, the Rangers would eventually go on to win that game in overtime for the second consecutive game, giving them a 2-1 series lead. Trouba himself had another penalty in the third period, but had two assists earlier in the game before the elbow.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.
Fill your cup with all things puck Monday to Thursday at 9am EST with Morning Cuppa Hockey. Hosts and former players Jonny Lazarus and Colby Cohen will be on the mic discussing key topics, chatting with guests, and disagreeing on practically everything! Tune in and subscribe to the Daily Faceoff Youtube Channel to catch the show LIVE at 9am EST, or stream anytime, anywhere you get your podcasts.
Recent articles from Ryley Delaney
