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Reinhart leads Canada to gold
The player who has been leading the Kootenay ICE on and off the ice the past few seasons helped lead Canada back to the top of the World Junior hockey mountain last night.
Sam Reinhart, playing on Team Canada’s top line with New York Rangers rookie Anthony Duclair and London Knights (Arizona Coyotes) star Max Domi, was a force in the gold medal game of the World Junior Championships against Team Russia, scoring what turned out to be the game winning goal, as Canada held on to win 5-4.
Canada jumped out to a 5-1 lead, including scoring on their first two shots on goal to chase the starting Russian netminder. It was Reinhart’s line that started things off just 23 seconds in when Domi found Duclair from the corner and he rifled a hard shot glove-side.
Reinhart received a further honour following the game, being named as one of the tournament’s top forwards – joining Domi and 17-year-old Ontario Hockey League phenom Connor McDavid. Winnipeg Jets prospect Joshua Morrissey was selected as one of the top defencemen, along with Swedish captain Gustav Forsling.
Slovakian bronze-medal-winning goaltender Denis Godla was named tourney MVP by members of the media and was also top goaltender. The besieged goalie stopped 224 of the 242 shots he faced in seven games and was stellar against Canada in the semi-final.
The ICE captain led the tourney in scoring with five goals and six assists, along with Portland Winterhawks sniper and Jets’ prospect Nic Petan (four goals, seven assists) and McDavid (three goals, eight assists). Domi, named Canada’s player in the game, was electrifying in the tourney, too, scoring five and helping on five more.
Another ICE player, defenceman Rinat Valiev, was playing in the game, for Russia. The steady blueliner finished with an assist and a minus one in the game, already being described as one of the best gold medal games in the tourney’s history.
An additional Cranbrook tie to this big Canadian hockey win is former resident Tom Renney, currently the head of Hockey Canada.
Reinhart and Valiev are expected back in the ICE’s lineup this Friday at Western Financial Place when the Red Deer Rebels come to town. The ICE currently have a 21-18-0-1 record (13-6-0-0 at home, 8-12-0-1 on the road, 5-0 in overtime, 1-1 in shootouts) and in fourth place in the Central Division.
Now 6-1-0-1 in the past eight games, the ICE will play the next two contests on home ice beginning Jan. 9 against Red Deer. They play the Saskatoon Blades the next night, also in Cranbrook. Game times are 7 p.m.
Head on down to the Cranbrook-based arena and help welcome back one of Canada’s most recent hockey heroes.
In related ICE news, former Kootenay forward Matt Fraser was traded to the Edmonton Oilers from the Boston Bruins Dec. 29 and he’s had an immediate impact with the struggling NHL team, scoring twice in his first four games.
And with defender Tanner Faith heading to the sick bay with an upper body injury, ICE GM Jeff Chynoweth has brought aboard defenseman Tanner Lishchynsky from the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
Lead image: Reinhart centre, with Anthony Duclair left and Max Domi, right. Hockey Prospects photo.
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