Defending champion Canada head into the World Hockey Championships confident they can shake the host jinx and capture their 25th title.
Mindful of the misfortunes of previous tournament hosts, Canada are seeking to become the first team to win gold on home soil since 1986, when the former Soviet Union defeated Sweden in the final in Moscow.
Sweden came close in 1995 when the tournament was held in Stockholm, but lost to Finland and had to settle for silver.
“It has been a long time since the home team won gold,” said Bob Nicholson, president of Hockey Canada. “We have come back to defend our gold. That is what we are here for.”
Canada are favorites along with Sweden, Russia, Finland and the Czech Republic. The Canadians arrived Tuesday to begin preparations for their tournament opener Friday against Slovenia. Fresh off a 4-1 exhibition loss to Russia on Monday in Quebec City, the Canadians practiced for the first time on Tuesday at the Halifax Metro Centre arena.
Canadian coach Ken Hitchcock said the Russians played with greater determination Monday and that should help get his team going.
“Their tenacity was a lot better than ours,” Hitchcock said. “Now we know how we have to play to win.
“Anybody who was just dipping their toes into the water yesterday got a wake-up call,” he said.
Canada won 12 of the first 13 Worlds but they no longer dominate like they used to, winning just three of the past 10 titles.
In their most disappointing international performance in recent years, Canada was eliminated in the quarter-finals at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.
Hitchcock said general manager Steve Yzerman and the coaching staff have implemented a couple of significant changes over the past few years in order to adapt better to international showcases.
One was getting younger stars like Rick Nash, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley more international experience. The other was finalizing the roster as early as possible to avoid the distractions that come with bringing players after the tournament has started.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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