Jan 08, 2011; Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA; Hockey fans show their Canadian pride during the first period of the game between the Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time since 1998,  Team Canada does not medal in the World Junior Hockey Championships after falling to Team Russia 6-5 in overtime.

The Canadians were coming off a disappointing performance in the semi-finals when they were derailed by the Americans in a 5-1 rout. However, if anything was to be built on coming out of that loss, oddly enough, it was the goaltending situation.  Or so we thought.

Jordan Binnington came into the semi-final game in relief of Malcolm Subban, who had been hung out to dry after four unanswered goals to start the game.  Yet Binnington played nothing short of spectacular.  He made multiple athletic stops including a breakaway save cold off the bench.  It went unquestioned that Binnington, in his only given chance, had earned his start to play for a medal.

However, before Canadians could open their eyes in the early morning hours and tune in, Russia had scored its first goal.  Just over a minute later, Canada took a penalty. Nail Yakupov was left open at the side of the net and took a cross-ice pass which he buried.  Less than five minutes into the game, Team Canada was down by two and the place was rockin`.  It was deja vu all over again for Canada.

Canada made good on a power play, though, just two minutes later as team captain Ryan Nugent-Hopkins cut the lead in half.  But before the Canadians could start feeling good about the game, Kirill Dyakov put the Russians back up by two on a point shot just 56 seconds later.  Head coach Steve Spott yanked Binnington without hesitation after the third goal, which came just eight minutes into the game.  So much for the goaltending controversy.

Late in the period, Canada was given another power play and Jonathan Huberdeau capitalized.  It appeared the momentum was shifting heading into the locker room.

Would you believe it, the Russians took another penalty early in the second frame and Winnipeg Jets first-rounder Mark Scheifele slipped the puck past Saskatoon Blades net-minder Andrei Makarov.  The game was tied up at threes.  Canada and Russia would exchange goals later in the period and the game was tied 4-4 at the second intermission.

One minute into the third, Yakupov would notch his second of the game to reclaim the Russian lead.  And halfway through the period, Team Canada would steal the momentum on a goal by Brett Ritchie.  It was the first even-strength goal of the game for the Canadians, as they finished the game 4-5 on the power play.  The contest was headed for overtime.

Team Canada had finished the third period strong and had multiple scoring chances in the early-going of the extra frame.  Dougie Hamilton found himself with the game on his stick, Makarov helplessly on his bottom, but couldn`t get the puck past Mikhail Grigorenko.

Just moments later, Valeri Nichushkin went wide on Ryan Murphy and beat him to cut through the crease and put the puck past Subban.  The arena erupted and Team Russia poured off the bench, some taunting the Canadians as they skated by.  Team Canada looked on in disbelief.

The group often referred to as the `Dream Team` thanks to the NHL lockout, would go home empty-handed.  This marked the third straight year the Canadians fell to the Russians to determine their fate.

A lot can be said for the heart the Canadian players showed in coming back so many times during the course of the game and nearly winning it.  However, that is not how Hockey Canada is analyzed.  The result is that they did not medal.  It also marked the fourth straight year Team Canada failed to capture gold.

A good chunk of the blame will be shouldered by the coaching staff, and rightfully so.  Steve Spott coached the team last year and also fell short in the semi-finals.  However this year the mistakes seemed more apparent.

From Day 1, all of Canada knew who was going to start in goal, despite the tight competition between the top two goaltenders.  Many single this decision out as purely political, but whatever it was it left a very good goalie on the shelf and having to start his first game in the semi-final.

Another tell-tale sign the coaching was not up-to-par was the fact that in almost every game Team Canada came out flat.

In the first preliminary matchup against the heavy underdogs from Germany, Canada only led by a single goal midway through the game.  The defense showed considerable gaps which the Germans capitalized on for three goals.

In the second game, Canada trailed the Slovaks 3-2 halfway through before finally breaking out offensively in the last 30 minutes.

Although Canada started the third game versus Russia with considerable jump, the game was a see-saw battle until Nichushkin took a five-minute major penalty.  If not for the key penalty to the man who would eventually end the rematch in overtime, that game could have gone either way.

After falling behind 4-0 in the rematch in the semi-finals against United States, an explanation need not be made.

And finally in the bronze medal game, allowing two goals within the first five minutes is simply unacceptable.  A word used by every single Canadian player in the post-game interviews.

Nobody knows what truly goes on and what is said behind those locker room doors, but with that many terrible starts in a single tournament it isn`t a coincidence.

Canadians will continue to reel until next year as to what exactly happened in this tournament.  But the fact is simple: Canada had the most talent of any team, as per usual, but failed to even medal.  They ran into well prepared and well-coached teams in the USA and were out-prepared when it mattered most against Russia.  There`s not many other ways you can slice it.  Whether it was shaky goaltending in key moments again, poor coaching or just bad luck, Team Canada failed this year.

That failure will be felt until new results are determined next year.

Go back to bed Canada, it is over.  Better luck next year.

February 16, 2010; Vancouver, BC, CANADA; Canada hockey fans celebrate after a goal in the second period against Norway during the preliminary round of group A play of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics at the Canada Hockey Place. Canada defeated Norway 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

After defeating Germany in commanding fashion, Team Canada took on the surprise team out of Slovakia in their second game of preliminary play.

If the Canadians expected to roll past the Slovaks into the weekend, they were probably left scratching their heads or pulling their hair out in disbelief after 30 minutes.  Team Canada took a lot of penalties early and allowed Slovakia to utilize their neutral-zone trap to perfection. Canadian forwards Anthony Camara and JC Lipon were both ejected from the game for head shots as the contest began to look like the perfect nightmare.

Slovakia jumped out to the early lead as Mark Dano buried a loose puck in a mad scramble in front of goaltender Malcolm Subban.

Canada trailed 2-0 after one period but when Ryan Strome finally broke the goose egg, it appeared Canada was going to make their move.  However, the major penalty to Lipon for a high hit made for a lengthy 5-on-3 power play for Slovakia.  The Slovaks would make good on the advantage as Dano notched his second of the game to regain the two-goal lead.  Canada would respond with a 5-on-3 of their own, thanks in part to some brilliant acting by Dougie Hamilton.

Enter the Toronto Maple Leafs 5th overall 2012 draft pick: Morgan Rielly.

Rielly took a pass in the high-slot from Mark Scheifele and put the one-timer past Slovak net-minder Adam Nagy.  It was on.

A frustrated Scheifele, who had been a victim on a number of knee-on-knees and head shots which went un-penalized, displayed his Class A acting on a weak cross-check.  This put Canada back on the power play and Xavier Ouellet found Ty Rattie at the side of the net, where he made a highlight-reel deflection to put the puck past Nagy to tie the game at threes.

Then, with just under a minute to play in the period, Scheifele put Canada up by a goal heading into the locker room.

In the third period, Team Canada took complete control of the game.  The pace quickened and the Slovaks were unable to contain the high-powered Canadian attack after falling behind. Strome went on to score his second of the game and captain Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also found the twine.

Rielly finished the game with a goal and two assists and Scheifele was named the game’s MVP in the 6-3 win.

The early game, the one likely nobody woke up for, was the Czech Republic-Finland at 2:30 ET.

The Czechs were able to score twice in less than two minutes during the first period.  They never looked back.  Teuvo Teravainen was able to cut the lead in half on a power play, but the Czechs held on and solidified the win with an empty net goal.

The Finns, who shocked Canada and the U.S. with pre-tournament wins, were made to look very ordinary against Czech Republic.  The leader in Pool A would then be decided in the Sweden-Switzerland game.

The Suisse surprised the Swedes in the opening frame with the only goal.  The Swedes came out and dominated, but the Swiss appeared well-coached and played excellent team defense.

Sebastian Collberg would tie the game in the second period, but Switzerland was able to regain the lead just minutes later on a goal by Mike Kunzle.

However, unlike the Czechs, the Swiss were unable to close out the win for the upset.  Emil Djuse tied the game in the third period and the deadlock would endure through overtime.

In the shootout, the Swedes made a surprise switch in goal.  Niklas Lundström replaced starting goaltender Joel Lassinantti for the shootout.  Lundström faced largely unimpressive attempts by the Swiss and stopped all three.  Victor Rask scored the only shootout goal for Sweden as they avoided the upset, however only receiving two points for the overtime win.

Lastly, the attention shifted to the host-nation as they took on Team USA for what would be the game of the day.

As expected, Russia came out of the gate quickly, eager to rectify their unimpressive performance in their first game against Slovakia.  And wouldn’t you know it, Albert Yarullin, the overtime hero in the first game, took a similar shot from the high-slot to give Russia the early lead under three minutes into the game.

However, the Americans were able to neutralize the Russians in the second period and Jacob Trouba tied the game midway through the game.  The momentum had completely shifted and the Russians began to show their frustration, as what appeared to be the case against Slovakia.

The Americans continued to control the game until the 4:10 mark of the third period.  Valeri Nichushkin was finally able to break through the stiff American defense as he led an end-to-end rush one can only marvel at.  He was able to get to the front of the net and force a rebound, which Vladimir Tkachyov put past John Gibson.

The crowd jumped out of their seats and hardly had a chance to sit back down as the Russians began to attack in waves from that point on.  With four minutes left in regulation, Gibson made a spectacular save on a breakaway to keep the Americans in it.

Ironically, the game very well may have come down to the player who has struggled to find his feet so far in the tournament.  The 2012 first overall draft pick Nail Yakupov has had a rocky start to the tournament, but laid out to make a key block with just seconds left in the game. Although he cashed in on an assist today, his impact has been limited through the first two games.

Russia held off the Americans for a 2-1 victory in an action-packed tilt between two of the tournament favourites.

Overall, every game today brought excitement and intrigue to the standings.  Canada now leads Pool B and the Swedes are in control in Pool A.

As for Canada, there are two game misconduct penalties to be reviewed by the International Ice Hockey Federation for possible suspensions.  As stated, the Camara hit was deemed clean at first, but finally issued after the Slovak player laid motionless on the ground for several minutes.  Don’t expect Camara to be suspended.

JC Lipon on the other hand, is a different matter entirely.  He came in hard and aimed high with his hands up.  I don’t see Lipon avoiding a suspension, although no injury resulted on the hit.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie believes Lipon’s hit is not suspendable because no injury occurred.  I disagree.

Every hit should be reviewed apart from the result.  The reason for these rules is not to strictly punish players for causing injury, but rather to prevent these incidents from happening in the first place.  If an illegal hit takes place, the IIHF should not allow the player to get away with the offence simply because the recipient did not sustain an injury.  If so, these hits will continue to happen and players will continue to get hurt.

Next up for Canada, Team USA on Sunday.

You guessed it, same time and same place.  Wake up Canada, it’s World Junior time!