Page 7 March 26, 2008 SPORTS

UPEI Cadre

Looking back on the Canada-USA Rivalry

The battle of North America has been the focus point of every sports broadcaster for decades

By Josh Lewis Sports Editor

This time, they did it the hard way.

Team Canada won its fourth straight world junior hockey cham- pionship in the most recent tourna- ment with a 3-2 overtime win over Sweden in the gold medal game. The same Swedes had snapped Canada’s 20-game winning streak earlier in the tournament.

The 2008 tournament featured the latest chapter in what is quickly becoming the best rivalry in interna- tional hockey: Canada vs. USA.

With its top line of James Van Riemsdyk, Jordan Schroeder and Colin Wilson ranking 1-2-3 in tour-

“T will never forget where I was at that moment. Grade 12 chemistry class, watching on TV. What a brutal feeling.”

nament scoring and and Pens prospect Brian Strait manning the blueline, the Americans entered the semi-final matchup as __ the favourites.

The Canadians apparently didn’t notice.

Despite struggling to score goals throughout the tournament, the red and white put four pucks past American goalie Jeremy Smith en route to a 4-1 victory and a berth in the final.

It was the latest episode in an inter- national rivalry which has been gaining steam since the 1996 World

Cup of Hockey, when the U.S. beat Canada 2-1 in a best-of-three final.

~ Brett Hull and John LeClair domi-

nated that tournament, and Mike Richter was outstanding in the final.

The next major confrontation between the two countries came in the gold medal game at the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002. I’m sure every hockey fan in Canada remembers that game in minute detail — Mario Lemieux letting the puck slide through his legs, Brian Rafalski’s blast late in the second period, Joe Sakic busting in on a breakaway to make it 5-2 and remove all doubt. |

In fact, I can still hear Bob Cole’s call on that Sakic goal clear as day.

Beating the Americans on their home turf, for the first time in Olympic history, more than redeemed Canada’s 50 years without a gold medal. And let’s not forget the Lucky Loonie. Yes, Salt Lake truly ignited the battle of North America.

The next unforgettable encounter was at the 2004 WJC in Helsinki, when Marc-Andre Fleury made the horrifying blunder everyone still remembers four years later. With the score tied 3-3 late in the third, Fleury’s clearing attempt went off

Braydon Coburn and into the Canadian net.

I will never forget where I was at that moment. Grade 12 chemistry class, watching on TV. What a brutal feeling.

The Canada-USA semi-final game at last year’s WJC in Sweden may well have been the most exciting game in tournament history. Tied 1- 1 after overtime, the game went to eight rounds of the shootout. Who could forget Jonathan Toews’ three goals, or Carey Price closing the door on Peter Mueller to win the game?

See Rivalry on page 8

CIS fails on drug testing

By Josh Lewis Sports Editor

Thanks to Roger Clemens and Marion Jones, doping is back in the spotlight of the world of sports. But while Major League Baseball and other professional leagues are still struggling to implement effec- tive steroid policies, Canadian Interuniversity Sport has had a policy in place for several years.

The national governing body for university athletics has followed the Canadian Anti-Doping Program, developed in part by Dick Pound’s World Anti-Doping Association (WADA), since June 2004. The program is administered by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES).

Banned substances include ana- bolic steroids (i.e. androstene- dione, the Mark McGwire drug)

See Cis on Page 8