With two of the Ottawa Senators' top prospects suiting up for favored teams, it appeared a good bet that Jared Cowen, and Robin Lehner would be taking some positive memories of the World Junior Hockey Championships with them when they arrive in the Sens' dressing room. As Wednesday's medal round games unfolded, it was not to be for either Team Canada defenseman Cowen, nor Team Sweden goaltender Lehner.
For Cowen, his disappointment is intimate public knowledge in Canada by now. If you turn on your television to a sports channel right now, you'll almost certainly see highlights playing of the historic Russian comeback, and Canadian collapse. After vanquishing their United States foes in the semi-finals, Wednesday's gold medal game versus Russia was expected to be little more than a coronation ceremony. Cowen should have been showcased as a key to Canadian victory - one of their few returning players from a year ago, and an alternate captain, Cowen was considered a leader for the team. He was expected to lead in the gold medal game as well, as he was assigned to check star Russian forward Vladimir Tarasenko for the evening. Like his Russian teammates though, Tarasenko would not be contained - he recorded a goal and an assist, and Cowen was a minus-1 for the evening. Cowen made the in-game highlight packages for the wrong reasons as well, as a Cowen giveaway in the first period resulted in a Yevgeni Kuznetsov breakaway before he was bailed out by Tyson Barrie hustling back to break up the play. For Cowen, it will likely be hard for him to have any memories other than bitter ones of his time representing Team Canada as a Junior. He was part of the team that fell to the Americans a year ago in a gold medal thriller, and his name now goes into the record books as part of a monumental collapse in Buffalo this year.
For Robin Lehner, his disappointment may not be as well documented (at least in Canada), but it surely stings no less. It began in Monday's semi-final matchup versus Russia, as he had a bad game that may have cost his team a gold medal. His defeat did not come without controversy however, as a major reason for it is a Russian goal that came on a disputed icing call that was waved off. Icing should have been the call, but it was waved off on the play, causing a loose puck to bounce around the Swedish net, and end up on the stick of Russia's Stanislav Bocharov. Lehner played his shot poorly, sprawling clumsily in front of the net, and leaving most of the cage wide open for Bocharov's shot to put the Swedes down 2-0. Sweden charged back with three unanswered goals, but their lead was short-lived, and they eventually fell in a shootout to the eventual gold medalists.
After the semi-final match, a furious Lehner spoke to the media, and was not shy in expressing his frustrations over the game's officiating. Among other things, Lehner claimed that "the (expletive) refs have a double standard," and that the linesman had not in fact waved off the disputed icing call before allowing play to continue. While his arguments were not put forth in the most professional manner, Lehner does have a point. There was no reason for icing to have been waved off on the play, and Lehner acted accordingly. The puck that bounced off the boards and onto the stick of an opposing skater, was one that Lehner would have had no trouble playing - it slid right by the side of his net, and he could easily have stopped it with his stick, and controlled the rebound. He allowed the puck to slide by, as he (rightfully) expected icing to be called on the play.
Aside from the controversial call, Lehner did not play well in the game; and his post-game remarks did not likely win him any friends on the Swedish coaching staff. When his teammates took the ice for Wednesday's bronze medal game, Lehner was not given the start in goal, an could only look on from the bench as his countrymen fell to the Americans for a fourth place finish. Lehner will now return to Binghamton with no medal to show for his efforts, and likely not much good to say about his tournament experience overall.
As is usually the case with extended mid-winter trips to Buffalo, the two prominent future Ottawa Senators that competed in this tournament go home with little more than bitter disappointment to show for their time in Western New York.
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