Roy Proving His Worth to Canada

Several years ago, during a confrontation with Jeremy Roenick during a playoff game, goaltender Patrick Roy told Roenick he couldn’t hear Roenick’s chatter “because I’ve got my Stanley Cup rings in my ears.”

If Roy continues his stellar play for Canada, he might soon be able to say he has an Olympic gold medal in his ears too.

After being left off Canada’s 1996 World Cup team, which lost to the United States in the finals, Roy has led the Olympic team to a 3-0 round-robin record and the championship of Group D, setting up a quarterfinal matchup with Group C fourth-place finisher Kazakhstan on Wednesday at Big Hat arena. He has saved 75 of 78 shots, a .961 percentage, and has a goals-against average of 1.00.

“I was not part of it and there was nothing you can do about it,” he said of the World Cup squad, which had an Edmonton Oiler tinge because it was selected by Edmonton General Manager Glen Sather. “Sure, I was disappointed.

“Obviously, I was hoping to have a chance to play. I felt like I deserved a chance to play. I understand there are a lot of good goalies in our league and I feel privileged to be here.”

Canada and the United States (1-2) are on track to meet in the semifinals if Canada defeats Kazakhstan and the U.S. defeats the Czech Republic in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. The winner of the Russia-Belarus game will face the winner of the Sweden-Finland game.

The Canada-Kazakhstan matchup was certain regardless of the outcome of appeals resulting from the International Ice Hockey Federation’s decision to expel Swedish defenseman Ulf Samuelsson but not punish Sweden by forfeiting its two victories. The Czech Republic contended that Sweden should be sanctioned even if it didn’t know Samuelsson was no longer was a Swedish citizen. If that appeal is upheld, the seedings will be reconfigured to match the U.S. against Finland, the Czech Republic against Belarus and Russia against Sweden.

Canada reached the quarterfinals with strong defensive efforts, big play from its biggest players-- Eric Lindros and Keith Primeau--and Roy’s acrobatics.

“Our goal was to have a little bit easier path to the finals, and we accomplished that,” said Canadian Coach Marc Crawford, whose decision to start Roy over Martin Brodeur was initially questioned but has proved sage. “The other goal we set for ourselves was to improve and we still want to do that.”

Kazakhstan, 0-3 and the only remaining team with no NHL players in its lineup, has no chance.

“I give Canada a tremendous amount of credit for their discipline and patience,” U.S. center Pat LaFontaine said. “They’re the team to beat.”

The U.S., perhaps grasping at straws, noted its improvement in its 4-1 loss to Canada in its round-robin finale. Better team defensive play and increased offensive pressure were the consolations left to players after their loss.

“I think we’re working hard, but there’s a difference between working hard and working smart. We’ve got to be a little smarter and trust each other more with harder work,” Roenick said. “You work with what you have. We have a tremendous talented hockey team that has the possibility of doing great things. But we could bust our [butts] and do everything the coaches ask and still lose.

“I don’t think we’re at the point we want to be, but we’d better get there quick. It’s elimination time.”

U.S. Coach Ron Wilson has been saying his team used the first three games to work out its kinks and get used to the bigger international ice surface. But time is running short for the U.S. to get its act together. The U.S. defense, expected to be one of its strengths, has been a weak spot. Kevin Hatcher and Mathieu Schneider in particular have been unable to handle speedy forwards and cover the extra 15 feet of ice.

“Sure, we would have liked to have a little more momentum [starting the quarterfinals] but everyone here is a professional player and we know our focus has to be on the next game,” LaFontaine said. “The Czechs are good, and so is Sweden, Canada, Russia and Finland, and they’re more used to the big ice surface. The team that has things in sync and has everything together at the right time is going to win the tournament.”

Russia rekindled memories of the great teams of the Soviet era with its 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic, which clinched the top seeding in Group D. Its game against Belarus matches one former Soviet republic against another, but the comparisons end there.

Russia has such NHL stars as Pavel Bure, Alexei Yashin and Sergei Fedorov, while Belarus’ NHL contingent is defenseman Ruslan Salei of the Mighty Ducks and left wing Vladimir Tsyplakov of the Kings. Belarus doesn’t match Russia in skill, but it’s a physical team that gave the U.S. fits and goalie Andrei Mezin is above average.

Mikhail Shtalenkov of the Ducks outplayed Czech goalie Dominik Hasek in the round-robin finale and has a .946 save percentage in two games. Bure has three goals in three games, as does Yashin. Belarus, which won its preliminary-round group, is led in scoring by Vadim Bekbulatov, with two goals and four points.

Sweden (2-1) has played well but it’s unclear how the team will be affected by the expulsion of Samuelsson. Its 1-2 punch of forwards Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg and a strong defense led by Mattias Norstrom and Nicklas Lidstrom are likely to overpower Finland. Neither team has outstanding goaltending, but Tommy Salo of Sweden has a clear edge over Jarmo Myllys of Finland.