There will be no celebrating for Team Canada after their loss to Sweden.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The calendar read Dec. 31, but it looked much more like Oct. 31.
Rather than ringing in the New Year with a textbook game, the Canada-Sweden showdown was filled with tricks and treats. It was truly a fright night for head coaches Dave Cameron of Canada and Sweden's Roger Ronnberg.
The scariest characters in this Halloween-like atmosphere were, fittingly, the two men wearing masks. The game was haunted by two goaltenders that preferred laying eggs, rather than painting them.
"I don't think either goalie was the player of the game," Cameron said. "When there's that many goals scored, obviously I think both goaltenders would like some of them to be replayed, but that's why you play the game."
Canadian forward Ryan Johansen offered up the first trick, which was preceded by the first treat. With time expiring late in the first period, the partisan home crowd urged Johansen to shoot as he streaked up the right wing. His shot flew over Swedish goaltender Robin Lehner's net, then bounced back in front and onto Curtis Hamilton's stick.
Hamilton gave Canada a 3-2 lead with less than a second remaining in the period.
"I kind of heard Hamilton yell 'shoot it,'" Johansen said. "It was a funny bounce back in front."
Four minutes earlier, Lehner gave Canada a treat with a soft goal. Canadian forward Quinton Howden proved shooting is never a bad option with his unlikely goal. With a defender in front of him, Howden buried his head and let a wrist-shot go. Lehner got a piece of it, but could do nothing more than hang his head after seeing the puck cross the line.
"I can't change that goal," Lehner said. "It went over the line. I can't take it out."
The Canadians are familiar with strange games on New Year's Eve. Canada defeated U.S.A. a year ago in Saskatoon in a game that was similarly mired by turnovers and poor play.
Canada eventually won that game on a beautiful individual rush by Alex Pietrangelo, but won a game they otherwise didn't deserve. That same theme was playing itself out on Friday, only this time the Canadians didn't find a way to pull out the unlikely victory.
Strange as it may have been, those playing in it were able to revel in its intensity and unpredictability.
"I think fans got their money's worth tonight," said Cameron. "(It was a) pretty exciting game to watch."
"It was fun," Lehner concurred. "It was really high intensity and I think we played our hearts out -- both teams. I thought it was entertaining."
The final day of the calendar year always makes for a fun celebration. Although the calendar already turned in Sweden, fans following the tournament will have something more to celebrate in the Scandinavian nation.
Swedish forward Carl Klingberg, who scored twice and was named his team's best player, noted how big a win over Canada would be received in his native country. In that regard, it might feel more like Christmas than New Year's Eve in Sweden.
"It's sort of a tradition watching the world juniors at the winter break and it's big in Sweden," he said. "This is huge for Sweden. Really huge."
"It's incredibly big," Lehner added. "I can only talk for myself, but I never beat Canada before. There's a lot of players on (the Swedish team) that haven't."
More frightful than the loss for Canada is the possible scenario which presents itself. There's no doubt the Canadians want to go through the Americans to reclaim world junior supremacy, but a date against Team U.S.A. won't be in the final. Should Canada beat Switzerland in the quarterfinal, the Americans would be waiting them in the semis.
Canada finished second in their group and will need to play a quarterfinal for the first time since 2008. Which team beat them to take the group? The Swedes, with a 4-3 win in round robin play. Canada had the last laugh with an overtime win over the Swedes in the gold-medal game.
"With one more game here it will make things more worthwhile," Hamilton said. "We'll really earn that way to the gold-medal game there so we're looking forward to the quarterfinal matchup.
"It's a bit of a long road, but we're looking forward to it."
"Hopefully we'll see (Sweden) again," Canadian defenceman Tyson Barrie said.
It will be a somber New Year's Eve celebration in Canada for junior hockey fans. Thankfully for the players, who seemingly confused the New Year's Eve with Halloween, the date is an afterthought.
"You can lose track of days here," Hamilton said. "It would have been nice to end the year on a better game than that."
