Canada’s circuitous route to defeat

  It had more twists and turns than a bad whodunit, but there was no mystery to how Canada lost the gold medal game of the world junior hockey championship last night.

   A resilient American team, after squandering a two goal lead in the third period, refused to quit and ultimately bested the defending champions in overtime.

   The game was imperfect, but, as a spectacle, it was thrilling, full of tension, high drama and big disappointments if you were cheering for Canada.

   All of this, of course, was a gift to TSN. It had terrific stories to tell, and for the most part, it told them well, starting with the Jake Allen story.

   This was the first low point for Canada. After letting in a couple of softies that put the Canadians down by two, Allen was pulled halfway through the third period.

   He was sitting at the end of the bench, refusing to take off his headgear when a TSN camera went in close, showing a face behind the mask that reflected the gloom that might consume the Canadian team.

  Down by two goals, Canada’s five-year reign as world junior champion seemed over. Forward Jordan Eberle had other ideas. Eberle, whom a year ago scored with 5.4 seconds left in regulation time to send the semi-final against Russia into overtime, was getting ready to do it again.

   He scored twice in final minutes to tie the game. It gave Canada new life and TSN a new, much happier story.

  “You want magic?” shouted game analyst Pierre McGuire after Eberle tied it late in regulation time. “You just call Jordan Eberle!”

   “The legend of Jordan Eberle grows larger,” contributed play by play voice Gord Miller at the end of the third period.

   Unfortunately, the intermission show forgot to explain the legend, and that was a major omission. TSN should have told the viewers exactly what happened last year against the Russians. It didn’t. And, most of all, it should have aired the clip of Eberle’s famous goal from a year ago. It didn’t do that, either.

  But, good on McGuire for providing new information on Eberle just before the start of overtime. He mentioned that he is from Regina and plays for the Pats, which we knew, but that he lives with the grandparents. He stayed behind after his parents moved to Calgary. It was a small bit of information, but a worthwhile addition to the big story of the moment.

  One of the sillier media critics complained a few days ago about TSN focusing too much of its attention on Canada. What a surprise that a Canadian channel televising to a domestic audience would spend more time talking about the Canadians than the Swedes, Swiss or Americans. During last night’s game, the commentary was fair. There was no cheerleading from Miller or McGuire or from James Duthie or Bob McKenzie. Overall, it was a solid effort.