World Juniors

How big was the Canada-Russia game north of the border? It earned the highest audience ever for TSN, Canada's equivalent of ESPN. A record audience of 6.88 million watched on TSN and French counterpart RDS, and the audience peaked at 9.3 million during the third period of Russia's 5-3 win. 

The audience of 6.23 million TSN smashed the previous record of 5.4 million set by last year's Canada-USA final in Saskatoon. Amazing numbers to see Canada's grand collapse.

In case you missed it, here's a repeat broadcast of our audio slideshow wrapping up the gold-medal game:

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Reporters at HSBC Arena tonight were frantically rewriting their stories after Russia scored five unanswered goals in the third period to defeat Canada, 5-3, in the gold medal game of the World Juniors.

After the game, Team Canada Coach Dave Cameron and his players faced the media, some fighting back tears, as they discussed what went wrong in a game that is already being called one of the most devastating losses in Canada's sports history:

Coach Cameron:

Tyson Barrie:

Brayden Schenn:

--Lauren Nicole Mariacher

While it was clear Team USA was still hurting from its semifinal loss to Canada, Coach Keith Allain and his players looked happy to make history tonight, becoming the first World Junior Team from the U.S. to medal in back-to-back years with a 4-2 win over Sweden for the bronze at HSBC Arena. Here's video from Allain and goalie Jack Campbell along with some audio from captain John Ramage and Ryan Bourque:

Coach Allain:

Campbell:

Ramage:

Bourque:

--Lauren Nicole Mariacher

Welcome to the sea of red in Buffalo, Ontario -- also known as HSBC Arena. This is it. Canada and Russia for the gold medal. The joint will be jumping and it will be packed. Coach Dave Cameron said this morning he was sick of talking about it and ready to play it. No argument from any of the media on hand.

In situations like this, your erstwhile reporter/blogger has nothing profound to say. The action on the ice has to do the talking. I don't need to add to the pregame noise. The teams are on the ice warming up. The faceoff will be at 7:38. Keep it here. I'll be posting through the din -- and attempting to do the job on all the Russian names.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Canada starters: Hamilton-Schenn-Eakin-Cowen-Barrie. Goal: Visentin
Russia starters: Valuiski-Tarasenko-Sobchenko-Orlov-Urychev. Goal: Shikin 

Quite the pregame scene as the kid skaters parading the Canadian and Russian flags around the ice were bathed in spotlights and showered with flashbulbs from the crowd in the darkened area. Scotty Bowman doing the ceremonial puck drop. He belongs here. He's flanked by Chris Collins and Byron Brown. They do not.

Third Period

9:18 p.m.: The puck is dropped

17:27 left: Artemi Panarin gets Russia on the board with a quick snapshot from the slot. Canada, 3-1. 

17:14 left: Holy moly. Maxim Kitsyn suddenly makes it 3-2 by beating Ellis to a puck on the edge of the crease and dribbling it through Visentin's legs. Put that big party on Chippewa Street on hold. At least temporarily. These Russians simply don't go away. Canada, 3-2.

13:22 left: The tourney all-star team is out. Canada's Schenn is the MVP with the all-star team also including Ellis and Johansen, as well as US goalie Jack Campbell, Russian defenseman Dmitri Orlov and forward Kuznetsov. Campbell, Ellis and Schenn were also named the tourney's best at their position (goalie, defenseman, forward).

12:31 left: You gotta be kidding. Tarasenko ties it up on a one-timer after a great Kuznetsov feed. It's tied at 3-3. Canada coach Cameron calls a timeout and the crowd comes to its feet trying to get its players back in the game. Shots are 6-4 for Russia. Three goals on six shots. Visentin had given up two goals in eight periods. Crazy.

7:37 left: The tension is palpable in the stands -- and in the press box, where lots of stories that were mostly written have gone to an agonizing death.

 4:38 left: Stunner. 4-3 Russia. Artemi Panarin takes the pass fromm behind the net and beats Visentin, getting to the puck in front of Simon Despres. 

2:00 left:  Incredible.

1:16 left: Nikita Dvurechenski with a backhander on a breakaway. IT'S 5-3 RUSSIA AND FOLKS ARE STREAMING TO THE EXITS. MIND-BOGGLING.

IT'S OVER: Russia wins 5-3. Final shots were 38-27 for Canada (10-9 Russia in the third).

Second Period

8:28 p.m.: The puck is dropped.

18:25 left: Ellis makes it to the bench after playing nearly 20 seconds with a leg problem after colliding with a Russian player and sliding into the end boards with him. Kind of reminded you of Thomas Vanek-Johnny Boychuk. Visentin made a nice stop on Kuznetsov during the sequence with Ellis hobbling around trying to get in the play.

17:05 left: Cody Eakin, who has been solid in this one from the opening faceoff, is stopped by Shikin.

16:32 left: Uryhchev goes for interference. A 3-0 lead here would just about mean game over, wouldn't it? The Russians have, however, posted back-to-back comebacks.

14:50 left: The organist falls asleep and starts playing with the puck behind the Canada net. He must have thought it was an icing call. He quickly stops, prompting colleague Miguel Rodriguez at my side to quip, "He figured out it's not a Bandits game." Nice bomb from M-Rod.

13:33 left: There's the 3-0 lead and it's that man Schenn again, taking the long cross ice pass from Marcus Foligno and whipping it past Shikin. Schenn's 18th point to tie McCourt's record. And Russia changes goalies with Igor Bobkov going in.

12:30 left: Great save by Bobkov on Foligno and then Kassian tips an Ellis pass off the post with the goalie beaten. The building is going wild. This is domination right now.

12:13 left: Voronin gone for high sticking Ellis.

11:30 left: Visentin stops Sobchenko on a breakaway. A rare chance for the Russians to get back in.

9:27 left: Canada's Erik Gudbranson goes for boarding.

6:09 left: Visentin has been so good the last two games you really wonder why Olivier Roy was starting in goal at all. Good call by coach Dave Cameron & Co. to make the save after Roy struggled against Sweden. Another PP for Canada: Golubev off the for slashing.

4:29 left: Russian star Tarasenko is down after trying to duck away from Foligno and getting a knee to the head. Foligno then leveled another Russian before the whistle was blown.

1:14 left: Whoops. Six red jerseys on the ice in the offensive zone. Too many men on the ice for Canada.

End-2nd: It's 3-0 Canada. Shots were 15-9. That's 29-17 through two periods.

First Period

7:39 p.m. The puck is dropped. The place is packed. Noise, noise, noise. Quite a scene.

16:43 left: Canada has the only shot. The crowd has chanted "We want goals." Interesting to see how the Sabres are treating this one as a Canada home game. Good call. They know their market. PA man and all-around good guy Jay Moran is giving Sabres volume to Canada tonight after they got church volume against Team USA. Pretty funny contrast.

15:53 left: Good drive to the net by Ryan Johansen results in hooking penalty on Berdykukov. You'll forgive me if I leave out the Russian first names, won't you?

15:10 left: Ellis puts Canada up 1-0 by pounding home a one-timer on the left after a perfect cross-ice pass from Schenn. Shikin was screened/paying too much attention to Johansen and never really moved to his right at all. Few seconds earlier, the same play in reverse led to a great Schenn chance at a save. Nice celebration by Ellis too with the leaping fist pound into the glass.

12:09 left: An incredible 10 seconds or so by Ellis as he dominated bigger Russians behind the net and finally got the puck in front to an open Foligno, who just failed to get a good shot off. No team in this tournament had a better captain than Canada did with Ellis.

11:00 left: The HD board goes black like it did during the Sabres-Bruins game. Sort of like the ice surface, it's probably a little overworked by all the games in this tournament.

10:25 left: An impressive Brayden Schenn note -- his assist on the Ellis goal gives him 17 points in the tournament (7 goals, 10 assists). That's tied for second all-time in Canadian annals with two pretty well-known guys named Gretzky (1978) and Lindros (1991). Ex-Sabre Dale McCourt has the record of 18 set in 1977.

9:52 left: Kassian stopped on a backhand from the slot. Shots are 8-4 for Canada.

8:00 left: The organist starts up a little ditty of "The Hockey Song". Play starts and he stops playing. Doesn't matter. The fans sing a whole chorus on their own with no accompaniment. These people are dedicated.

7:41 left: They're trying to get the HD board back. It comes on for a second and the crowd cheers. It goes back to black and the fans groan. This happened during the Sabres-Bruins game too. In one of his last acts as owner, BTG needs to a write a check to get the repairman out to fix the giant Tinkertoy hanging from the ceiling. The entire board is down now. Previously, it was just the video portion in the middle and the score at the top was on. Not now.

5:06 left: Great play by Tyson Barrie to dive with his stick and chop the puck away from Kuznetsov as he tried to break in alone on Visentin.Came a few seconds after a Russian shot hit the crossbar. Looks like the board is back too.

1:35 left: Kassian destroys Berdyukov in the corner, knocking the Russian's feet up in the air. Too bad the kid can't just stay here when Team Canada leaves.

47.5 left: Solid stop by Visentin on Burdasov. The Russians have skated better in the last 10 minutes and are putting on more pressure. Shots are 13-8 for Canada.

13.5 left: HUGE goal for Canada makes it 2-0 as Carter Ashton works the give-and-go with Leblanc, steps out of the right corner and puts it high over Shikin's glove, off the post and in. Gotta make that save in the final seconds. Ashton's first of the tournament.

End-1st: The roar is deafening as Canada goes to the locker room with a 2-0 lead. Couldn't even hear the horn. Shots were 14-8.

It’ll be hard to tell tonight. Yet again, the HSBC Arena crowd will be a red mob. But Russia has quite a following itself. Back home, Russian players say word of their World Juniors run is spreading. They've quickly become this tourney’s cardiac kids. And tonight, again, they'll be underdogs. Still, you get the sense they’re playing with nothing-to-lose mojo.

Comeback wins over Finland and Sweden earned Russia a shot at the gold medal tonight. Here’s some thoughts from coach Valeri Bragin and his players (through a translator) with the big one approaching fast:

Valeri Bragin, coach

On his team staying loose: “It’s a good atmosphere and very easy to explain. We haven’t played in the finals in several years so after two tough games, the players are just enjoying practice.”

On if the Americans were not ready for physical game against Canada: “I think Canada just scored three goals and the game practically ended at point.”

On whether there’s pressure to win: “I don’t think there’s any pressure because before every tournament, the goal is to get to the finals. But then in the finals, the chances are equal for both teams, 50/50. I don’t see any pressure right now.”

Yevgeni Kuznetsov, forward

On expectations back home: “Obviously Canada is ready for the game because this is like their home. There will be a full crowd supporting them but in Russia, people are expecting a gold from us.”

On what stood out in the US/Canada game: “I didn’t like the game because it was one-sided. Maybe the United States wasn’t ready but in general, I did not like the game. I expected a much closer fight. America didn’t look like they should look.”

Nikita Pivtsakin, defenseman

On beating Canada: “Anything is possible. It’s a team goal.”

On the Canada/Russia rivalry: “It’s always interesting because we play them at different levels—on junior, on senior, there are always different teams and different tournaments. I think the whole hockey world will follow this game. I understand what the rivalry means.”

On playing in front of such a pro-Canadian crowd: “We’ll have to adjust to an enemy’s crowd. We’ll have to score a goal just to make the crowd silent.”

---Tyler Dunne

We're here from HSBC Arena for the bronze-medal game between the U.S. and Sweden.

Kind of a downer that the U.S. won't win the gold in back-to-back years but this is a meaningful game considering the World Junior Team from the U.S. has never medaled in back-to-back years.

Third period

5:13 p.m.: Puck drop.

19:08 left: USA chants equals another goal. Drew Shore tips in point shot through screen by Justin Faulk. One of those gritty goals. USA leads, 2-1.

14:04: U.S. fails to convert on power play with chance to increase lead. Few chances. Also these teams are playing a little cranky - which is good to see. Makes it seem like playing for third place means something to them. Both did vow to play better after being kind of blah for stretches of their respective semifinal losses.

8:47: U.S. holds 39-29 edge in shots here. Have gotten close to increasing lead but haven't been able to sneak one by Wentzel in tight.

8:20: U.S. increases its lead. Bjugstad with a nice redirection while skating past front of crease on point shot from Nick Leddy. U.S. leads, 3-1.

5:42: Jesper Fasth scores on his own rebound, winning battle in front with Leddy. U.S. leads, 3-2.

1:53: U.S. gets insurance goal. Kreider gets his second, fires shot short side top shelf and knocks off water bottle from left circle to finish off 2-on-1 with Palmieri. U.S. leads, 4-2.

Oops sorry about that. U.S. wins bronze. Final, 4-2.

Second period

4:24 p.m: Puck drop.

17:00 left: How novel! Some USA chants. Couple Sweden ones uttered in retort but not as loudly.

16:00 left; Nick Bjugstad fires high on chance near left hash mark.

15:41: Campbell two fine saves.

12:39: Schmozzle in Swedish crease and still nothing for the Americans.

8:32: Fine save on redirection by Rickard Rakell by Campbell. He looks really sharp.

8:02: Sweden scores. Oscar Lindberg knocks in a rebound under a sprawled Campbell after he made a save. Sweden leads, 1-0.

6:28: Chants of USA, USA as Americans finally score. Chris Kreider on the power play off assist by Chris Brown and Jon Merrill. Tied, 1-1.

End of second: Tied 1-1. Shots 24-18 in favor of U.S. for game. Campbell a little busier that period and made some fine saves. U.S. scores, just its second goal in past six periods.

First period

3:39 p.m.: Puck drop.

19:40 left: Sweden's Carl Klingberg and U.S. Jeremy Morin battle on the ice in corner in Sweden zone behind the play.

18:00: Jack Campbell makes great sprawling right pad save on one-timer from left circle by Calle Jarnkrok during power play.

14:35: On U.S. power play, Kyle Palmieri and CHris Kreider work nice give and go but Palmieri's one-timer stopped by Sweden goalie Fredrik Petersson Wentzel, who got call instead of Ottawa prospect Robin Lehner.

13:38: Another fine save by Wentzel, this time on door-step attempt by Chris Brown toward end of power play.

9:49: What is going on here? The U.S. dumps it in during a 4 on 2 and caromed off boards easy for goalie to freeze.

8:49: Swedes crashing net hard. U.S. defense needs to plant someone quickly to make them think twice about getting near Campbell.

6:00: Emerson Etem fires over net on fat rebound in front of net after Brock Nelson is stopped.

5:32: U.S. buzzing around Sweden crease but can't slip it in, but fans in attendance, mostly dressed in Canada jerseys gives them some applause for a good shift.

4:55: First let's go Canada chant of the day.

2:35: Etem misses wide on another open net, this time off feed from Nelson.

End of first: U.S. holds 13-5 edge in shots. U.S. came on latter half of period, but scoring woes continue. Etem fails to cash on two golden scoring opportunities that most beer leaguers wouldn't miss. Just a sample of how snake-bitten Team USA has been for most of the tournament offensively. Only three goals past two games. Campbell tested early and makes some fine saves.

---Miguel Rodriguez

Canadian fans have helped fill HSBC Arena during the 11-day World Junior Hockey Championship. Tickets for tonight's gold medal game are priced as high as $1,500 on the secondary market. (Bill Wippert/The Buffalo News)

4 p.m. BUFFALO -- Buffalo's proximity to the border helped push ticket sales for the 2011 IIFH World Junior Championship far beyond what officials anticipated after Canadian fans flooded many of the games. 

The 11-day event will be the second-most attended World Junior Championship when it wraps up tonight, officials announced during an afternoon news conference.

"By design, we put it in Buffalo because we knew we were within driving distance of 5 million Canadian fans who were crazy about the sport of ice hockey, and that that would make this entire tournament more lively," USA Hockey Executive Director Dave Ogrean told reporters during an afternoon news conference at HSBC Arena.

Michael M. Gilbert, spokesman for tournament host Buffalo Sabres, said officials expect to have sold about 330,000 tickets when the games end tonight.

"This will be the second-most attended World Junior Championship ever," Gilbert said.

Ticket sales in Buffalo and Niagara Falls during the 11-day event surpassed last year's tournament in Saskatchewan before the games began Dec. 26. Attendance is expected to fall only behind the 2009 Ottawa games, Gilbert said.

"You will have over 330,000 spectators for this event," said Rene Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation. "I would say it's a huge number if you compare that to some of our world championships with 62 games that just have around 300,000 spectators."

Tickets for tonight's 7:30 p.m. gold medal game between Canada and Russia at HSBC Arena have been sold out for several days, and prices on one secondary market website were listed anywhere between $180 and $1,500 early this afternoon.

Ticket reseller Stub Hub listed four tickets in the 100-level for $1,500. Most tickets were listed between $180 and $600.

Several thousand tickets remained on sale ahead of this afternoon's bronze medal game between the United States and Sweden before it kicked off at 3:30 p.m.

Listen to Buffalo Sabres Managing Partner Larry Quinn, International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel and USA Hockey Executive Director Dave Ogrean recap the 11-day tournament during a news conference this afternoon: 

--Denise Jewell Gee

Team Canada has not taken too many morning skates during this tournament but the red and white were on the ice at HSBC Arena this morning for nearly a half-hour in advance of tonight's gold medal game against Russia. 

"It's all about managing the energy," said coach Dave Cameron. "It's either skate yesterday and not this morning. We chose this as the best way to be ready tonight."

The teams met Dec. 26 on the tournament's opening day and Canada scored three third-period goals to snap a tie and win, 6-3. 

"It's two different hockey clubs but they've gotten a lot better too," said Canada's Brayden Schenn. "Our team came together more as a group. I think we've tightened up defensively a lot since then and I think we have to make sure we do that tonight."

"The stakes obviously are a lot higher and that's going to put some pressure on and it will be who can deal with that pressure," Cameron said. "These teams are thrown together for the most part at the last minute, the last month. The longer you play together, usually the more cohesive you can be as a team."

Asked if he was tired of talking about the game and ready to play it, Cameron said, "Bingo."

"I've already packed [for the trip home]. I've got that done," the coach said. "You never want to rush your life ahead but if I had a clock, I wouldn't mind setting it for 7:30 tonight already. We'll just make sure the Ts are crossed the i's are dotted. Just wait it out and enjoy the moment."

Here's audio from this morning from Cameron and Canada captain Ryan Ellis:

Dave Cameron

Ryan Ellis

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Shootout

But first, an update from Niagara. The Czech Republic finished its tournament with a 5-2 victory over Slovakia in the last relegation round.

Finland shooter 1: Pulkkinen stopped by Conz.

Swiss shooter 1: Niederreiter stopped by Ortio.

Finland shooter 2: Haula goes backhand, but loses control and the puck goes wide.

Swiss shooter 2: Pestoni comes in sloooow to the right, runs out of real estate and is stopped by Ortio.

Finland shooter 3: Donskoi can't beat Conz, either. The Swiss goalie stayed with a nice move and got a glove on the shot. 

Swiss shooter 3: Sven Bartschi stoned by Ortio. To extra shooters we go.

Swiss shooter 4: Yannick Herren gets the call and scores. He goes top shelf on the backhand. Think Ales Kotalik in the shootout.

Finland shooter 4: The Finns go back to Pulkkinen, but he loses the puck on the way in and Conz pushes it away. Game over.

The Swiss win, 3-2, in a shootout. Good night.

Overtime

9:44 p.m.: Here we go.

3:56 left: Conz freezes it next to his right post. No real good chances yet for either side.

2:43 left: Great chance for Swiss defenseman Romain Loeffel coming off the bench, but he he can't find the net with a rocket from the point.

1:03 left: Save of the game by Conz, who gets a stick on Joonas Nattinen's shot. Nattinen was alone in front. Amazing save by Conz.

:15.1 left: Timeout, Finland.

9:51 p.m.: To a shootout we go.

Third Period

9:12 p.m.: Welcome back.

16:20 left: Finland to the power play. Dario Trutmann to the box for holding. Updates will be a little less frequent in the third period as we've got a story to file for an early deadline.

14:05 left: The Swiss parade to the penalty box continues. This time it's Benjamin Antonietti for high-sticking. The last Finns' power play looked good, so we'll see what they can do with this one.

12:16 left: Someone has to do something with all these power play chances, right? It's Switzerland's turn with the man advantage, as Henri Tuominen goes to the box for charging.

9:50 left: Make it power play No. 3 for Finland this period. Swiss defender Samuel Guerra in the box for holding.

6:59 left: The best power play yet for Finland still ends without a goal. The best chance came when Joonas Donskoi couldn't get his stick on a perfect cross-ice pass from Pulkkinen with a yawning net staring at him. Shots are 28-18 for the Swiss.

4:42 left: Total domination this period everywhere except on the scoreboard for Finland. Overtime looming.

:3.2 seconds left: Overtime about here, despite a period which featured five power plays.

9:40 p.m.: And there it is. Overtime upcoming. Five minutes, if no winner, then a shootout.

Second Period

8:25 p.m.: We're back.

18:34 left: Two real good saves by Ortio, the second on Inti Pestoni, to keep it 2-1.

17:00 left: Switzerland penalty to Ryan McGregor, who sounds like he could be from Lancaster. Two minutes for interference.

15:31 left: Power play over as Joel Armia takes a lazy tripping penalty. But, hey, four-on-four play is fun!

14:37 left: Nieddereiter cashes in on the power play. Letting a wrist shot go from the top of the right circle that gets tipped and finds its way past Ortio. Tied up, 2-2.

13:51 left: Ortio keeps it that way, stopping Pestoni on a breakaway. The Finnish goalie stuck with it all the way and made a great blocker save.

10:46 left: Haas, the Swiss forward, goes crashing head-first into the boards, but thankfully he's ok. The hit earns Finnish forward Miikka Salomaki a two-minute minor for checking from behind and a 10-minute misconduct.

6:46 left: Long period of play with no whistles, but no goals. Shots are 20-7 for Switzerland, who's had the better of the play in this 20 minutes. Blooper time on the HSBC scoreboard, Mike Harrington.

6:38 left: Power play for the Finns, as Swiss forward Samuel Walser goes off for interference.

4:29 left: Power play over, and it was pretty ugly for the Finns.

2:36 left: This is the second meeting between these two teams. Finland won, 4-0, in the preliminary round. Much better showing for the Swiss this time. Shots are 21-10 right now.

8:53 p.m.: End of 2, tied at 2. I can't imagine the Sabres are going to be happy with this ice when they get home. Maybe a few days without games will make it better, but the puck simply won't stop bouncing around.

First Period

7:38 p.m.: Game on.

19:38 left: That didn't take long. Teemu Pulkkinen is left uncovered in front of Swiss goalie Benjamin Conz, and he bangs home a rebound for a 1-0 lead just 22 seconds into the game. Assists went to Erik Haula and Iiro Pakarinen.

17:04 left: Tie game! Tie game (trying to wake the crowd up)! Swiss forward Inti Pestoni knocks in a rebound, as well, after Finnish goalie Joni Ortio stopped Benjamin Antonietti's shot. Nice job by Swiss forward Gaeten Haas tying up both Finnish defensemen.

12:03 left: Break in the action. Shots are 5-3, Switzerland. Ortio was wiped out on the Swiss' last trip inside the Finland zone, and was none too happy about it. No penalties yet.

10:59 left: Scratch that. First penalty of the game goes to Finland's Tommi Kivisto for interference.

8:59 left: Power play over. Good puck movement, but no great chances for the Swiss.

7:43 left: Great cross-ice pass (sorry I missed by whom) gave Pulkkinen a great chance with an empty net, but he fanned. Still 1-1. Shots are 6-3 in favor of the Swiss.

5:03 left: This tournament has been great to cover, but it would be even better if it was played four-on-four. We just had two minutes of that here. No goals, but great chances at both ends.

3:23 left: Swiss back on the power play. Finland's Julius Junttila in the box for hooking.

1:57 left: The power play backfires, as Finland takes a 2-1 lead on a short-handed breakaway goal by Haula. The goal was set up by a perfect pass off the boards by Teemu Tallberg. Haula got Conz down, then went top-shelf on to left side of the net. A beauty. Sami Vatanen also picked up an assist on the goal.

8:08 p.m.: End of the first period. Finland leads, 2-1. Shots are 13-6 in favor of Switzerland. Swiss star Nino Niederreiter, the fifth overall pick in June's NHL draft by the New York Islanders, had a good chance off a faceoff with eight seconds left, but his shot went just wide.

HSBC announcement: Tickets remain available for tomorrow's bronze-medal game between the U.S. and Sweden. Will be interesting to see what kind of crowd that game draws. It's a 3:30 p.m. start.

----

Hello again from my home away from home, HSBC Arena. The atmosphere here tonight is, um, different than USA-Canada last night.

That's ok, though. Switzerland and Finland will meet in just a few minutes in the fifth-place game. Earlier today, Norway defeated Germany, 3-1, in a relegation game at Niagara's Dwyer Arena. Those two teams, however, have finished third and fourth in the relegation round, meaning they have to participate in the Division I (secondary) event in 2012. Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which are playing in the other relegation game at Dwyer, remain eligible for next year's event in Calgary/Edmonton.

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski

Due to some family obligations we had to get creative in getting audio from Team USA coach Keith Allain and forward Kyle Palmieri to discuss Wednesday's bronze-medal clash against Sweden, but creativity worked as the fine people at USA Hockey hooked The News up with a phone interview with the pair. Among the items of discussion: an opportunity for the U.S. to not only win a medal on home soil for the first time in five tries as a host but also medal in back-to-back years for the first time ever and what that would mean to USA Hockey.

Here is audio from the interviews, taped off a speaker phone.

Keith Allain

Kyle Palmieri

---Miguel Rodriguez