By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
Medals were not in the cards for Canada’s men’s hockey team which placed fourth at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games after Finland outshot Team Canada 5-4 in a tie-breaking shootout for the bronze medal at the Gangneung Hockey Centre on Jan. 31.
Osoyoos’ very own Ruck twins (Markus and Liam) along with Penticton’s Mathis Preston proudly wore the maple leaf jersey as they represented the South Okanagan on Team Canada Hockey over the last two weeks in South Korea.
“We had a good start to today’s game,” Markus Ruck (Okanagan Hockey Academy) said last week following a loss to Finland in the bronze metal round. “We went up by three goals early, but Finland was able to bounce back and put us on our heels.
“While we would have loved to go back to Canada with a medal, the Youth Olympics was an amazing experience and everything about our time in Gangwon has been great,” Ruck added.
Less than seven minutes into the first period of the bronze medal game Alessandro Di Iorio (Vaughan, ON), Tynan Lawrence (Fredericton, NB) and Keaton Verhoeff (Fort Saskatchewan, AB) each scored within 43 seconds to put Canada comfortably in the lead
Finland wasn’t apparently ready to hang up the skates just yet and with a change of goal tender and some renewed energy, quickly responded within the same period with two goals from Jiko Laitinen and Luka Arkko. Wilmer Kallio and Viljo Kahkonen then scored in the second period, turning the tables on the Canadian team by putting the Finns in a 4-3 lead.
Canada celebrates a goal as it takes on Finland in the men’s hockey bronze medal game during the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics on Wednesday, January 31, 2024. Photo by Dave Holland/COC
Mathis Preston (Penticton, BC/Okanagan Hockey Academy) evened it up with a crucial goal in the waning minutes of the third period. With just over six minutes remaining on the clock he scored with a cross-crease pass from Ryan Lin (Richmond, BC/Delta Hockey Academy), sending the game into a best-of-three shoot-out scenario.
Finland scored twice while Canada wasn’t able to get one in the net, leading to a 5-4 victory for Finland.
Defenceman Zach Nyman (Toronto, ON) also noted the good start, agreeing that the Finns’ sudden bounce back left the Canadians scrambling.
“We kind of let them claw back into the game, and then shoot-outs. To lose in two shoot-outs, it’s tough. We unfortunately couldn’t get the win today but we still put in a really good effort,” he said.
“I am so proud of our team,” Alessandro Di Iorio (Vaughan, ON) expressed. “We played great the entire tournament, but unfortunately there were a few unlucky bounces that did not go our way. Wearing the Maple Leaf is an honour, and I know our entire group will remember this experience for a long time.”
Team Canada charged out of the gates with an 8-0 victory in its first game of the tournament against hosts South Korea. Pictured above the “South Okanagan line” of Mathis Preston, Markus Ruck and Liam Ruck. David Holland COC photo
The road to Olympic medals looked promising with Team Canada’s first game against host South Korea in front of a packed home crowd at Gangneung rink, turning in an 8-0 victory.
Shortly before the start of the game, Daxon Rudolph (Lacombe, AB) was named as captain, with Keaton Verhoeff (Fort Saskatchewan, AB) and Braidy Wassilyn (Puslinch, ON) named assistant captains.
Penticton’s Mathis Preston (Okanagan Hockey Academy) set the tone with the first goal of the game and first of Team Canada’s tournament while Osoyoos’ Liam Ruck (Okanagan Hockey Academy) scored a hat-trick while twin brother Markus (Okanagan Hockey Academy) leaned in with three assists.
“It was incredible, playing with guys like I was, it just makes my job easier and I’m just super excited to get that first win,” commented Liam Ruck.
“My twin brother, he just makes my job way easier out there, and to share this experience with him, it’s something we’ve always dreamed of and just to be here – we’re so grateful.”
Forward Liam Ruck scores as Canada takes on Korea in the men’s hockey during the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics on Saturday, January 27, 2024. Photo by Dave Holland/COC
Di Iorio, Lawrence, Aiden O’Donnell (Cole Harbour, NS) and Adam Valentini (Toronto, ON) scored the remaining goals.
“It was unbelievable, the crowd was pretty second-to-none – I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Preston. “It was awesome, seeing all the fans there. It’s a huge honour to put the leaf on the jersey and to represent your country.”
This was not the first matchup against Team Finland with the Canadians beating them in Group B preliminary round 4-1.
That game saw a hat-trick from Di Iorio, while Ryan Lin (Richmond, BC/Delta Hockey Academy) scoring a short-handed goal while Canada was down two players.
The victory secured Team Canada with the top placement in Group B, and set them to face Team USA, who placed second in Group A, in the semifinal.
Forward Markus Ruck in action as Canada takes on Korea in the men’s hockey during the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics on Saturday, January 27, 2024. Photo by Dave Holland/COC
“My line played good, all my teammates played amazing, our goalie was really solid so all those things contributed to my performance today,” commented Di Iorio. “Amazing opportunity to be a part of this and I’m looking forward to the next steps of these Games.”
That next step was against the Americans squad with Team Canada out-shooting Team USA 42 to 17, but ultimately losing 6-5 in a best-of-three shoot-out. It was a hard-fought back-and-forth game that never saw the Canadian squad give up.
Di Iorio scored Canada’s first goal of the game, while Nyman and Preston both scored two goals each.
Since 2012, Canada has collected one silver medal (2016) and two bronze (2012, 2020) at the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
Team Canada played Finland for the bronze medal, ultimately losing the game in a best-of-three shootout. David Holland COC photo
