Game 2: 4-1 loss plus Vasa Warship Museum in Stockholm

Game 2 saw the Trojans in much tougher against a strong Division 1 team from Malaro, Sweden. The opposition was bigger, faster, and more skilled than yesterdays opponent. The first period saw the same result as our first game ending in a 0-0 tie. We were outshot 14-8 and found ourselves scrambling often in our own end and struggling to generate any real offensive opportunities. After a regroup during the intermission flood, the boys came out much more determined in the second and had a couple good chances. Malaro got on the board first 9:31 into the period on a defensive zone breakdown that left a man wide open in the slot. Matt Gledhill got a piece of it, but it managed to get by him into the net. The rest of the period went back and forth with neither team able to score, 1-0 Malaro at the end of two. Carson Hobbes began the third period in net for the Trojans, seeing his first action of the trip. Penalty trouble in the third for HSC led to several powerplay opportunities for Malaro and they were able to capitalize on our lack of disipline, scoring on a 4 on 3 at 8:49 into the period. Then again on a 5 on 4 at 12:40. A bit of line shuffling at this point led to some opportunities for the Trojans and with 2:00 left in the game, we were finally able to break the Malaro shutout. Andrew Albini found Josh Prodger just inside the blueline, who then out-muscled (I couldn't believe it either!) a Malaro defenseman going into their end and kept the puck away just enough to get a shot on net. With the goalie down and out, Anthony Tolfa followed the play in and buried the rebound into the top-left corner to make the game 3-1. Malaro then controlled the play in our end and prevented us from pulling Carson Hobbes for the extra attacker. With 0:55 left to play, Malaro netted their fourth of the game, taking the wind completely out of our sails. Final score, Malaro 4 HSC 1.

Matt Gledhill played 2 periods and stopped 21 of 22 shots on net. Carson Hobbes played the third and stopped 17 of 20 shots. That's right, we allowed only 2 less shots in the third compared to the first two periods. Fatigue definitely set in as the boys have been very busy and not had a tonne of rest since arriving in Sweden.

After the game, we headed back into Stockholm to visit the Vasa Warship Museum. The ship was built for King Gustavus Aldophus II in the 1600's to be the largest, most menacing ship in Scandinavia and overwhelm the Polish in the war between the two countries. The problem was that they built the ship too high and its center of gravity was above water level, a no-no when it comes to large ships. Only 20 minutes into its maiden voyage, the Vasa rolled over and sunk in Stockholm harbour where it laid for 300 years. In 1950 it was raised and a museum was built around it, where it currently sits in 95% of its original glory. It was a very imposing, very beautifully built ship with intricate carvings all over the exterior, a beautiful sight to behold.

Following the tour, we headed to the Silja loading docks and boarded the Serenade for our overnight cruise to Helsinki. Everyone explored the ship (which is very nice) and then gorged on the all-you-can-eat buffet dinner. We are currently just sailing into the Baltic Sea, having taken 80kms to get through the waterways leaving Stockholm. If it weren't so dark outside (sun sets around 4:20pm), I am sure it would be a beautiful view out there. I'm typing this from onboard while constantly reloading the TSN page for the score in the Canada vs Slovakia game. The wifi is painfully slow so we can't get a stream of the game. I guess I should have expected that onboard a ship in the middle of the Baltic Sea.

We arrive into Helsinki in the morning, losing an hour of sleep to the time-change and head straight to Espoo for game 3. After that it's off to Pajulahti Sports Institute for a couple of days.

Coach Z