Before the World Junior A Challenge returns to Nova Scotia, members of gold medal-winning Canada West take a look back at their 2017 triumph
From Zack Rose’s dominant performances between the pipes to Dylan Holloway’s
international impact as a 16-year-old and Jacob Bernard-Docker’s steady
confidence on the blue line, there are plenty of memorable moments from the
last time the World Junior A Hockey Challenge came to Truro, Nova Scotia, in
2017.
The trio played key roles in leading Canada West to the gold medal, and the
experience on the East Coast has stayed with them as they’ve moved on in
their hockey journeys.
Rose – who earned MVP honours in 2017 – is in his fifth year of NCAA
eligibility with Augustana University, having fashioned a 20-10-4 record in
the college games; Holloway went 14th overall to the Edmonton Oilers in the
2020 NHL Draft; and Bernard-Docker was the 26th pick by the Ottawa Senators
in 2018.
But what ended up as a golden moment for Canada West didn’t start very well
at all; losses to
Czechia
and the
United States
left the westerners 0-2 in preliminary-round play and needing to find their
game with the playoff round looming.
“We had a rocky start, but we figured things out after the round robin,”
Bernard-Docker says. “Having that necessary step of losing those first two
games, the team came together as a tight knit group and had fun, really
enjoyed the home crowd and turned it around.”
The winless prelims set up an all-Canadian matchup in the quarterfinals
against Canada East. West got off to a strong start, with Holloway finding
captain Carter Turnbull in the slot to open the scoring six minutes into the
game before Bernard-Docker joined the offence 67 seconds into the second
period when his his centre-ice dump took a bounce off the end boards and
past Canada East goaltender Jett Alexander.
Canada East wouldn’t back down, taking the lead in the third period when
Nick Campoli and Jack McBain (a 2022 Olympian) gave it a 3-2 advantage, but
Ross Armour tied the game with 6:31 left in regulation before scoring the
overtime winner 42 seconds into the extra period to second West on to the
semifinals.
The semifinal proved that Canada West was getting better as the games got
more important, as it avenged its prelim loss by
defeating the Czechs 5-1
. The game was a goaltending battle early, with Rose and Milan Kloucek
combining to stop 36 of 37 shots through 40 minutes.
Zdenek Sendek tied…
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