by Alan Adams

HALIFAX – There is no phone booth for Dany Heatley to slip on his Superman cape at the 2008 IIHF World Championship. So he just goes out and scores clutch goals for Canada.
 
Heatley's second goal of the game with 47 seconds left in the third period lifted the tournament hosts to a 5-4 victory over the United States on Tuesday. Heatley now has six goals and 10 points in three games at the tournament.
 
With the teams locked at 4-4 on the scoreboard, the Canadians broke out on a 4-on-2 in the last minute of play. Rick Nash held on to the puck long enough for Heatley to get in position to one-time a shot past American goaltender Craig Anderson, sending the fans at the Halifax Metro Centre home happy.
 
Cam Ward was brilliant in net for the Canadians, making 29 saves and earning player-of-the-game honours.
 
The win allowed Canada to clinch top spot in Group B with its third straight victory and its 12th consecutive win dating back to last year's tournament in Moscow. That's the longest winning streak by a Canadian team at the world championship since NHLers began representing Canada in 1977.
 
Brent Burns, Jonathan Toews and Derek Roy also scored for Canada, the defending world champions.
 
The Canadians took a 3-2 lead into the third and Roy made it 4-2 at 3:29 before the Americans rallied to tie the game on goals by Dustin Brown at 5:18 and Jason Pominville at 6:54.
 
Overtime was looming until Heatley connected for his sixth goal and 10th point in three games.
 
The Canadians had to kill three minor penalties in the first period and were outshot and out-chanced by the Americans in the opening 20 minutes of play, but took a 2-0 lead to the dressing room thanks to goals by Burns and Heatley and Ward's stellar performance.
 
Burns opened the scoring at 8:26 on a wrist shot from just inside the blueline that goalie Tim Thomas – who was replaced after two periods – never saw thanks to a perfect screen by hulking Canadian Jason Spezza.
 
Heatley then showed why he is always dangerous when he is on the ice, taking a pass from Ryan Getzlaf and, after Thomas made the initial save, shoveling in the rebound at 19:49.
 
The Canadians went ahead 3-0 on a great second effort by Toews, who was in front of the American net when his shot rattled off a defender. Toews responded by snapping a loose puck to the top left corner at the 18-second mark.
 
The three-goal lead was reduced to win soonafter, however.
 
Zach Parise made it 3-1 at 0:52 and then Patrick O'Sullivan's goal at 3:09 sliced Canada's lead to one, setting up the wild third period.

1

2

3

Final

2

1

2

5

0

2

2

4

Goals/Buts :
8.26 Canada 8. BURNS, Brent (12. STAAL, Eric, 91. SPEZZA, Jason)
19.49 Canada 15. HEATLEY, Dany (61. NASH, Rick, 51. GETZLAF, Ryan)

Penalties/Pénalités :
2.02 2 min Canada 8. BURNS, Brent - Elbowing
4.09 2 min Canada 51. GETZLAF, Ryan - Hooking
10.51 2 min Canada 25. CHIMERA, Jason - High Sticking

Goals/Buts :
20.18 Canada 16. TOEWS, Jonathan (19. DOAN, Shane, 14. KUNITZ, Chris)
20.52 USA 17. PARISE, Zach (23. BROWN, Dustin, 29. POMINVILLE, Jason)
23.09 USA 9. O SULLIVAN, Patrick

Penalties/Pénalités :
---

Goals/Buts :
43.29 Canada 9. ROY, Derek (14. KUNITZ, Chris, 19. DOAN, Shane)
45.18 PP USA 23. BROWN, Dustin
46.54 PP USA 29. POMINVILLE, Jason (8. KESSEL, Phil, 83. KANE, Pat)
59.13 Canada 15. HEATLEY, Dany (51. GETZLAF, Ryan, 61. NASH, Rick)

Penalties/Pénalités :
41.24 2 min USA 6. GLEASON, Timothy - Slashing
44.24 2 min Canada 16. TOEWS, Jonathan - High Sticking
45.33 2 min Canada 15. HEATLEY, Dany - Roughing
51.09 2 min USA 42. BACKES, David - Holding
56.31 2 min USA 12. STEMPNIAK, Lee - Roughing
56.31 2 min Canada 16. TOEWS, Jonathan - Roughing

NORTH AMERICAN RIVALS RENEW HOSTILITIES IN PRELIMINARY ROUND CLASH

by Alan Adams

Canada vs. the United States – hockey's version of Hillary vs. Obama on the American political stage and Stephen vs. Stephane here in Canada.

The two are resolute rivals in the international hockey arena and they renew acquaintances on Tuesday in the final preliminary round game for each at the 2008 IIHF World Championship.

For a generation of Canadians, the rivalry between the North American neighbors is as intense and as storied as the rivalry between Canada and Russia, which is the measuring stick for an older generation of Canucks.

Forget about any notion of the world's longest undefended border these countries share.

The Canadians and Americans have been like two alley cats circling each other, waiting for the fur to fly, ever since the United States won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey on Canadian soil.

Canada's revenge was striking gold at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

Both teams are 2-0 at this year’s world championship and whoever wins gets an easier ride in the next stage of the two-week competition.

A win by the United States would also be the crowning glory for the Americans at the International Ice Hockey Federation's showcase event. The Canadians are just as determined to see that not happen.

"This is a lot about bragging rights," Canadian head coach Ken Hitchcock told reporters in Halifax on Monday. "There's a lot of firepower on both sides. I think the big challenge for both of us is who's going to have an impact against the other team's firepower."

The United States has entered a young team at the world championship, giving them seasoning less than two years from the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. There is no doubt that whoever impresses at the world championship will see his name added to the ghost roster for 2010, and the same goes for the Canadians.

The Americans will have a hard time containing Canada's big line of Dany Heatley, Rick Nash and Ryan Getzlaf. The trio has combined for 16 points in Canada’s opening wins – a 5-1 victory over Slovenia and a 7-0 win over Latvia.

Top players like Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Martin St. Louis have had time to adjust to new line combinations and there is no doubt Hitchcock would like to see more from them.

The easy games are over for Canada and the United States represents the first formidable opponent of the competition. That said, look for the Canadian defencemen to play a tighter game, making it difficult for the Americans to crank up their transition game.

Emotions run high any time Canada plays the United States, and for this generation of players wearing the maple leaf, the Americans are their No. 1 rival.