JOSH LEWIS
The Clarion
Larry Wintoneak returned to Kindersley on Monday from a journey he will never forget.
The Kindersley Klippers head coach spent 14 days in Summerside, P.E.I. as an assistant with Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge, which ended Sunday night when the team lost 2-1 to the United States to capture the silver medal.
Matt Leitner scored 50 seconds into the third period and the U.S. survived an intense final 20 minutes for their second straight gold medal at the tournament.
Canada West’s Kellen Jones and American Eamonn McDermott traded goals in the second period after Canadian goalie Sean Bonar - named the tourney’s top netminder - held his team in the game with 15 first period saves.
Canada West got to the final - broadcast live by TSN2 - by beating Belarus and Canada East in the medal round after posting a 1-1 round-robin record.
Wintoneak, who ran the forwards and penalty kill, said the traditional Canadian mentality of gold or nothing trickled down to the coaching staff, which also included head coach Rylan Ferster and assistant Barry Butler.
“There were two Team Canadas, but we wanted to be the only Team Canada to accomplish that goal and bring home the gold for the country,” he said Monday on his way home from the Saskatoon airport. “It still doesn’t sit well with us, but in a week or two we’ll probably realize that it was a pretty big accomplishment.”
He added that the fast pace of the gold medal final blew him away, calling it “one of the best games I’ve ever coached. I don’t know if I’ll ever see another game with that intensity.”
Russia won the bronze medal with a 6-2 win over Canada East on Monday. Sweden and Belarus also finished out of the medals.
Wintoneak’s highlights from the tournament included the singing of O Canada before the tournament’s opening game against Russia and when the team wore red Team Canada jerseys for the last couple of games.
He said the tournament experience and the silver medal rank at the top of his career highlights, despite missing out on the ultimate prize.
“Winning the silver medal, I’ll cherish that, frame it somewhere and keep it close by,” he commented. “Until you experience something like this, I don’t think you understand the magnitude of this tournament. This is our world junior championship.”
Saying goodbye to the staff and players at 2:30 a.m. Monday morning was emotional, he said, because of the family-like bond the team formed over the two weeks. He said the team was a fan favourite in Summerside because the players conducted themselves with class away from the ice - for example, always making sure to clean up after themselves at buffet meals.
The team didn’t get much down time to experience the city and the province, though Wintoneak ran a coaching clinic in Summerside and the team took part in a competitive fire drill against Canada East.
Even at the other end of the country, Canada West couldn’t escape the H1N1 outbreak. Melfort Mustangs defenceman Lee Christensen contracted the virus before the tournament began and was quarantined. Every player was given a hand sanitizer.
Wintoneak said the experience has rejuvenated him as a coach and he hopes to be with Canada West again next year.
“It really motivated me. I’m looking forward to coming back and sharing some of the stuff with our guys and try some new things,” he said. “I missed our club team.”