Hockey

Canada settled for silver at both the men's and women's hockey championships this season, the women losing to their American nemesis, the men etching another chapter in the storied rivalry with Russia. But while the rivalries remained, many of the faces changed as young players skated onto the scene and into starring roles this season.

The rivalry between the Canadians and the Americans - the two super powers in women's hockey -- intensified once again during international competitions in the 2008-09 season with the Americans stealing much of the glory. The gap between the North Americans in the upper echelon and the rest of the field seemed to shrink briefly and then widen once again.

At November's Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, Canada took some hard knocks. First, Sweden upset the Canadians 2-1 in a preliminary-round game for the first time in women's international hockey, looking as if the Swedes truly belonged in the company of the world's best teams. Then the U.S. beat Canada in an epic six-round shootout to earn a 3-2 win in the gold medal game. Canadian captain and all-time leading scorer Hayley Wickenheiser suffered a right leg injury in the first period of that game, was lost for the rest of the game, and would have to sit out for the next two months.

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Americans Erika Lawler (2) and Julie Chu (13) celebrate Chu's game-tying gold on Canada's Charline Labonte at the Four Nations Cup championship game in Lake Placid, N.Y., Sunday, Nov 9, 2008.

Todd Bissonette/The Canadian Press

The Americans introduced a residency training program for their post-graduate players in Blaine, Minnesota and they hired Mark Johnson, an NCAA championship-winning coach from The University of Wisconsin who also played on the 1980 U.S. Olympic men's gold-medal winning hockey team. After experimenting with various different head coaches for its women's competitions - including Johnson and former U.S. star player Katey Stone - USA Hockey announced in January that Johnson would coach for the 2009 World Championships and the 2010 Olympics.

Both the American and the Canadian teams injected youth into their rosters for the Women's World Hockey Championship in Hameenlinna, Finland. Canada cut veterans Cheryl Pounder and Katie Weatherston and included youngsters like 18-year-old Marie-Philip Poulin and 20-year-old Hayley Irwin.

While many expected to see some tighter games in this World Championship following Sweden's great showing in Lake Placid, Canada and the U.S. blew away all of their opponents. The top-ranked Canadian team and the No.2 American team each played five games at Worlds, with two of those contests pitting the neighboring rivals against each other. In its other three games, Canada outscored opponents 28-1, including 7-0 and 8-0 wins over Sweden and Finland, respectively. The Americans blanked their other three opponents (Japan, Russia, Finland) by a combined 23-0, including 7-0 over Finland, the third-ranked team in the world.

The U.S. dominated Canada in the gold-medal game, 4-1, after Canada had beat them 2-1 earlier in the tournament. Canadian Coach Melody Davidson was so distraught over the loss that she questioned her ability to coach the team at the 2010 Olympics.

"Coaching is coaching and if you don't perform you don't go on,'' Davidson said following the gold medal final. "If we're not going to perform in the final game, that's on my shoulders and we have to be able to perform. If we can't, maybe Hockey Canada has to look at a change. There's no excuses for that performance out there today. None whatsoever.''

The Americans moved ahead of Canada in the IIHF women's world rankings for the first time since they were introduced in 2004. It is also the first time the U.S. defeated Canada in back-to-back finals at the women's worlds. Hockey Canada did a thorough review of the team's world championship performance and deemed Davidson would remain the coach but said there will be other changes to improve the program before the 2010 Olympics.

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Russia goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov makes the save off Canada's Colby Armstrong during the gold medal game at the IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship Sunday, May 10, 2009 in Bern, Switzerland.

Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press

After going 15 years without winning gold at the World Hockey Championship, Russia made it two in a row by topping Canada 2-1 in the final for the second straight year. It was another exciting chapter in the greatest rivalry in international hockey, with Canada fighting to the final second for a tying goal. In the absence of some of its top NHL stars like Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk led the Russian team through an undefeated run and was named tournament MVP.

Silver-medal winning Canada beat Belarus, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Norway, Latvia and Sweden, suffering justone loss to Finland before running into Russia. Coached by Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres, the Canadians brought a mix of experience and young players to the tournament. Veterans like Shane Doan, Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Martin St. Louis led the way while first-time opportunities were given to teenagers Luke Schenn, Drew Doughty and Steven Stamkos. Of the young trio, Stamkos really stood out. He and Spezza were Canada's top goal-scorers with seven apiece, while Stamkos also added four assists and made some wonder if he should be among those considered for Canada's 2010 Olympic team.

Sweden won the bronze medal after losing the the third place game the past two years. The Swedes defeated the U.S. 4-2 for its first medal at the tournament since capturing gold in 2006. The young American team, led by Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson, was one of the surprises of the tournament. Ranked sixth coming in, the U.S. knocked off Finland in the quarterfinal after being beat out by the Finns in two previous seasons.

The Worlds were also marked by many other discussions about men's international hockey. Paul Kelly, Executive Director of the NHL Players' Association, presented his case to hold the World Hockey Championship every two years instead of annually and to not hold it during years when an Olympics or World Cup is held. There was also debate about when to hold the 2012 World Cup of Hockey and whether to shut down the world's top leagues during it.

There was also much discussion throughout the year regarding NHL players' participation the NHL's participation in the Olympics beyond Vancouver. In a sometimes heated exchange at the SportAccord convention in Denver in March, IIHF president Rene Fasel and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman clashed over the issue. Alexander Ovechkin has told a Russian news publication that Russian NHL players missing the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics would be "a tragedy". Bettman said the NHL will evaluate and decide after the 2010 Games.