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North Bay Battalion

Duchene too leads Canadians to gold

August 18, 2008 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


BRAMPTON, Ont. - For the second time this year, a member of the Brampton Battalion has led a Canadian under-18 team to gold in international play.

Matt Duchene captained Canada to a 6-3 victory Saturday over Russia in the final of the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Slovakia. In April, fellow centre Cody Hodgson was the captain of the team that won the World Under-18 Championship in Russia.

"It's been a good year for the Battalion with the under-18s," Duchene said Monday by telephone from his home in Haliburton, Ont.

The Canadians won three group games in as many days to advance to the final. Duchene scored one goal and earned one assist in being named Canada's player of the game in a 5-3 victory over Switzerland. He had one assist in each of a 4-3 win over Sweden, a 9-1 rout of Slovakia and the victory over Russia.

"It was a lot different from the tournament in April," noted Duchene, a teammate of Hodgson at that time. "It was pretty fast, and if you were going to adjust you had to do it very quickly. Last year's team lost its first game in a shootout, so those guys were essentially done after the first game. I can't even imagine how discouraging that would be."

Duchene, who scored 30 goals and had 20 assists for 50 points in 64 games as an Ontario Hockey League rookie in 2007-08, said Sweden proved Canada's toughest test.

"They were a very good team. We knew if we won that game we'd have a very legitimate shot at winning gold. A lot of us, including me, were snakebitten around the net in the tournament. In that game we had 51 shots, and their goalie stood on his head. If we'd had any luck around the net, we could have scored more goals."

Duchene said the Canadians entered the tournament with momentum after winning exhibition games against the United States and Czech Republic.

"You want to win those games because it gives the team confidence heading in. We had lots of that, and I don't think there was any time during the tournament where we faced the kind of adversity that made us think we might lose. We never really had to battle to get back into a game.

"It was the best, most stacked team I've ever been on. It was unbelievable, the skill level was so high. We had guys in checking roles who are normally goal scorers for their junior teams. I thought I played well, but I just couldn't find a way to score in a few of the games. But it didn't affect the team in the end."

Duchene was named captain after a selection camp at Calgary.

"I tried my best during the camp to be a leader. It was the biggest honour I've ever received. I couldn't believe it."

Duchene, who turned 17 on Jan. 16, said he learned a lot watching Hodgson in April.

"Cody is a great leader, and I think I'm the type of person who looks at what other people in that position do, either on or off the ice. I picked up little things along the way from him and tried to incorporate that into my leadership."

A first-round pick in the 2007 OHL Priority Selection who's expected to be a first-rounder in the National Hockey League's Entry Draft next June, Duchene said he's looking forward to returning to work with the Troops.

"I think we're going to have a great team. It's a big year for me and I'm excited to get going."

Duchene is the fifth Battalion player to win a medal at the summer under-18 tournament. Head coach Stan Butler won gold in 1999 with a team that included defencemen Tyler Hanchuck and Jay Harrison, while centre Jay McClement earned gold in 2000 and defenceman John de Gray captured gold in 2005.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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