CAMROSE -- They've been idle for the past four days, a reward for topping their pool at the World Junior A Championships.
But ironically, tonight, Canada West will be back on the ice against a team they've already lost to.
On Thursday night, Belarus defeated Germany 7-5 in a quarterfinal setting up a semifinal matchup against Canada West. The United States and Canada East get things started in the opening semifinal (4 p.m.) at the EnCana Arena.
"Belarus is a skilled team," said Canada West head coach Boris Rybalka. "They skate well, they handle the puck well, they like the tic-tac-toe play. The nice thing is, we've played them in Game 1. But we weren't physical against them. I think it's the same with them as it was the Russians, I think you can shut them down by being physical against them."
Belarus shocked Canada West in the opening game of the tournament, winning 4-3 in a shootout. And it wasn't as though the visitors stole the contest, surviving a Canadian barrage and making the most of their few opportunities.
For stretches of the game, Belarus dominated and looked the much better team. So it came as a surprise to many when they were beaten 10-4 by Russia the next night, essentially knocking them out of contention for first place in the group - which came with an automatic berth into the semifinals.
"We like it that we already know them, having that shootout loss to them in Game 1," Rybalka said. "We're happy to have a chance at them again in the tournament."
For their part, Canada West responded from their opening game defeat and knocked off the Russians 5-2 in their second contest. The hosts made the most of a Russian parade to the penalty box - not all of it warranted - and scored five power-play goals.
The win gave Canada West top spot in the group and a place in today's semifinals.
The only downside is that it's been four days since they'll have played a game. That's a long layoff in a tournament that only lasts a week.
"What we did, is allowed the players to actually come watch a couple of games," Rybalka said. "That kept them in the tournament.
"We've also had good practices. They've been high-tempo, we haven't slowed down any. For us, we've got a chance to practise every day for the last three days. It's an advantage, perhaps it's not game scenario but it's also working on systems.
"Every game we've gotten better with that, our power play and penalty killing is improving."
Canada West is the two-time defending World Junior A champions. They won the inaugural tournament in Yorkton and Humbolt, Sask., beating Canada East in the final.
Last year, they defeated their Canadian counterparts again at the event held in Trail and Nelson, B.C.
"When we lost our first game to Belarus and when the Russians beat Belarus, people were saying the Russians were unbelievable," Rybalka said. "But we told our guys (to) just focus on the task at hand, don't worry about anything. There may have been a few people jumping off the Canada West bandwagon saying we weren't going to do very well, but then we come back and beat Russia and all of a sudden it's both Canadian teams in the semis."
As essentially the host team of the event - Rybalka is also the head coach of the Camrose Kodiaks - the pressure is squarely on Canada West to win their third consecutive event.
And while they started slow, Rybalka is confident his team is good enough to win the tournament.
"We talked about the pressure and told them that it was simple, there was only one colour, it was gold and it's great," he said. "I think our guys are ready for it. They know what's expected and they don't expect anything less. Any time you put that Canadian jersey on, there's always just one colour that's expected and that's gold."
