SASKATOON — Jake Allen knows how to stop pucks.
His victory dance?
That needs some work.
The Team Canada goaltender stopped American Jordan Schroeder to give the home side a 5-4 shootout victory on New Year’s Eve.
And then fell flat on his face.
“We thought he tripped on the puck,” defenceman Alex Pietrangelo said of Allen’s bellyflop. “We didn’t know he fell face-first.”
Blueliner Colten Teubert also had a laugh at his ’tender’s expense.
“It was pretty funny when he tripped,” Teubert said. “I think he kinda paused because he was laughing at himself.
“There were 15,000 other people laughing too.”
After making the massive save, Allen admitted he tried to sprint towards the Canadian bench, stubbed his toe and went down in an ungraceful heap.
“I wiped out,” he said. “I think I was a little too excited.
“It was a big stop — probably the biggest of my career.
“I was a little too happy.”
That’s understandable. The entire country felt the same way.
As long as Allen doesn’t fall flat against the Russians, Team Canada will have a shot at defending its world junior crown.
His teammates believe Allen is the guy to get the job done.
“It gives us lots of confidence when you have a player like that,” Teubert said.
“He’s a big-game player. I played with him in Russia and that’s the way he played all tournament.
“I think his consistency will help us win gold.”
Pietrangelo said the ’tender’s competitive nature is something the team needs between the pipes.
“We’ve had faith in him from Day 1,” Pietrangelo said. “He was pretty upset he let in the first two goals in the shootout, but he made the stop on the last one.
“A lot of goalies might get rattled at that, but he was able to bounce back.
“I think everybody knew he was going to make that save.”
Allen, who has a .925 save percentage in three games, said his performance mirrored that of the team as a whole against the Americans — he got better as the game progressed.
“It was the first real test for me,” the Montreal Juniors puckstopper said. “I would have liked to have one or two of the goals back, but I think I made some good saves.
“But we battled back and were fortunate enough to win. So it’s over and I’m looking forward to (the semifinal).”
His goals-against average ‘ballooned’ from zero to 1.30 after the U.S. tilt.
Allen, who, like Pietrangelo, is a St. Louis Blues prospect, said he enjoys playing in pressure situations.
“It’s a huge game and we’re all looking forward to it,” he said.
“We’re ready for the challenge. We’ll definitely have to be stronger than we were against the U.S.”
scott.fisher@sunmedia.ca
