Morrow is golden

Sunday, May 9, 2004

Stars forward Brenden Morrow was a key player for Canada, which beat Sweden 5-3 Sunday for the gold medal at the 2004 World Championships in Czech Republic.

Morrow played on an extremely effective line with tournament MVP Dany Heatley and Daniel Briere. Heatley and Briere put up the big numbers, but it was Morrow who did lot of the dirty work -- digging out loose pucks, creating space for his linemates and setting screens in front of the net.

"The puck seems to stick to those guys," Morrow told the Canadian Press. "When they get an opportunity, they're going to bury it. It's a lot of fun to play with them."

And Morrow's linemates appreciated his efforts.

"We have to give a lot of credit to Brenden Morrow. He does a lot of the dirty work that nobody sees and pays attention to. He digs the puck in the corners for us," Briere told the CP.

Morrow was a physical force as well, laying a clean but hard hit on Czech Republic defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, who left the ice on a stretcher with an apparent knee injury.

Morrow, who had three assists and a plus-two rating in nine games, may have helped his chances of making Canada's World Cup team. He's already said to be on Wayne Gretzky's short list of players who will suit up for Canada, and he solidified his chances with a solid tournament at the World Championships.

"I hope so," Morrow told the CP. "There's a lot of great players and it all depends on what they're looking for to build their team. But it's part of the reason I'm here. I wanted to have a good showing. And anytime you get to represent your country it's an unbelievable experience."

The World Cup of Hockey will be played from August 30 through September 14 in both North America and Europe, with the championship game being played in Toronto.

Stars forward Mathias Tjarnqvist, who did not score in the tournament, did pick up a silver medal with Sweden. Blake Sloan, who played defense for the USA and had two goals in nine games, got a bronze medal after Team USA beat Slovakia 1-0 Sunday.

It was a big win for the USA, who moved from ninth to sixth in the international rankings and assures them an automatic seed at the 2006 Olympics in Italy.

Niko Kapanen had three goals and two assists in seven games for Finland, which did not medal in the tournament.