OTTAWA - Dustin Tokarski allowed four goals - three in the first period - in Canada's 7-4 win over the United States on New Year's Eve. Not exactly a great audition for another start in goal.

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Team Canada's goaltender Dustin Tokarski stretches during the team's practice at the 2009 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa, January 2 , 2009.

Photograph by : Reuters

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Tokarski hung on to win that game, and Team Canada coach Pat Quinn announced Friday that Tokarski will start Saturday night in the semifinals of the IIHF world junior hockey championship.

"He fought through it," Quinn said. "It wasn't pretty early on and it wasn't all his doing, but he held steady and got better in a panic situation, showed some control, so he's now been that tested guy, and we figured maybe we'd come back with the tested guy rather than someone else who hadn't been in there and in the two games he played had very little work.

"The biggest reason was that."

Tokarski was predictably excited to hear the news.

"I glad the coach showed confidence in me, and I'll be ready to go in the semis against whoever we face," he said before Russia faced off against the Czech Republic on Friday night at Scotiabank Place for the right to play Canada on Saturday.

"It's obviously a big game, but nothing changes from a goalie's standpoint. It's just another game. It's a short tournament and we have to keep getting wins, so I hope to keep it going."

Entering the tournament, Tokarski - a Watson, Sask., native who plays for the Western Hockey League's Spokane Chiefs - was rated slightly higher than Team Canada's other goalie, Chet Pickard of the WHL's Tri-City Americans. Tokarski has been the more tested of the two goalies at this point of the tournament.

Tokarski played in Canada's opening 8-1 victory over the Czech Republic. Pickard was barely tested in Canada's 15-0 win over Kazakhstan and its 5-1 decision against Germany.

Quinn said a case could probably be made that Canada would stick with Tokarski for the tournament final on Monday - assuming it gets that far -_but he'll wait to see what happens in the semifinal.

Boychuk expected to play

Team Canada forward Zach Boychuk tested his sore right ankle briefly Friday, and it looks as if he'll be ready to play in Saturday's semifinal.

Boychuk hurt his ankle during the New Year's Eve game against the United States, when he was checked and fell awkwardly.

While his ankle felt OK Friday, the coaches didn't want him to overdo it, so he left practice early.

"It was a little bit sore at the start, but, once my ankle got warm, it felt really good and I could keep up and basically go full speed," said Boychuk, who plays for the WHL's of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. "I was out there for 20 minutes and it was really positive."

An earful for Subban

PK Subban of the OHL's Belleville Bulls has been one of Canada's better defencemen during the tournament. Before Friday's games, his two goals and six assists left Subban tied for the lead in scoring among defenceman with Kevin Shattenkirk of the United States.

That didn't earn Subban any grace from Team Canada coach Pat Quinn, however, who snapped at the defenceman when he missed his assignment during a drill Friday.

The players regard Quinn as a legend. They know of his long career as a player and coach, have watched him on TV for years and stand in awe of his accomplishments, so, when he talks - or shouts - they listen.

"He was getting on me," Subban said. "I wasn't in the right position at the right time. He told me I had to be there and I had to read the play like this.

"As young players, we're still learning and that's the thing about having a coach like Pat Quinn: He's going to give you the right feedback you need to play well. He's well-respected by everyone in the game of hockey and by everyone in this room. All 22 guys believe that Pat Quinn is a great coach and that he's going to lead us to where we want to be."

New Year's resolution

Forward Stefan Della Rovere said he's learned a lesson from his performance in the New Year's Eve game against the United States and promises to keep his emotions under control in Saturday night's semifinal.

Della Rovere, one of Canada's more enthusiastic players, got into trouble when he received a minor penalty and an automatic 10-minute misconduct for checking from behind.

That prompted Quinn to bench him for the rest of the game.

Della Rovere, who plays for the OHL's Barrie Colts, said Friday he knows he can't put the team at risk again.

"I learned my lesson from what I did," he said. "I know, if I can stay in the game, I can be more effective. It's an emotional game, an emotional tournament, and you're representing your country, but you can't be stepping over that line."

Most-watched game

According to overnight Nielsen ratings, 1.67 million Canadians watched TSN's English-language broadcast of the Canada-United States game on New Year's Eve, making it the world junior championship's most watched preliminary-round game ever. The previous high was 1.41 million for Canada-U.S. in 2005.

Ottawa Citizen