Canadian men's field hockey team halfway through their Olympic-sized task

LIMA, Peru —Three wins down, three to go.

That's the message after the Canadian men's field hockey team wrapped up their final preliminary match in the most crucial tournament of their Olympic cycle with a 14-1 win against the host Peruvians on Saturday.

The win seals Canada's place at the top of their group for the knockout round, which is another step toward a gold medal, and a direct spot in the Tokyo Olympics.

As the score line suggests, the game was in Canada's hands from the get-go. But it was also a testy affair, especially after Canada's Gordie Johnson went down after taking a redirected shot to the face.

Johnson left the game and received medical attention, but his status for the team's next game, a quarter-final match against Trinidad and Tobago, is unknown.

Not too long after Johnson's exit, Canadian captain Scott Tupper was shown a green card by the referee after Tupper had a disagreement with a Peruvian player.

"We were reasonably confident we were going to secure the result and I think that was somewhat clear early on in the game," Tupper says. "Maybe our emotions got a little more heated as we lost Gordie in the game and that was disappointing because he's a very important player for us.

"Perhaps little things became a little bit bigger, but such is sport I guess."

Canada started their Pan Am tournament by beating Mexico 5-1 on Tuesday, and followed that up with a 4-0 victory over Team USA on Thursday. Tupper says wrapping up their group is important because it's another step on the team's quickest path to the Tokyo Olympics.

"The Pan American Games, for Canadian field hockey, has always been looked at as the number one path and is kind of the path of least resistance to get to the Olympics," Tupper says. "We think we certainly have the opportunity to play in the final and the capability of winning the tournament if we play well.

"We'd like to stand on top of the podium and punch that ticket."

Canadian head coach Paul Bundy says the importance of the Pan Am Games for his team can never be understated.

"It's critical," he says. "This is the most important tournament of our quad, without this it doesn't give you that direct berth at the Olympic Games.

"We've been building up to this for the last three years."

Long-time rivals expect to clash in Lima

The Canadians entered the Pan Am competition ranked No. 10 in the world, and as the reigning silver medallists, having lost to Argentina in Toronto in at the 2015 Games.

The two countries are no stranger to one another, especially when it comes to going for Pan Am gold — each one of the five finals in men's field hockey history at these Games have pitted Canada vs. Argentina, with the latter holding a 3-2 edge in gold medal wins.

While the Canadians say they will take it one game at a time in Lima, there is no doubt why they are here and that once again the road to the Summer Games runs right through Team Argentina.

"You're playing for a medal and that chance to stand on the podium," Tupper says. "In Canadian field hockey you kind of grow up learning about and wanting to beat Argentina in a final of a Pan American Games. 

"It doesn't necessarily mean the other teams aren't strong...but for whatever reason, Canada and Argentina have always made their way there [for] generally a close, hard-fought game between teams that don't necessarily like each other too much. There's a good rivalry there."

Bundy is anticipating seeing his team's rivals.

"The Pan Am Games have had a Canada-Argentina final for as long as it's gone back," Bundy says. "It's 60 minutes of hockey and even though Argentina are ranked above us, [but] it's a one-off game and anything can happen."

Experience will pay dividends

Bundy says to get back to the final for a sixth time, his team team will need to lean on their veterans, like their captain.

"There's a lot of our alumni that have carved a path through qualifying for Pan Am," he says. "Scott and a number of other guys are really experienced [and have been] to multiple Pan Ams, so that's going to be drawn upon, particularly in that final game."

Tupper has played in the last three Pan Ams, and as the flag-bearer, led the entire Canadian contingent into the opening ceremony on July 26. He says the event has not lost its importance, despite this being his fourth appearance.

"My first Pan American Games in 2007 was my first multi-sport events so I was a little bit wide-eyed, he says. "Now 12 years down the road, I think I'm just as excited. I really love the Pan American Games, it's a tournament we always arrive knowing that we have the capability to win if we play well."

Knockout round looms

Canada's next match comes on Monday in the quarter-finals against Trinidad and Tobago.

"It's a little bit of a reset now," Tupper says. "We [are into] the crossovers, so it's kind of job done now, we wanted to go 3-0 in the pool and that's how we ended up going.

"We set ourselves up for the path we wanted to have — we look forward to [Trinidad and Tobago] in the next game…they're an interesting team, they've got some pretty experienced players. We'll have to be really sharp and well prepared and hopefully put in a good performance and move on."

If all goes well, a semifinal on Thursday and then possibly the gold-medal match will follow.

And they're pretty sure who will be waiting there.

"Our ticket to the Olympics is going to go through Argentina," Tupper says. "You kind of always have that in your head."