HALIFAX-
Connor Bedard had a hat trick and four assists as Canada got back on track at the World Junior Hockey Championship on Wednesday with an emphatic 11-2 win over Germany.
Dylan Guenther also had a hat trick – all on assists from Bedard – while Brandt Clarke and Logan Stankoven each added a goal and two assists.
Shane Wright and Joshua Roy, with a goal and an assist each, and Zack Ostapchuk also scored for the tournament hosts, who started at home on Monday with an embarrassing 5-2 loss to Czechia.
Olen Zellweger had three assists as Canadian head coach Dennis Williams shook up three of his forward lines, including separating Bedard and Wright.
Bedard’s seven points tied a Canadian record in a single game at the tournament, joining Dave Andreychuk (1983), Brenden Morrow (1999), Mike Cammalleri (2002) and Gabriel Bourque (2010).
Thomas Milic made 14 saves in his first start at the world junior championships for Canada. Roman Kechter and Philip Sinn replied for Germany, who got 30 saves from Simon Wolf before being replaced by Rihards Babulis for the third period in a draw. Babulis finished with 11 saves.
Canada, who improved to 16-0 against the Germans all-time in the men’s Under-20 showcase, will now pivot quickly to face Austria — outscored 20-0 in their two tournament games — Thursday back at the Scotiabank Centre.
After Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Sweden in a match that saw Nikita Quapp save 43 shots in a losing effort, Germany are out on Thursday ahead of a Friday meeting with Austria.
A talent-rich squad loaded with nine first-round NHL draft picks, plus presumed top-5 selections for 2023 Bedard and Adam Fantilli, Canada were stunned by the Czechs in a rambling curtain-raiser and uninspired that left powerhouse favorites searching for answers.
This included players questioning their own readiness and preparedness, while Fantilli and Bedard each tried and failed at the start of “The Michigan” style lacrosse movement – sequences later considered symptomatic of the Canadians’ loose approach against an underdog opponent.
Despite a few scares at the start, there would be no repetition.
Guenther opened the scoring on a power play in the first period off a pass from Bedard, and it looked like Canada had made it 2-0 minutes later only to have a goal disallowed after the referee’s whistle sounded before the puck crossed the goal. line.
The Canadians, who were denied a goal against the Czechs who would have made it 2-0 before their underdog opponent equalized moments later on Monday, may have felt a bit of deja vu when Ketcher managed a shot through Milic to tie the game.
But Wright was credited with his second goal of the tournament on another power play when a German defenseman swept the puck into his own net.
Bedard, who scored four goals in an 11-2 win over Austria last December before those world youth championships were sidelined by COVID-19, then made it 3-1 when the silky smooth The 17-year-old took a stretch and tore his a shot past Wolf and got another one early in the second on a goalkeeping error.
Milic, who stopped all 10 shots he faced after coming off the bench to replace Benjamin Gaudreau in the second half of Canada’s surprising display two nights earlier, had little to do at the other end , but he was solid when called upon.
Bedard covered his hat trick on another power play before Rayan Bettahar was given a match penalty and sent off for an illegal head check on Fantilli.
That’s when the floodgates really opened for Canada against Germany, which has only two players drafted by NHL teams, including Quapp, who didn’t dress Wednesday.
Guenther scored his second on a fine pass from Bedard to make it 6-1 and Clarke fired a one-timer from a German defender.
Bedard then set up Guenther for his third on the same power play, and Stankoven added another late in the period for a 9-1 lead in 40 minutes.
Ostapchuk made it 10-1 early in the third before Bedard assisted on Roy’s goal for his seventh point of the night.
Sinn got a late-game consolation goal on a German power play.
GOALKEEPER FALL
Milic was perfect after replacing Gaudreau on Monday 5-2 for the Czechs — after a rocky start.
The only other undrafted player on Canada’s roster other than Bedard and Fantilli tripped on the ice while going through a quick warm-up in the slot.
“Great way to get in,” Milic joked on Tuesday. “The camera is also right in my face. I just had a good laugh about it. I think that honestly could have helped to ease the tension a bit of being cold with such a tense situation.
“Everything went well.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on December 28, 2022.
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