Undisciplined against Germany, Canada had to burn itself out. Claude Julien’s team allowed two goals at 5 against 3 in the third period, but they still won their very first match of the World Championship by 5 to 3, Friday in Helsinki.
As their team took advantage of a four-goal lead going into the third thier, Nicolas Roy and Adam Lowry were chased off in the first minute. Matthias Plachta took the opportunity to close the gap. Ten minutes later, it was the turn of Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson and his short-lived teammate Morgan Geekie to find themselves in jail at the same time. Moritz Seider made the red light flicker.
The Detroit Red Wings defender had three points in the game, while Marc Michaelis was the European side’s other scorer. Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves. But these efforts were not enough to turn the tide.
Cole Sillinger and Pierre-Luc Dubois set the tone for the game in the first period by both hitting the target. Dubois finished the match with a brace. Kent Johnson and Noah Gregor also contributed to the victory with a goal each, as did Anderson with an assist. Logan Thompson hasn’t been very busy, blocking 18 pucks.
Maple leaf representatives will return to action on Sunday against Italy. Slovakia, France, Switzerland, Denmark and Kazakhstan are also in Group A.
1
