No problem: The Canadian team passed its first and only test before the World Junior Hockey Championship kicks off, with a 6-4 victory over the Russian team Thursday night in Edmonton.
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If Canada were originally going to play three pre-season games, the Maple Leaf representatives have proven that they are indeed ready to compete. To hell with the other two parts canceled, as a precaution, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant.
Among the Canadian players, one of the potential Anaheim Ducks players, Mason McTavish, was quick to stand out by scoring the first goal of the match, in the power game. He then fed Kent Johnson with a superb lifting pass as his teammate, Quebec Maverick Burke, started the match.
McTavish later completed his double at the end of the second period, being named Player of the Game for Canada.
If a preliminary match is used to test line formation, those formed by McTavish, Johnson and Bourque may still be intact.
After a while, Canada was already leading 4-0 as Ridley Gregg and Lucas Cormier also scored in the first period.
Young Connor Bedard, only 16 years old, completed the scoring for the Canadian national team while Matvey Michkov, with two goals, was Semyon Demidov and Alexander Pashin, the Russian top scorers.
Help Kayden Goul
Montreal Canadiens captain Kaiden Guhle provided the assist in McTavish’s second goal.
Young striker Shane Wright, the favorite to be recruited for the first time in 2022, also finished the match with a single pass, on Cormier’s goal.
After this warm-up match, Canada is set to start the tournament on Sunday against the Czech Republic. It should be noted that this formation also had to play a role in preparation, Thursday, but the confrontation against Switzerland was called off due to the protocol related to COVID-19.
In addition to the Czech Republic, Canada will face Finland, Austria and Germany in Group A.
Garand or couscous?
Against the Canadian team, Dylan Garand saved 14 of his 15 shots before making way for Sebastian Cosa in the middle of the match. For his part, Koussa looked bad, allowing three goals from 11 shots. The two goals are competing for first place.
Earlier on Thursday, Garand signed a three-year entry contract with the New York Rangers, which he drafted in the fourth round in 2020.
Quebec striker Elliot Desnoires appeared to have injured his foot in the third game, but returned to the bench.
