Article Author:
The Canadian Press
Gemma Karstens-Smith
Edmonton — Conor Bedard scores a goal and assists as Canada beats Latvia 5-2 to clinch the World Junior Hockey Championship. It has started. Wednesday.
Ridly Greig and William Dufour added goals with goals, while Lukas Cormier and Olen Zellweger also found the net. Captain Mason McTavish recorded his two assists for Canada (1-0-0).
Reynards Dargins and Bogdans Hodas scored goals for the Latvian in his 6-1 defeat to Finland on Tuesday.
Canada's Sebastian Kossa made his 24 saves, while Patrick Berzins stopped 39 of his 44 shots for Latvia (0-2-0) .
Canada will continue the round robin on Thursday against Slovakia (0-0-1).
The 2022 tournament saw his first iteration just four days after his death as his COVID-19 cases increased among players and officials, forcing him to forfeit matches. It will take place in August after being canceled on December 29th.
Dufour gave Canada a breather with 5:16 remaining in the third period. The New York Islanders prospect collected a smooth pass from Greig and sent a quick shot past the Virgins to give his team his 5-2 lead.
Canada saw him put in a three-goal performance in the second round, but a series of undisciplined penalties left him in trouble in the final frame.
Latvia played 5-3 for nine seconds midway through his third, but after Kent Johnson was sent to the box for a game delay. , Greig was asked to hook.
The Canadian fended off his two downs and Cossa maintained the advantage with a timely stop.
Early in the period, Latvia cut the deficit to his 4-2 on power plays.
Mann just four seconds into his advantage, Hodus — the Medicine Hat Tigers defenseman — faced off with a shot from the top of his circle. The puck appeared to have carved Cossa's pad on its way into the net.
Greig collected a pass from Dufour along the board and Oddman scored his rush, and at the 16:16 mark, beat Belzans and stabbed the puck to win the frame on his big middle.
After Latvian captain Ralfus Bergmanis was called for a slash, the Canadians scored on a power play goal to give him a three-point lead.
Bedard made a no-look backwards pass to Zellweger on the blue line. The defense rolled up and rocketed through the traffic to find the back of the net at 12:17 in the second.
Less than a minute later, Cormier scored on Man's advantage after his Locmeris was called in the rough.
Joshua Roy calmed a bouncy puck and threw it to Cormier, who passed Belzans from the top of his circle faceoff.
Canada's Power Play appeared to be in trouble in the tournament's first try early in the period.
The man advantage saw Cossa nearly sending the puck into his own net in an attempt to clear, and Johnson came within inches of his own goal. The host nation turned the puck over and over, and Latvia shorthanded his shot to score.
Canada won Wednesday's power play, where he won 4-1 and Latvia trailed her 5-1.
Canada kept Berzins busy in the first period, beating Latvia her 18-4.
Although the host nation dominated the match, he scored the equalizer less than two minutes before Latvia played in the opening frame. Darzins chipped a shot over the side of the Cossa stick to make it 1-1.
Bedard scored at his 7:31 mark, shooting from the top of the slot over his two Latvian defenders and Belzance's glove.
Bedard, 17, a forward for the Western Hockey League's Regina Putts, is an early favorite with the 2023 NHL entry and the No. 1 overall pick in his draft. Winnipeg his Jets prospects as Sweden (1-0-0) beat Switzerland (0-1-0) with his 3-2 victory early on Tuesday in Group B play. One Daniel Torgerson scored his two goals.
The final game of the day is between Germany (0-1-0) and Austria (0-0-0).
Note: Greig turned 20 on Monday. The World Juniors is a showcase of the best under-20 players in the world, but the International Ice Hockey Federation has decided that a player born in 2002 who is already 20 years old will play in this summer's championship. allow you to … Cossa played on familiar ice and in June he led the Edmonton Oil Kings to his WHL Championship. Canada's goal song is "Can't Stop" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 10, 2022.