As Day 4 of the World Junior Championship came to an end, Canada faced Germany in a game that had much bigger implications than originally assumed. After the shootout loss to Latvia, which left the hockey world shocked, Canada found itself in a must-win situation against a team that they had never previously lost to – which was the case with Latvia, and we all saw how that went.
Canada’s coaching staff made a few adjustments before Sunday night’s matchup against Germany. The first of these was moving Sam Dickinson to fill some of the holes that were left by injured defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who will miss the rest of the tournament. With Dickinson moving into the top 4, Seattle Thunderbirds Captain Sawyer Mynio saw his first action of the tournament.
In terms of forwards, Dave Cameron decided to scratch future first-round pick Porter Martone in favor of returning forward Carson Rehkopf. Additionally, we saw Cole Beaudoin move onto Canada’s top-line, as the coaching staff were hoping to leverage his physicality with some different linemates, as well as Bradly Nadeau being moved to the 3rd line.
Team Germany rolled with much of the same formula that they have been using throughout their first two games.
From the very first whistle, it was clear that Canada was playing with much more intensity than their last game, finishing checks and taking it to the German defenders. However, for the first 5 minutes or so it seemed that the Canadians were gripping their sticks too tight so to speak. The powerplay broke through around the 9-minute mark when Oliver Bonk buried one coming off the bumper. The London Knight was a key part of Canada’s new-look powerplay that had struggled thus far but looked very solid in the penalty-filled first period for the Canadians.
Canada seemed to control the game for most of the first, except for a late penalty kill that arose after a strange, reviewed tripping turned interference penalty on Sam Dickinson, in which the Germans seemed to gain a lot of momentum. However, Carter George stood tall for Team Canada for the full 60 minutes.
The recurring motif throughout the second period was one of unnecessary penalties and low-danger scoring chances. The stat sheet shows plenty of shots for Canada, but so many of them were “low percentage,” easy stops for Pertuch. There were several posts hit for Team Canada, most notably from Berkley Catton, however hitting a few posts isn’t a good enough excuse to only lead by a goal against Team Germany.
While there were no goals scored in the second, it felt like Canada played a very sloppy period and it seemed like only a matter of time before the Germans tied the game up. After surviving the second period – barely, Canada finally broke through with a very timely goal from Caden Price with less than five minutes remaining in the third.
Former QMJHL MVP Mathieu Cataford sealed the deal with an empty netter in the dying seconds to secure the win for Team Canada.
Although Canada has scored much less than usual this year, their defense has been something extremely positive to take away. They are yet to give up an even-strength goal throughout the first 3 games of the tournament, and LA Kings prospect Carter George has looked exceptional, maintaining perfection with two shutouts in his two appearances.
Even though Canada didn’t dismantle Germany as many predicted, I still don’t think it is wise to count them out of this tournament yet. This is still Team Canada, and a team that doesn’t give up many goals is a team that has a great chance to win every night. If they can get some offensive production going, they still have as good a chance as anyone to win this tournament. Props to Team Germany and especially goaltender Nico Pertuch, who looked great in the face of adversity.
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