Canada blows out Slovakia
Connor Ingram makes 6 saves in 5-0 win
TORONTO (CP) — It was surely the easiest start and shutout of Connor Ingram’s life.
The Team Canada netminder faced six shots, stopping them all in a 5-0 win over Slovakia on Tuesday. Indeed, the Canadians made easy work of their second opponent at the world junior hockey championship, outshooting the Slovaks 44-6.
Ingram faced two shots in the first period, one shot in the second and three in the third. The six shots against matched a record-low for Canada at the world juniors, dating back to 1983 when the country topped Norway 13-0.
“A lot of guys worked a lot harder than I did to make my job pretty simple tonight,” Ingram said afterward. “If you see that every night your job should be pretty easy.”
Jeremy Lauzon, Taylor Raddysh, Anthony Cirelli, Thomas Chabot and Michael McLeod scored for Canada, which took over first place in Group B (six points).
The Canadians controlled the puck almost without exception over the first 20 minutes, outshooting Slovakia 14-2 and coming up with a handful of quality chances.
Despite the obvious skill discrepancy between the two teams, the Slovaks worked hard to keep the Canadians to the outside and, when that failed, six-foot-four goaltender Adam Huska bailed them out, turning everything aside in the first.
Huska, the New York Rangers’ final pick in the 2015 NHL draft (184th overall), is attending the University of Connecticut.
“I felt good on the ice, but Canada is really good,” said Huska, who described himself as tired after the busy outing. “It’s really hard to stop every puck.”
Ingram, meanwhile, was getting the start on for Canada following Carter Hart’s wobbly, but ultimately successful showing Monday against Russia (three goals on 17 shots in a 5-3 win). A Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick from the southern Saskatchewan town of Imperial — population of 349 people — Ingram leads the Western Hockey League with a .935 save percentage.
Ingram said all goaltenders learn “their little quirks” to handle the quiet nights.
“I’m no different from every other weird guy that plays this position,” he said. “We’ve all got ’em. Just little things that keep you in the game, keep you thinking about the game, keep you focused.”
Though head coach Dominique Ducharme wouldn’t confirm it afterward, it’s likely that Hart returns to the crease when the Canadians continue the preliminary round against Latvia on Thursday night. A tough test against the U.S. follows on New Year’s Eve.