Canada’s top line paces pre-tournament victory
Lone returnee, Comtois, leads way with 4-point performance in 5-3 win over Switzerland
VICTORIA — Maxime Comtois, the lone veteran on Canada’s world junior hockey team, hopes his teammates learn from Wednesday’s victory.
Comtois had two goals and two assists in Canada’s 5-3 win over Switzerland in a pre-tournament game designed to help both squads prepare for the world junior championship that begins on Boxing Day in Vancouver and Victoria.
Canada outplayed Switzerland but struggled to pull out the victory after holding a 3-1 first-period lead.
Comtois, the only returning player from last year’s gold-medal team, expects this year’s team to get better as the tournament progresses.
“It’s a good thing this one is out of the way,” he said.
“We showed a lot of poise in the third period and we found a way.”
Comtois scored an empty-net goal late in the third after the Swiss team fought back from the 3-1 deficit.
“We’re going to figure this out tomorrow,” said Comtois, who expected the team to regroup after Wednesday’s performance.
Canada coach Tim Hunter was pleased with the team’s first and third periods, but there was a letdown in the second.
“We just took our foot off the gas a bit,” he said. “We just didn’t play as hard as we could in the second. I hope this is our worst game in this process.”
Hunter said after the second period the players were told to show leadership and push harder.
He said he expects the video review of the second-period letdown to be a major focus as the team prepares for its next pre-tournament game on Friday in Victoria against Slovakia.
Cody Glass, Owen Tippet and Jack Studnicka also scored for Canada, who open the tournament Dec. 26 in Vancouver against Denmark.
Forwards Valentin Nussbaumer, Philipp Kurashev and defenceman Tobias Geisser replied for Switzerland.
Canada peppered Swiss goalie Luca Jan Hollenstein with 41 shots, while Canadian netminder Michael DiPietro faced 17 shots. The Vancouver Canucks prospect was disappointed that he allowed three goals on so few shots.
“There’s definitely room for improvement in my game,” said DiPietro. “As the game went on, I felt more comfortable.”
Ian Scott will start in goal for Friday’s game against Slovakia.
Swiss coach Christian Wohlwend said Canada should beat Switzerland every time the two countries meet.
“But if you guys would come to a yodel competition, you guys would have no chance. No chance against us,” he joked.
Wohlwend reminded reporters that the Swiss have actually beaten Canada in hockey on two occasions, at the 2006 Olympics and at last year’s world championship.
He said he was elated his team was within a goal of tying Canada late in the third period on Wednesday. “Unbelievable,” he said. There were three other pre-tournament games on Wednesday, with Finland blanking Denmark 7-0 in Langley, the Czech Republic edging rival Slovakia 2-1 in a shootout in Nanaimo, and Kazakhstan defeating the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs 5-2 in Port Alberni.
FINLAND 7, DENMARK 0
At Langley, Finland dominated Denmark 40-9 on the shot clock, including 13-1 in the second period and 16-1 in the third.
Anton Lundell, who isn’t eligible for the NHL draft until 2020, scored Finland’s first two goals, while Rasmus Kupari, Sami Moilanen, Santeri Virtanen, Jesse Ylonen and Aleksi Heponiemi rounded out the offence for the Finns.
Filip Lindberg, with eight saves, and Lassi Lehtinen, with just one, shared the shutout for Finland.
Mads Sogaard, an import goalie for the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers and a top prospect for the 2019 NHL draft, stopped 33-of-40 shots in a losing effort for Denmark.