Canadians beaten after throwing away lead

ORCHARD PARK, New York — After penalties cost Canada a shootout to the rival United States — again — head coach Dominique Ducharme didn’t mince words about discipline and whether it would be a factor for his team going forward at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

“It won’t be. I can guarantee you that, that’s for sure,” said Ducharme before ending his postgame news conference.

Kieffer Bellows and Brady Tkachuk scored in the shootout as the U.S. beat Canada 4-3 on Friday in the first outdoor game in tournament history.

Scott Perunovich and Tkachuk scored in the third as the Americans (2-1) rallied from a two-goal deficit, just as they did in last year’s gold-medal game that the U.S. also won in a shootout. Bellows had a second-period goal with Casey Mittelstadt earning three assists.

Canada had built a seemingly unassailable 2-0 lead with five minutes remaining in the second period. As snow blanketed the 44,592 fans in attendance at New Era Field, it also slowed down the pace of the game as players struggled to see the puck, let alone control it as it skittered across the ice.

The tough playing conditions could have been beneficial with a solid lead, but Canadian forward Brett Howden and Alex Formenton took penalties at the same time, giving the United States an important two-man advantage. For the first minute of the power play, the Americans couldn’t get anything going, with the puck slowing down in the snow, allowing Canadian defenders to get back into position.

But Bellows solved the problem of the snow breaking up passes by blasting a slapshot from the point that Canadian goalie Carter Hart, screened by his teammates, couldn’t see.

“We had control of the game,” Ducharme said. “We put them back into the game with bad penalties.”

Although Boris Katchouk replied with a quick goal to give Canada a 3-1 lead 1:12 later, the momentum had shifted to the U.S. headed into the third period.