CANADA-SWITZERLAND: FIVE KEY MOMENTS
Canada needed a shootout to get past Switzerland 3-2 at the world junior hockey championship. Here are five moments from the game that mattered:
LET’S GET PHYSICAL
Switzerland’s Fabian Heldner clobbered Canada’s Travis Konecny behind the Swiss net about 30 seconds into the contest. It was a clear sign that the Swiss meant business. They’ve developed a reputation as a physical team, perhaps the most physical in the tournament, and were going to play Canada tough. And they were in desperate need of a win to avoid the relegation pool. “We made a statement we can play physical and at the same time a fair game,” said Swiss captain Timo Meier.
TWO-GOAL DEFICIT
At 2:12 of the first, Damien Riat scored to open the scoring. Yes, Canada had given up the first goal again, just like against Denmark. The goal was the result of an unfavourable bounce. It was an unfortunate start for goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, making his first start. It was compounded by Switzerland taking a 2-0 lead at 15:37. “Right in the beginning, as I’m fresh back in the game, I’m thinking in my head: ‘Oh no, here we go.’ But you try to pull together and battle and try to give the boys a chance to win. That’s what I tried to do,” said Blackwood.
ON THE BOARD
The Canadians seemed off their game, rattled by a tough Swiss team that had a surprising lead. At 19:37, it was Dylan Strome to the rescue. His shot from the corner eluded Swiss goalie Joren van Pottelberghe and put Canada on the board, much later that it thought it would be. The first period ended 2-1 for the Swiss, with Switzerland outshooting Canada 9-7. “They put us on our heels,” said Team Canada coach Dave Lowry. “They scored that first goal. We got away from how we wanted to play. We scored a big goal at the end of the first period. We were able to use that as a momentum booster.”
HOLDING THE FORT
Joe Hicketts had tied the game in the second. But with 11 minutes to go in the third, Blackwood made his two best saves, stopping both Swiss shooters on a 2-on-1. Troubling for Canada at that point, the Swiss shots came short-handed. Canada was 21-0 against Switzerland all-time at the under-20s and that was about to change. “It’s always a great challenge to play a team like Canada,” said Meier. “It was easy to get up for today. We showed what we were able to do.”
STILL STANDING
Mathew Barzal went backhand in the shootout, following up on a goal by Brayden Point as Canada got the win — worth two points in the standings (a regulation win is worth three). Switzerland earned a point against Canada for the first time in the history of this tournament, and kept alive their hopes of avoiding regulation. They need to beat the Americans to do so. Canada’s spot in the quarterfinals is secure. “Brayden Point goes up there and scores, I was the second shooter and that kinda takes a lot off my shoulders,” said Barzal. “Went in there pretty confident and saw him cheating a little bit so I went backhand and put it in.”