Canada, USA set for World Junior tune-ups today on TSN
Published
Canada’s road to defending gold at the World Juniors continues Wednesday with a pre-tournament matchup against Slovakia.
See USA take on Sweden at 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 p.m. PT followed by Canada going up against Slovakia at 6:30 p.m. et/3:30 p.m. PT. Both games can be seen LIVE on TSN3, TSN5, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Canada cruised past Switzerland in their first of three tournament tune-ups on Monday where captain Shane Wright led the charge, scoring two and assisting on one in a 6-0 victory. Joshua Roy, Nathan Gaucher, Olen Zellweger and Brennan Othmann each added goals while Connor Bedard had three assists.
"[Dean, Gaucher and Roy] set the tone for us," said Team Canada head coach Dennis Williams after Monday's win. "They were grinding their opponents, working together and feeding off each other. [Establishing chemistry] is never an issue when you come to an event like this.
"Everyone is coming from across the country and different leagues, but we are all here for a common goal. It’s one team and one country, and you could see a lot of that chemistry on all our lines tonight.”
Thomas Milic recorded the shutout in net, stopping all 19 shots he faced.
"I like pressure. I thrive under pressure. I love getting those big games. That’s one of the best parts of being a goalie is being able to have such an influence over big games,” he said.
"He's really lateral. He kind of reminds me of Jonathan Quick. Not the biggest guy but moves so well. He just flies around in the crease. Maybe you think you have him at one point and then he's right in your face and stops it,” teammate Brandt Clarke said last week.
The 19-year-old of the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds will give way to Sarnia Sting netminder Ben Gaudreau for Wednesday’s clash. Coming into camp, Williams said it was a “wide open” battle between Milic and Gaudreau for Canada’s starting spot.
Who starts in Canada’s pre-tournament finale on Friday against Finland has not yet been announced.
Team USA also had their pre-tournament opener on Monday, defeating Finland 5-2. The Americans, who lost in the quarter-finals of this past summer’s rescheduled tournament, will also play Wednesday afternoon in their second of three exhibition matchups.
Logan Cooley, Cutter Gauthier and Luke Hughes will headline USA's roster at the World Juniors.
Here were Canada’s lines at Tuesday’s practice:
Othmann - Wright – Bedard
Fantilli - Stankoven – Guenther
Dean - Gaucher – Roy
Schaefer - Bankier – Ostapchuk
Dach
Del Mastro – Zellweger
Hinds – Clarke
Korchinski – Matier
Allan
Gaudreau starts
Milic