MONTREAL — Eric Comrie is giving head coach Benoit Groulx a lot to mull over as Canada's world junior championship progresses.

Comrie made 17 saves to earn the shutout in Canada's 4-0 defeat of Germany on Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Groulx now has two potential starting goaltenders — Comrie and Zach Fucale — who have each earned a shutout in Canada's first two games of the tournament. Fucale stopped all 12 shots he faced versus Slovakia on Friday before Comrie's performance against the Germans.

"He was good tonight," said Groulx of Comrie. "He's a very well-structured goalie. He competes hard, he was sound, and he feels very at ease on the ice. I liked his game a lot tonight, and obviously it's going to be a tough decision that we have to make.

"He made key saves tonight, and he's playing with a lot of confidence. He made our decision more difficult."

As Canada advances in the tournament, its opposition will become increasingly skilled. After games against Slovakia and Germany where Fucale and Comrie faced few shots — and many of them not terribly difficult — the Canadians take on defending-champions Finland and then the United States to wrap up preliminary play.

Comrie and Fucale are both 19-year-olds with similar builds — they are the same height, but Comrie weighs slightly less. Comrie, who currently plays for the Tri-City Americans in the Western Hockey League, was drafted 59th overall in the 2013 NHL entry draft by the Winnipeg Jets. Fucale, recently traded to the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, was chosen by the Montreal Canadiens 36th overall the same year.

Although both goaltenders are fighting for a chance to lead Canada to its first gold medal at the juniors in six years, Comrie doesn't feel too much pressure as he competes with Fucale for top spot in the crease.

"I'm just going out there and having fun, and playing in the moment," said Comrie, who was given the game puck by teammate Josh Morrissey on Saturday. "If you think of it as a job interview, it's not going to go so well. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to play in front of this crowd. I'm just so excited to be on this team.

"It's a dream come true. We're both going for a gold medal, it doesn't matter who's playing."

Comrie's WHL statistics this year — namely his save percentage and goal-against-average — are better than Fucale's, overall. More importantly at this stage in the tournament, however, Canada's goaltenders have both shown they can compete on the world stage by stopping all the shots they've faced so far.

"When you go into a tournament, you want to see how they play, how they react, and if one goalie is going to separate himself from the other one," said Groulx. "Obviously, both of them have been very good."

Groulx's first decision will be to name the next starting goalie when Canada welcomes the Finns to the Bell Centre on Monday. The Canadians have an off-day on Sunday.

"We want to sleep on it, and tomorrow we'll watch the game (against Germany), have meetings with our staff, and see where we go with that."

Against the Germans on Saturday, Comrie stopped four shots in the first period, 10 shots in the second — Canada's weakest 20 minutes — and another three in the third en route to the shutout.

Perhaps his biggest save came with less than five minutes remaining in the second period. With Canada ahead 2-0 and Samuel Morin in the penalty box for tripping, German defenceman Tim Bender caught Canada on a line change, and sent forward Marc Michaelis on a breakaway with a gorgeous stretch pass the length of the hockey rink.

Michaelis tried to beat Comrie with a wrist shot blocker-side, but the Canadian netminder never lost sight of the puck.

"It was a good pass," said Comrie. "He came in, shot on the ice. I dropped, made the save, and covered it up. That's about it."

Comrie's teammates think the goaltender battle between Comrie and Fucale is nothing but good news for Canada going forward.

"When you have two goalies with confidence going into the next game, there's not much more you can ask for," said defenceman Shea Theodore. "They're both good goalies and they're playing real hot right now."

Added captain Curtis Lazar: "We're comfortable with whatever goalie is in our net. Eric and Zach do a great job for us back there and we're going to need that to continue."

Notes: Germany coach Pat Cortina was born in Montreal. … Last year, Canada opened its tournament with a 7-2 victory over the Germans. … The tournament-favourite Canadians are undefeated (13-0) all-time against the Germans at the world juniors, outscoring them 71-18. … Germany is ranked 13th in the world.