2009 IIHF Ice Hockey Junior World Championship

Canada 8 – Czech Republic 1

CANADIAN OFFENCE ERUPTS IN TOURNAMENT-OPENING WIN

by Alan Adams

KANATA, ON – Canada's drive for a fifth straight IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal got off to a roaring start Friday night, as John Tavares (Oakville, ON/Oshawa, OHL) scored twice and added an assist in an 8-1 victory over the Czech Republic in front of a tournament-record 19,622 fans at SBP Arena.

Angelo Esposito (Montreal, QC/Montreal, QMJHL), Ryan Ellis (Freelton, ON/Windsor, OHL), Tyler Ennis (Edmonton, AB/Medicine Hat, WHL), Chris DiDomenico (Woodbridge, ON/Saint John, QMJHL), Zach Boychuk (Airdrie, AB/Lethbridge, WHL) and Alex Pietrangelo (King City, ON/Niagara, OHL) also scored for the home side, which rebounded from a slow start to score seven times in the final 40 minutes and outshoot the Czechs 37-22.

Dustin Tokarski (Watson, SK/Spokane, WHL) didn't have much work between the pipes for the Canadians, making 21 saves, but was sharp in the opening period with the game still scoreless. Jan Kana broke Tokarski’s shutout bid with less than three minutes to go, surprising the Canadian netminder with a wrist shot from the slot.

After a number of close calls in the first period Tavares put the Canadians on the board in the dying seconds of the frame, sidestepping a Czech defender and snapping a perfect shot over the shoulder of Tomas Vosvrda.

It was Tavares at work again early in the second, as he converted on another Canadian power play to double the lead and then stripped a Czech player and fed Esposito for a 3-0 lead.

Ellis scored off a scramble in front of the Czech net just 65 seconds later, and Ennis’ goal five minutes after that made it 5-0 and chased Vosvrda, who was replaced by Dominik Furch.

DiDomenico, Boychuk and Pietrangelo had third-period goals for Canada, while Kana rounded out the scoring late.

Not surprisingly, Tavares earned Player of the Game honours for his three-point effort.

"I approach every game the same way," said Tavares afterwards. "I just want to create opportunities. I want to make sure the coaching staff has confidence in me."

Mission accomplished.

"He has been great," said Canadian head coach Pat Quinn. "Tonight he had that extra touch."

The Canadian squad honoured the memory of the late Luc Bourdon, wearing ‘LB’ stickers on the backs of their helmets during the game. In addition, it was announced that no one will wear Bourdon’s #6 jersey at this year’s World Juniors.

Bourdon, who won gold with Canada’s National Junior Team in 2006 and 2007, passed away as a result of a motorcycle accident in May.

Canada will return to the ice at SBP Arena on Sunday afternoon, taking on Kazakhstan. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m. EST/12 p.m. PST.


Game Information/Renseignements sur le match
Game #/No. de match 04 Round/Ronde Preliminary
Arena/Aréna SBP Centre Location/Lieu Ottawa, Ont.
Date Fri. Dec. 26, 2008 Time/Heure 7:30 PM EST

 

Box Score/Compte 1 2 3 Final
CAN 1 4 3 8
CZE 0 0 1 1

 

Goals & Penalties/Buts et pénalités
First Period/Première période

Goals/Buts :
19:56 CAN 19 John Tavares (14 Jordan Eberle) PP

Penalties/Pénaltés :
00:58 CAN 18 Cody Hodgson (Hooking)
05:41 CZE 5 Milan Doczy (Tripping)
13:06 CAN 5 PK Subban (Slashing)
19:38 CZE 5 Milan Doczy (Holding)

Second Period/Deuxieme Période

Goals/Buts :
02:09 CAN 19 John Tavares (14 Jordan Eberle) (18 Cody Hodgson) PP
07:08 CAN 7 Angelo Esposito (19 John Tavares)
08:13 CAN 8 Ryan Ellis (11 Zach Boychuk)
13:33 CAN 22 Tyler Ennis (12 Brett Sonne)

Penalties/Pénaltés :
01:25 CZE 7 David Stich (Holding)
16:46 CZE 6 Martin Paryzek (Holding)
19:50 CZE 11 Zdenek Okal (High Sticking)

Third Period/Troisième Période

Goals/Buts :
02:08 CAN 25 Chris DiDomenico (22 Tyler Ennis) (11 Zach Boychuk)
08:18 CAN 11 Zach Boychuk
11:51 CAN 10 Alex Pietrangelo (8 Ryan Ellis) (25 Chris DiDomenico)
18:00 CZE 9 Jan Kana

Penalties/Pénaltés :
05:30 CAN 17 Cody Goloubef (Interference)

 

Goaltenders/Gardien(ne)s de but
CAN 30 Dustin Tokarski On 1/00:00 Off 3/20:00
CZE 2 Tomas Vosvrda On 1/00:00 Off 2/03:33
1 Dominik Furch On 2/03:33 Off 3/20:00

 

Shots on Goal/Tirs au but 1 2 3 Total
CAN 10 16 11 37
CZE 4 9 9 22

 

Officials/Officiels
Referee/Arbitre Tom Laaksonen, Jari Levonen
Lines People/Juges de lignes Leo Takula, Jussi Terho
Videos
Photos
2008-09 NJT: Press Conference
Photos from the Canadian Junior team press conference.
2009 WJC: CAN 5 - SWE 1 Gold
Canada vs. Sweden at the 2009 IIHF World Jr's in Ottawa, ON (Gold).
2009 WJC: CAN 6 - RUS 5
Canada vs. Russia at the 2009 IIHF World Jr's in Ottawa, ON. (Semi-Final)
2009 WJC: CAN 7 - SVK 0
Canada vs. Slovakia in a 2009 World Jr. pre-competition game.
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