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2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge pre-tournament recap

Canada Black, Finland, Russia and U.S. earn exhibition wins

November 1, 2014
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Just two days before the chase for gold begins in Sarnia-Lambton, Ont., the eight teams competing at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge saw their first game action Friday night in southwestern Ontario, with four pre-tournament games on the schedule.

Canada Black 4, Sweden 3 (OT)
Reagan O’Grady (Brampton, Ont./Kingston, OHL) scored with just 49 seconds left in overtime, giving Canada Black the victory in Petrolia, Ont.

The Canadians led 3-1 very late in the second period before the Swedes battled back with a pair of goals to force extra time, but O’Grady’s unassisted effort made sure it was the Canadians leaving the Greenwood Recreation Centre with a victory.

Lucas Thierus (Saint-Eustache, Que./St-Eustache, LHMAAAQ) scored twice in regulation time for Canada Black, while Tyler Benson (Edmonton, Alta./Vancouver, WHL) added one and Sam Steel (Sherwood Park, Alta./Regina, WHL) chipped in with three assists.

Oliver Olsson had a pair of goals for the Swedes, opening the scoring just 1:13 in before getting the Swedish comeback started with just six seconds left in the second period, cutting the Canadian lead to 3-2 after two.

Both teams split the goaltending duties; Stuart Skinner (Edmonton, Alta./Lethbridge, WHL) stopped eight of nine for Canada Black before giving way to Reilly Pickard (Halifax, N.S./Baie-Comeau, QMJHL), who made 12 saves on 14 chances, while Filip Gustavsson (12 of 15) and Gusten Lindh (17 of 18) shared the Swedish goal.

Finland 6, Slovakia 3
Otto Mäkinen was the offensive star with two goals and two assists, helping the Finns to a pre-tournament win over the Slovaks in Watford, Ont., in the lone all-European exhibition game.

Emil Oksanen, Urho Vaakanainen, Aapeli Räsänen and Janne Kuokkanen had the other goals for Finland, which took the lead just 10 seconds after the puck dropped and held a 3-0 advantage before the 12-minute mark of the opening period.

Vaakanainen and Kuokkanen added two assists each for three-point nights, while Otto Somppi had two helpers to help the Finnish offence.

Milos Roman, the youngest player at the tournament (he doesn’t turn 15 until Thursday), Matej Galbavy and Kroni Musliu scored goals for Slovakia, which got to within one early in the third period before the Finns pulled away with two goals in the final 11 minutes.

Kimmo Rautianinen and Leevi Laakso shared the Finnish net, while Jan Koziak went the distance for Slovakia.

Russia 5, Canada Red 2
Vyacheslav Shevchenko, Vladimir Kuznetsov and Artyom Minulin scored second-period goals to break open a 1-0 game, and Russia beat Canada Red in Lambton Shores, Ont.

Alexander Yakovenko had a goal and two assists to lead the Russians, while Vitali Abramov also scored. Alexander Podkorytov joined Yakovenko with multiple-point performances, picking up two helpers.

William Bitten (Gloucester, Ont./Plymouth, OHL) and Logan Brown (Carleton Place, Ont./Windsor, OHL) had the goals for Canada Red, which gave the Russians seven chances with the man advantage and was outshot by a wide margin, 43-28.

Dylan Wells (St. Catharines, Ont./Peterborough, OHL) got the call in the Canada Red goal, giving up three goals on 17 shots before relinquishing the net to Evan Fitzpatrick (Lower Sackville, N.S./Sherbrooke, QMJHL), who was busy in his 28 minutes of work, stopping 24 of the 26 shots he faced.

Maxim Kalyayev and Vladislav Sukhachyov gave up one goal each for Russia; Kalyayev finished with 10 saves, while Sukhachyov was 16-for-17 in just over 30 minutes of action.

United States 6, Canada White 0
Clayton Keller had a goal and two assists to lead all scorers and the United States got points from 14 of its 20 skaters in a convincing win over the Canadians in Sarnia, Ont.

The Americans scored at even strength, on the power play and shorthanded in the second period to turn a tight 1-0 game after one period into a 4-0 runaway through 40 minutes as the defending gold medallists flexed their offensive muscle at the RBC Centre.

James Sanchez, Patrick Khodorenko, Adam Fox, William Lockwood and Max Jones joined Keller on the scoresheet with goals for the U.S., which won despite seven Canada White power plays.

Jake Oettinger got the start in the American goal, making 16 saves in just over 30 minutes of work, while Joseph Woll stopped all seven shots he faced the rest of the way to wrap up the combined shutout.

Samuel Harvey (Alma, Que./Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL) and Ryan Kubic (Winnipeg, Man./Vancouver, WHL) gave up three goals each for Canada White, which was outshot 43-23 by the U.S.

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

[email protected] 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

[email protected]

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

[email protected]

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