CANADA EAST SPREADS AROUND OFFENCE IN WJAC EXHIBITION WIN

Fourteen players recorded at least one point as Canada East got its pre-tournament schedule started on the right foot, routing Portage College 7-1 on Wednesday night in Lac La Biche, AB.

Brandon Pirri (Toronto, ON/Streetsville, OJHL) scored twice, while Jacob Laliberte (Rockland, ON/Hawkesbury, CJHL) and Greg Miller (Toronto, ON/St. Michael’s, OJHL) had a goal and an assist apiece in the win. Marty O’Grady (London, ON/Wellington, OJHL), Jeremy Franklin (Bath, ON/Wellington, OJHL) and Jordan Escott (St. John’s, NL/Amherst, MJAHL) also scored for Canada East, who outshot Portage 45-15. Lindsay Sparks (Oakville, ON/Oakville, OJHL) pitched in with a pair of assists.

Pirri’s two goals gave Canada East the lead after one period, and the powerplay did the damage in the middle frame, scoring three times to send the Easterners to the dressing room with a four-goal lead after 40 minutes.

Andrew Hare (Burlington, ON/Burlington, OJHL) and Shawn Sirman (Blezard Valley, ON/Kingston, OJHL) both saw action between the pipes for Canada East – Hare stopped all 10 shots he faced in his 30 minutes of work, while Sirman turned aside four of the five shots directed his way.

Javis Ducharme scored the lone goal for the Voyageurs, while Evan Kurlyo (23 saves) and Paul Kolida (15) shared the duties in goal.

Canada East – a two-time silver medalist at the World Junior A Challenge – has one more pre-tournament game on the schedule, traveling to Viking, AB on Friday night for a rematch of the past two gold medal games against Canada West.