2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge

FOUR-GOAL FIRST PERIOD HELPS CANADA RED TO TOURNAMENT-OPENING WIN

DAVID BRIEN

LAMBTON SHORES, Ont. – Dylan Wells (St. Catharines, Ont./Peterborough, OHL) needed to make just 14 saves for the shutout, and Canada Red scored four times in the first nine minutes to earn a 6-0 win over Slovakia on Sunday at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Canada Red chased Slovak starting goaltender David Hrenak after just 8:02 as it earned the first-ever win by a Canadian national under-17 team at the tournament.

Logan Stanley (Waterloo, Ont./Windsor, OHL) scored twice, while Dante Fabbro (Coquitlam, B.C./Penticton, BCHL), Logan Brown (Carleton Place, Ont./Windsor, OHL), Miguel Picard (St-Gabriel, Que./Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL) and Mathieu Sévigny (Quebec City, Que./Drummondville, QMJHL) added one each for the Canadians.

Nolan Patrick (Winnipeg, Man./Brandon, WHL) led the point parade with three, all assists, and Jake Kryski (Kelowna, B.C./Kamloops, WHL) added two helpers of his own.

Fabbro was the first to put his name on the scoresheet at 3:57, taking a feed from Patrick and ripping a one-timer past Hrenak on a Canadian power play.

Brown made it 2-0 just 17 seconds later, cutting out from behind the net and roofing a shot over Hrenak and just under the crossbar, and Stanley’s shot from the point at 8:02 pushed the lead to 3-0 and spelled the end of the night for the Slovak starter.

His replacement, Jan Koziak, didn’t fare much better to start; just 55 seconds after the goaltending change, Picard jammed in a loose puck in front of the Slovak goal for a 4-0 lead after just 8:57.

Koziak stepped up in the second period, keeping the middle frame scoreless despite the Canadians holding a massive 14-4 advantage in shots on goal in the period, and 26-8 after 40 minutes.

Sévigny finally got the elusive fifth goal for Canada Red at 6:23 of the third period, burying a rebound after a Victor Mete (Woodbridge, Ont./London, OHL) point shot rang off the post, and Stanley went five-hole on Koziak with 4:58 to go to cap the offensive onslaught.

Wells was rarely challenged, needing to make no more than six saves in a period to record the shutout.

Canada Red will try for a second straight win Monday night when it takes on Sweden (7 p.m. ET), while Slovakia is on the ice for the day’s early game at The Shores Recreation Centre, taking on the United States (3 p.m. ET).