GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. GERMANY (DEC. 28)

Coming off an opening-game loss to Czechia, Canada’s National Junior Team looks to rebound against Germany on Wednesday as preliminary-round play continues at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.

LAST GAME

Shane Wright and Connor Bedard scored goals and Thomas Milic stopped all 10 shots he faced in relief of Benjamin Gaudreau, but Canada dropped a 5-2 decision to the Czechs on Boxing Day. Despite outshooting the European side 40-27 – Bedard had 11 shots himself – Canada couldn’t put enough pucks past Tomas Suchanek, and penalty trouble, particularly in the second period, doomed the Canadians.

Germany opened its tournament with a 1-0 loss to Sweden on Tuesday. Nikita Quapp starred in goal, making 43 saves to keep his team close, but the Germans couldn’t put one of their 28 shots past Carl Lindbom. Julian Lutz, a 2022 second-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes, led Germany with six shots in less than 16 minutes of ice time.

LAST MEETING

The last time Canada and Germany faced off was on Boxing Day 2020 in Edmonton, with the Canadians taking advantage of a COVID-ravaged German side (only nine forwards and five defencemen were available) in a 16-2 victory. Dylan Cozens led the way with a hat trick and three assists, Dawson Mercer had two goals and two helpers, and Cole Perfetti, Connor McMichael, Peyton Krebs, Alex Newhook and Philip Tomasino added three points apiece for the Canadians, who outshot the Germans 44-15.

The two teams were slated to play each other on Dec. 29 last year, but the tournament was cancelled that morning due to COVID-19 concerns.

WHAT TO WATCH

This is a little bit of uncharted territory for the Canadians, who lost their opener for just the second time since 1999. The offensive chances were there against the Czechs in the form of 40 shots on goal (Suchanek was terrific in the Czech goal), but the big key will be discipline. Canada gave the Czechs six power plays, including a five-minute major in the second period – on which they scored twice to put the game out of reach – and three minors in the final 12 minutes as the Canadians tried to battle back.

While it may be unlikely for him to see the net on back-to-back days, Quapp was the Germans’ best player against Sweden and he (or Simon Wolf, if he gets the call) will need a repeat performance against a very good Canadian offence. The Germans are always a tough matchup, and with 10 players back from their 2022 World Juniors team that pushed Finland in a quarterfinal loss in the summer, they want to make some noise on the East Coast.

A LOOK BACK

The Canadians have dominated the head-to-head history between the teams, winning all 15 games since the reunification of Germany, 11 of them by at least three goals. Including games against West Germany (1977-1989), Canada has earned 26 wins in 27 games; the lone blemish was a 7-6 loss in the consolation round in 1981, a defeat that helped indirectly lead to the creation of the Program of Excellence the following year.

All-time record: Canada leads 15-0-0
Canada goals: 91
Germany goals: 21