2022  m w c  preview  c a n  g e r

Men’s Worlds Preview: Canada vs. Germany

Friday, May 13 | 1:20 p.m. ET | Helsinki, Finland | Preliminary Round

May 12, 2022
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TV: TSN | Stream: TSN Direct

Canada’s National Men’s Team opens defence of its gold medal Friday at the 2022 IIHF World Championship, taking on Germany in the 49th chapter of an international rivalry that dates back to the 1930s.

LAST GAME

Canada finished a Cinderella run to gold at the 2021 IIHF World Championship with a 3-2 overtime win over Finland in Riga, getting the game-tying goal from Adam Henrique with 7:23 left and the extra-time winner from Nick Paul. The Canadians became the first team to ever win gold at worlds after starting the tournament with three losses in a row.

The last game for a Canadian men’s entry at the senior level came at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, a 2-0 loss to Sweden in the quarterfinals. Matt Tomkins – one of three Olympians on the worlds roster – stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced in defeat.

The Germans finished their 2021 worlds run with a 6-1 loss to the U.S. in the bronze medal game. Dominik Bittner had the lone goal for Germany, which played for a medal for the first time since 2010 on home ice. In Beijing, Germany failed to advance past the qualification round, getting blanked 4-0 by Slovakia.

LAST MEETING

The teams met in the preliminary round a year ago in Riga, with the Germans earning a 3-1 win to drop the Canadians to 0-3. Adin Hill made 22 saves and Paul scored the lone goal for Canada, which wouldn’t lose another game in regulation time en route to its 27th gold medal.

Canada beat Germany 5-1 in the Olympic opener, getting first-period goals from Alex Grant, Ben Street and Daniel Winnik to take a commanding early lead. Maxim Noreau and Jordan Weal had the other goals for the Canadians, while Eddie Pasquale made 23 stops.

WHAT TO WATCH

Max Comtois may be the only returnee from last year’s gold medal-winning team, but Canada is hardly short of players with international experience. Tomkins, Eric O’Dell and Kent Johnson were part of Canada’s Olympic contingent, Matthew Barzal, Thomas Chabot, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Damon Severson have also played for Canada at the worlds, and there are seven players who have donned the Maple Leaf at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

With 10 players back from Beijing, Germany will have the advantage of some pre-existing chemistry from its Olympic run, plus the return of head coach Toni Soderholm means it will likely be an easier transition into worlds. But the Germans took the second-most penalties at the Games, which could be an opportunity for Canada to get its offence rolling early.

A LOOK BACK

Canada has owned the head-to-head history, winning 20 of 23 meetings. When you factor in games against East and West Germany from 1954 to 1990, that dominance extends to 44 wins in 47 games.

The Canadians have won nine of the last 10 meetings, including 10-goal outings in 2008 (when Eric Staal scored four goals) and 2015 (when Taylor Hall had a hat trick) and quarterfinal victories in 2003 (when Eric Brewer was the overtime hero) and 2017 (when Mark Scheifele had a goal and an assist).

All-time record: Canada leads 21-2-1 (2-0 in OT)
Canada goals: 110
Germany goals: 32

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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