Austria had never won a game in four World Junior Championship appearances, but drew once against Ukraine in 2004.
They had just been crushed 11-0 and 9-0 against Sweden and the Czech Republic in their first two games of the tournament.
With the score 0-0 with six minutes left in the first period, and only one shot on goal by Canada, Thursday night, you could guess the murmurs in the stands and in the living rooms of hockey fans across the country.
But it took one punishment, just one, to shatter Austrian hopes. A few minutes later, and two assists from Connor Bedard, it was already 3-0 Canada.
The Canadians eventually won 11-0 against a young and fragile team, whose net was defended by a 17-year-old goalkeeper.
PHOTO DARREN CALABRESE, THE CANADIAN PRESS
The young goalkeeper Benedikt Oschgan, 17, of the Austrian team, had a lot to do against Canada.
Austria owed their participation to the suspension of Russia and Belarus, and without their best player Marco Kasper, eighth overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2022, they do not measure up. We understand Kasper to have preferred to stay with his team in the Swedish Elite League (SHL) rather than being massacred in the Maritimes.
Connor Bedard adds six points to his record
This match will have served no purpose, if not to humiliate a weak country and to fatten the record of Canada’s players, among others Connor Bedard, who collected six more points in this match.
Bedard has already tied Jordan Eberle’s career goalscoring record at the World Junior Championship and still has at least two games left to play.
He would also be eligible for the next two tournaments, but barring an NHL lockout, he won’t be there…
Four of Bedard’s goals were scored in the canceled tournament after two games in December 2021. They are counted in official Championship statistics.
PHOTO DARREN CALABRESE, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Connor Bedard during the game against Austria on Thursday
The eventual first overall pick in 2023 has 14 points in his first three games and with 27 career points at this tournament, he’s approaching 4 shy of Eric Lindros’ record. The former captain of the Flyers reached this peak in 21 games, Bedard played… 12.
The Canadian’s third-round pick in 2022, Vinzenz Rohrer, was, at 18, one of the most used forwards on his team. He has dog for a small center. But it will be necessary to find another context to analyze his talent more accurately. Hats off to the pugnacity nonetheless.
The Canadian formation has just massacred Germany and Austria by a combined score of 22-2. We’ll see what she really has in her stomach against Sweden on Saturday. The Swedes beat the Czech Republic in extra time on Thursday. The Czechs defeated Canada in the first game.
A certain parity
Apart from Austria, the scapegoat of its adversaries, there is a certain parity this year. The surprise victories of Switzerland against Finland and Slovakia against the Americans keep things interesting in Group B. The United States can still finish in third place with a loss against Finland and a victory for Switzerland against Slovakia and, who knows, could give headaches in the quarterfinals to the team that will finish second in Group A. It could well be Canada, if they beat Sweden. But let’s wait, there are still big games to play for each of the teams!