(Edmonton) Mason McTavish scored twice as Canada maintained its perfect record at the World Junior Hockey Championship with a 5-1 victory over the Czech Republic on Saturday.
Posted at 9:49 p.m.
Kent Johnson turned heads in the first period with a Michigan-style goal, carrying the puck through the air on the blade of his stick. He also picked up an assist in the third period.
McTavish, Canada’s captain, leads the tournament with 10 points (six goals and four assists).
Ridly Greig and Tyson Foerster also shone the red light for Canada (3-0-0), while Jack Thompson, Ronan Seeley and Logan Stankoven all had two assists.
Czechia (1-1-1) was the first team to register. Martin Rysavy rattled the shorthanded ropes.
Czech goalkeeper Tomas Suchanek was busy and stopped 52 of 57 shots his way. His vis-à-vis, Dylan Garand, made 22 saves and obtained his second victory of the tournament.
The Maple Leaf will play its last match of the preliminary phase against Finland (2-0-0) on Monday.
Earlier on Saturday, defending champions USA (3-0-0) clinched an unequivocal 7-0 victory over Austria (0-3-0).
The final game on Saturday will feature Germany (1-1-0) and Switzerland (0-2-0).
The preliminary phase will continue until Monday. The quarter-finals will be played on Wednesday.