Team Canada needed some time to shake off the rust as it embarked on a late-summer gold campaign.
Entering their first game of the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton, many on the team hadn’t laced up their skates for a competitive battle in several months.
The weather showed at times, but Canada held on for a 5-2 win over Latvia to open the tournament on Wednesday.
“I know a coach is never happy with a game, but considering the time of year and where we are in this tournament, I think it was good,” head coach Dave Cameron said.
The 2022 tournament takes place in August after the original iteration was canceled on December 29 after just four days as rising cases of COVID-19 among players and officials forced the games to be called off.
WATCH l Greig’s one-handed goal highlights Canada’s win over Latvia:
Ridley Greig’s sensational one-handed goal highlights Canada’s win over Latvia
Ridley Greig’s stunning strike helped Canada beat Latvia 5-2 in the opening game of the 2022 World Juniors in Edmonton, Alta. on Wednesday.
Teenage phenom Connor Bedard hasn’t played a “real game” in three months and said the return to competition feels good.
The 17-year-old quickly showed his offensive prowess, opening the scoring in the first period and adding an assist on a powerplay goal in the second period.
“It always feels good to score, especially the first one in the tournament,” said Bedard, an early favorite to go first overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
“I think it’s always exciting no matter who gets it. So it definitely felt good. And it was great to go to the corner and see some fans.”
Connor Bedard scores goals. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/O8rQ3oK3Ke
—@HockeyCanada
Ridley Greig and William Dufour each had a goal and an assist for Canada (1-0-0), while Lucas Cormier and Olen Zellweger also scored. Captain Mason McTavish recorded two assists.
Reiners Darzins and Bogdans Hodas scored for the Latvians, who were coming off a 6-1 thrashing by Finland on Tuesday.
Canada’s Sebastian Kosa made 22 saves and Patriks Berzins stopped 39 of 44 shots for Latvia (0-2-0).
The Canadians erupted with a three-goal performance in the second, but found themselves in trouble in the final frame due to a series of ill-disciplined penalties.
Latvia got nine seconds into a five-on-three play midway through the third when Greig was called for hooking after Kent Johnson had already been sent to the penalty box for delay of game.
The Canadians withstood a two-man loss and Kosa maintained the advantage with a collection of timely stops.
Earlier in the period, Latvia cut the deficit to 4-2 on a power play after Greig was called for tripping.
Just four seconds into the man lead, Hodas — a Medicine Hat Tigers defenseman — ripped a shot from the top of the faceoff circle, carrying the puck over Kossa’s pad.
Dufour gave the Canadians some breathing space with 5:16 left in the third period. The New York Islanders prospect took a slick pass from Greig and sent a quick shot past Berzins to give his team a 5-2 lead.
Greig mastered a big middle frame, collecting a pass from Dufour along the boards for a quick puck on the odd man out and driving down the ice, using one hand to hold off Latvia’s Peteris Pourmalis. With his free hand, the Ottawa Senators prospect poked the puck past Berzins at 17:16 to give Canada a 4-1 lead.
“It was quite a lucky bounce,” Greig said. “And the tracker was right in front of me, so I just tried to put it into the net with one (hand).”
A powerplay goal gave the Canadians a three-goal lead after Latvia captain Ralfs Bergmanis was called for a shot.
Bedard opened the game with a no-look pass to Zellweger at the blue line. The defenseman curled up and fired a rocket through traffic, finding the back of the net 16:17 into the second.
Bedard ➡️ Zellweger ➡️ GOAL
Olen Zellweger’s point shot sails through traffic to give Canada a 3-1 lead!
—@eliteprospects
Minutes earlier, Cormier scored the go-ahead goal after Dans Lokmelis was called for a foul.
Joshua Roy steadied a rebound and threw it to Cormier, who sent it past Berzins from the top of the faceoff circle.
Canada’s power play looked stymied in its first attempt of the tournament earlier in the period.
The man advantage saw Cosa almost send a puck into his own net as he tried to clear and Johnson was inches away from scoring an own goal. The home team turned the puck over several times and Latvia registered a pair of kicks.
“It was just to give the fans their money’s worth,” Cameron said.
“It was around the time we were in their zone for a five-on-five period of time and we thought it would carry over to the power play and we got too comfortable and thought it would be easy.
“We got stuck in our execution and hats off to Latvia, they didn’t give up.”
The Canadians went 2-for-4 on the power play Wednesday and Latvia was 1-for-5.
Canada kept Berzins busy in the first period, outscoring Latvia 18-4.
The hosts dominated play, but Latvia equalized less than two minutes into the frame. Darzins fired a shot up and over the side of Kossa’s stick to make it 1-1.
Bedard opened the scoring 7:31 into the game, blasting past two Latvian defenders and over the glove of Berzins from the top of the slot.
With a different lineup from December’s tournament and a short training camp, Canada is still trying to build chemistry as the world juniors begin, Kosa said.
“We’ve been practicing, but nothing real game speed,” he said. “So it was good to get into the game now and just fix things coming in here and practice and get ready for the rest of the games.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Winnipeg Jets prospect Daniel Torgerson scored twice as Sweden (1-0-0) earned a 3-2 win over Switzerland (0-1-0) in a Group B match.
The last match of the day is a clash between Germany (0-1-0) and Austria (0-0-0).
The Canadians will continue round robin play on Thursday when they face Slovakia (0-0-1).
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