Canada blasts Denmark, sets up New Years clash against USA
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Canada flexed its offensive muscles, and depth down two players, to bounce Denmark 10-2 Thursday at the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championships in Edmonton.
Canada improves to 3-0 in Pool B and now meets the USA in the traditional New Years Eve battle at Rexall Place Saturday.
Down two players — Devante Smith-Pelly is out of the tournament due to a broken foot and forward Michael Bournival sat out the game Thursday because of what Canadian head coach Don Hay says is the flu — Canada took it to the Danes.
Mark Stone continued his torrid scoring pace for Canada with two goals and an assist. The Winnipeg winger has a team-leading six goals in the tournament.
Defencemen Scott Harrington had a goal and three assists and Brandon Gormley had scored twice.
Quinton Howden, Ryan Strome, Freddie Hamilton, Brendan Gallagher and Brett Connolly each had a goal in front of 16,275. Strome has eight points in three games.
Canada scored seven times before Nicolai Meyer and Emil Kristensen replied for Denmark in the third period.
The Canadians gave Denmark’s Sebastian Feuk a workout in net, peppering him with 51 shots. Mark Visentin stopped 24-of-26 shots in Canada’s net for his second win of the tournament.
Canada tops Pool B at 3-0 ahead of the U.S., Finland and the Czech Republic at 1-1. Denmark dropped to 0-3.
The U.S. face the Czechs and the Finns take on the Danes on Friday.
Wednesday, all the 5-on-3 power plays and all the great netminding by Petr Mrazek couldn’t get the Czech Republic past Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships.
Barrie Colts forward Mark Scheifele scored twice and Scott Wedgewood of the Plymouth Whalers stopped all 26 shots to power Team Canada to a 5-0 victory at Rexall Place in Edmonton.
Canada now leads Pool B of the 10-team tournament undefeated in two games.
Mark Stone of the Brandon Wheat Kings, Ryan Strome of the Niagara IceDogs and Brett Connolly of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning also scored for Canada.
The Czech Republic had a great chance to score in the first period on a two-man advantage but it was Team Canada leaving the frame with a 1-0 lead on a goal by Stone, his fourth of the tournament.
The Brandon forward could have made it 2-0 but was stopped by Mrazek on a penalty shot after a Czech player smothered the puck in the goal crease.
Canada broke the game open with a pair in the second period before Scheifele, a first round pick of the Winnipeg Jets, scored twice in the third, once on a power play.
Canada faces Denmark (0-2) on Thursday.
The host country concludes the preliminary round Saturday against the United States, upset 4-1 by Finland earlier to put both countries at 1-1.
In Pool A games in Calgary, Sweden edged Switzerland 4-3 in a shootout, while Russia was to face Slovakia in a later game.
Sweden was 1-0-1, while the Swiss picked up their first point of the tournament.
sports@thenelsondaily.com
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