Tournament Opening Wins For Three
Canada, Sweden & Russia all earn world junior victories in Ufa, Russia to kick off gold bids.
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The first day at the World Juniors came to an end in Ufa, Russia and all three prospects saw their teams win their tournament openers. All in all, Canada, Russia and Sweden combined to defeat their opponents by a 16-6 margin.
Both Canada and Sweden had an easy goes at it as the Canadians opened up their tournament with a 9-3 victory over Germany while the Swedes earned a 4-1 win against the Czech Republic. Russia on the other hand, had to work extra for a 3-2 victory over Slovakia. The game-winner came with just 10 seconds remaining in overtime, giving them two points as opposed to the three points earned for Canada and Sweden.
Jonathan Huberdeau had the best day of the three Panthers prospects playing after recording what turned out to be the game-winner and adding two assists, Canada's second and seventh goals, on three shots. For Sweden, Rasmus Bengtsson finished with two shots on net from his blueline position. In Russia's game, Yaroslav Kosov skated on the fourth line and failed to register a shot on net.
From IIHF.com
CANADA 9 - GERMANY 3
Canada managed to win its first game of the 2013 U20 by defeating Germany 9-3 this afternoon at Ufa Arena. Captain Ryan Nugent-Hopkins led the attack with a goal and four assists.
Eight players scored for Canada while Nugent-Hopkins's linemates Mark Scheifele (two goals) and Jonathan Huberdeau (one goal, two assists) brought the top troika's production to ten points on the night.
"We had to work as hard as they did, and I think we did that," Nugent-Hopkins began. "And we have to work on our habits. It takes a couple of games to get the chemistry, but I thought tonight we were working well together. We seemed to know where we were.
SWEDEN 4 - CZECH REPUBLIC 1
Looking energetic and determined, Sweden kicked off its World Junior title defence with a hard-working 4-1 win over the Czech Republic at Ufa’s Sports Palace.
Sebastian Collberg, Elias Lindholm, Filip Sandberg, and Filip Forsberg scored for Sweden.
"I liked the way we competed," said Swedish coach Roger Ronnberg. "I liked our PK, the way we were blocking shots, and the way we played without the puck, how we came back on the backcheck. It was good. Offensively, we can for sure still play better."
RUSSIA 3 - SLOVAKIA 2 (OT)
Albert Yarullin's power-play goal with 10.0 seconds left in overtime gave Russia an entertaining 3-2 win over Slovakia in what was the opening game of the 2013 U20 for both teams.
Albert Yarullin's power-play goal with 10.0 seconds left in overtime gave Russia an entertaining 3-2 win over Slovakia in what was the opening game of the 2013 U20 for both teams.
The goal came on a hard slapshot and dampened Slovakia's impressive comeback from 2-0 down, tying the game in the final minute. The result also spoiled a sensational effort from goalie Adam Nagy, who held the fort while the Slovaks slowly gained confidence.
