Sweden 4, Canada West 2 – Rath Eastlink Community Centre
- Alexander Zetterberg scored twice for Sweden, who picked up its first win of the tournament.
- Logan Sawyer (Calgary, AB/Brooks, AJHL) scored the lone goal for Canada West.
- Erick Roest (Lethbridge, AB/Sherwood Park, AJHL) stopped 12 of the 15 shots he faced.
- Carl Axelsson made 27 saves for Sweden.
Canada East 7, Slovakia 2 – Rath Eastlink Community Centre
- Andy Reist (Waterloo, ON/Cobourg, OJHL) had a natural hat trick as Canada East earned the victory.
- Jonathan Morello (Toronto, ON/St. Michaels, OJHL), Vincent Gauthier (St-Zotique, QC/Valleyfield, LHJAAAQ), Carson Lloyd (Toronto, ON/Georgetown, OJHL) and Ben Pickell (Courtice, ON/Pickering, OJHL) also scored for Canada West.
- Adam Cedzo and Lukáŝ Klecka replied for Slovakia.
- Dawson Labre (Les Cèdres, QC/Smiths Falls, CCHL) made 27 saves.
Next games – December 11
- United States vs. Slovakia – 3:30 p.m. AT
- Canada East vs. Canada West – 7:30 p.m. AT
Quotes:
“You never want to be down 2-0 early, but it was our first game so there were maybe a few nerves. Big crowd today, some guys maybe were trying a bit too hard out there. We have to get more traffic around their goalie…they kept us to the outside for the majority of the game and their goalie was the difference.”
- Canada West head coach Scott Barney (Oshawa, ON/Humboldt, SJHL) on the loss.
“We threw everything at the net, but we couldn’t bury one. We have to be stronger going to the net and be better with the puck in their end. There is a lot we can learn from this game, but we know that if we make some adjustments the goals will start coming in bunches, we have a talented team.”
- Sawyer on frustration in the room.
“It took us a bit to get going, but once we got the first period under our belt we settled in. You could see guys start to feel more comfortable, and that major powerplay helped. Special teams were working and it was a boost to everyone’s confidence, and it turned the game around.”
- Canada East head coach Billy McGuigan (Summerside, PE/Summerside, MHL) on the tournament-opening victory.
“I’ve had a couple of hat-tricks growing up, but it’s pretty crazy to have it happen on this stage and in this tournament. I’m playing with some great players and our powerplay made it look easy. Hopefully, the boys can keep rolling and pucks can keep dropping for me.”
- Reist on the hat trick, all scored on the powerplay.
TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada will broadcast the bronze and gold medal games from the Rath Eastlink Community Centre in Truro; please check local listings for details.
All preliminary-round games are livestreamed at HockeyCanada.ca.
For more information on the 2023 World Junior A Hockey Challenge, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow through social media on Facebook and X.