Team Canada Wins Tournament Opener!

Canada’s junior team shut out host, Czech Republic! 

In a thriller of a game, John Tavares scored twice and goaltender Jonathan Bernier finished with 44 saves, earning a shutout!  Talk about incredible when you consider that these juniors are playing on an international level!  Matt Halischuk scored Canada’s other goal, while Steve Stamkos had three assists at Pardubice.

"The important thing was to come out strong and have a good game, control my rebounds," Bernier said. "I came out with a shutout, so it’s a plus, but we wanted the three points and that’s what we did."

The win extended Canada’s unbeaten streak at the tournament to 19 games, eclipsing a mark set by Canadian teams between 1994 and 1997.

Craig Hartsburg’s squad is looking to bring a fourth consecutive title back to Canada.

"It’s my job to contribute offensively on the power play, and tonight it was nice to do it," Tavares said."So many guys did so many things: the penalty kill was amazing tonight and Bernier was on his head."

Michal Neuvirth had a strong game in net for the Czechs, making 27 saves.

"We played well in the first period, we played awesome, and then Canada started to play their hockey and they won the hockey game," said Neuvirth, a Washington Capitals draft pick.

Team Canada will play Slovakia in Group A action Thursday at 10 a.m. ET.

Here are the updates for the other games!

- James van Riemsdyk and Kyle Okposo each had a goal and an assist as the United States cruised to a 5-1 win over Kazakhstan.

- Colorado Avalanche prospect Johan Alcen scored with less than five minutes left to lift Sweden over Slovakia 4-3. Robin Figren, another Islander draft pick, had two goals for the winners.

- Seven different Russians scored in a 7-4 win over Finland. Defenceman Marat Kalamulin had a goal and three assists, while Viktor Tikhonov, grandson of the longtime Russian national coach, also scored.

What an exciting day for junior hockey!

via CBC Sports