The preliminary round continued today at the World Hockey Championship. For the occasion, Canada faced Switzerland in a match that was played earlier today.
It was an important match for both clubs, as Canada (3-1) faced Switzerland (4-0), who sat at the top of Group B. And clearly, Samuel Montembeault understood this, he who is stood before the 16 shots of his opponents in the first period.
In a period dominated by the Swiss, Montembeault did what he had done all year in Montreal: keep his team in the game even if they were outrageously dominated.
That said, in the second period, another Canadian was talked about for very bad reasons. During a battle along the ramp, Joe Veleno and Nino Niederreiter found themselves close together.
And for some reason, Veleno was there with a gesture disgusting : he gave a horrible kick on the ankle of his opponent.
Pay attention to his right leg at the very beginning of the video:
On the sequence, Veleno was not penalized. In fact, it was Niederreiter who was cross-checked at the very end of the stretch, which came after Veleno kept chasing him for a few seconds.
Even worse: on the subsequent power play, Canada took the lead with a goal from Tyler Toffoli. And the Swiss supporters on site weren’t exactly happy customers.
Coming back to Veleno, that said, it is not because he was not penalized on the streak that he will necessarily get away with it without consequences. We know that the IIHF is much stricter than the NHL when it comes to player discipline, and clearly, Veleno risks a serious suspension.
Do not dismiss the idea that his tournament is over, for example.
In the end, however, the Swiss had the last word. They scored three unanswered goals afterwards, and despite a late goal from Michael Carcone, André Tourigny’s troops lost 3-2.
Montembeault finally repelled 23 of the 26 shots aimed in his direction (Nico Hischier, Dario Simion and Andres Ambuhl got the better of his vigilance).
Canada will have the day off tomorrow before returning to action against Norway on Monday. I seriously doubt Veleno will be in uniform, but it will be one to watch.
Extension
In addition to Montembeault, there is also Justin Barron among the CH players representing Canada. That said, he’s not playing a lot (he was only 10:08 on the ice today) and he didn’t get on the scoresheet in any way today.
In five games, he has one assist and a +1 differential. In a limited role, he doesn’t harm his club, and that’s fine.
