The two junior teams faced each other exactly one year ago to the day in this same quarter-final match at the World Junior Hockey Championship. The Czech Republic had the upper hand by a score of 3-2. There was dismay in the Canadian camp as the team finished the 2024 tournament in fifth position.
Junior Team Canada had some setbacks, notably against Germany in the last duel of the preliminary phase. The scenario seems to want to repeat itself this year as the difficulties have continued, or even worsened. The country’s record of two wins, one loss and one shootout loss placed the country in third place in Group A, one of the worst rankings in the team’s recent history.
The pressure will therefore be enormous on the Canadians who will have the difficult task of making people forget their start to the tournament and their early elimination from the last edition.
“We will study what the group of coaches will have prepared for us on them. This match has nothing to do with last year,” said captain Brayden Yager.
His goalkeeper, however, does not have the same opinion. Even if he wasn’t there last year, he remembers this setback which caused a lot of ink to flow. “There will be a lot of emotion with last year’s history. We will be ready for that,” said Carter George.
The 18-year-old goalkeeper has been nothing short of smoking since the start of the competition. He only conceded three times in as many duels, all three times when Canada was shorthanded. (Patrick Woodbury/Archives Le Droit)
In the good news department, the Canadian team defeated the Czechs 3-2 in a preparatory match. Young prodigy Gavin McKenna scored two goals in the victory.
“It’s a good team. We beat them in the preseason game, but they played very intense hockey. It won’t be easy and we know it. They have an excellent goaltender in Michael Hrabal so we will have to put traffic in front of him,” added George.
Changes to training
Head coach Dave Cameron will try to shake things up for tonight’s match. He announced Wednesday that Porter Martone will return to the lineup. The 18-year-old striker was left out of the last two matches of the preliminary phase. The identity of the player who will receive the penalty has not yet been revealed.
Porter Martone will look to bring his physical play and scoring skills to a team that badly needs it. (Patrick Woodbury/Archives Le Droit)
Trio changes are also expected. The Canadian attack is unable to find the back of the net regularly. She produced only 10 goals on 173 shots, the worst success percentage in the competition. On the other hand, the Czechs represent the best offensive of the tournament with 25 goals on only 127 shots.
“There is no easy match, especially when you get to those without a future. All the teams are good. These are all ultimate games so you better bring your best hockey,” concluded Dave Cameron.
This quarter-final match will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa.
