NEWS PHOTOS RYAN MCCRACKEN Canada Black captain Shane Wright scores on Canada White goaltender Tyler Brennan during World Under-17 Hockey Challenge round robin game at the Canalta Centre on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Cole Sillinger was sensational, but Shane Wright stole the show.
The 15-year-old Canada Black captain bested Sillinger’s two-goal performance by netting a hat trick to lead his team to a 6-5 overtime victory over Canada White to open the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge on Saturday night at the Canalta Centre.
“I know a couple of guys on Team Canada White so it’ll be nice to have a little bragging rights,” said Wright, a centre for the Kingston Frontenacs. “We knew we were down, we knew we had stuff we needed to fix, but we felt like if we just stuck together and stuck to the way we play hockey – stay positive, don’t get down on each other – we knew we would have a chance to come back and we did.”
Sillinger – a 16-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers forward – says his Canada White squad knew they’d be in for a battle to kick off the tournament against their national counterparts, and that’s exactly what they got.
“We knew coming into the game with two Canadian teams, we both play a similar style with really skilled players, big heavy D and solid goaltending,” said Sillinger. “We knew going into the third period it was going to be battle and it’s not over until it’s over, and I think we learned that tonight.”
Canada White pushed the pace into the opening frame and Brett Harrison broke the early stalemate by finishing off a cross-ice feed from 15-year-old Matthew Savoie just shy of the seven-minute mark.
“It was super exciting just to get the maple leaf on. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid,” said Savoie, who is projected to be one of the NHL’s top draft picks in 2022, along with Wright. “I’ve known Shane for a little bit. We’ve played on some teams together in little tournaments. He’s a great guy. I think we both respect each other a lot and I think it was great to get out against him.”
Canada Black got a chance to respond when Carson Lambos was nabbed for tripping a few minutes later, and Wright made good on the opportunity with a well-placed shot from the slot.
Riding the energy provided by his home building’s fans, Sillinger took it upon himself to restore Canada White’s lead by crashing the net and shoveling a rebound past Black goaltender Benjamin Gaudreau to ignite the crowd of 1,653.
“I kind of zoned out a little bit and didn’t really hear the crowd, but I know my teammates were giving me a pat on the back,” said Sillinger. “It’s exciting to play in my own building and I kind of think it’s an advantage to me – I’m pumped about the rink and maybe have a few extra fans behind my back.”
Canada White got their first chance on the power play seven minutes into the middle frame following an interference call to Black defenceman Brandt Clarke. Mason McTavish converted just seven seconds into the advantage – jamming in a rebound to give Savoie his second assist of the evening.
The pair went right back to it and Savoie fed McTavish for a goal off the rush three minutes later to end Gaudreau’s night in favour of William Blackburn after four goals on 12 shots.
“He’s an exceptional player,” McTavish said of Savoie. “I think he’s a really good forward and he definitely deserves everything he’s gotten.”
Penalties continued to be a factor later in the frame when White defenceman Charles-Alexis Legault was caught cross-checking, and Canada Black centre Zach Dean scored on the advantage to shift momentum in the other direction.
Canada Black kept coming and Brennan Othmann scored to narrow the deficit to a single goal, but Sillinger sprung back into action and beat Blackburn off the rush with a one-timer from Riley Kidney to restore White’s two-goal lead after 40 minutes.
“We had some good positive shifts there, but in the first period and second period we had a bit of a slow start,” said Othmann, adding it was good to put the first-game jitters behind him. “You get butterflies in the room. I’m really glad to get that first period out of the way.”
The back-and-forth trend continued into the third and Wright struck for his second of the evening to keep the pressure on.
Refusing to go quietly, Wright later broke down the ice and beat Brennan on an unassisted breakaway to finish his hat trick and force overtime.
“Unfortunately we got into penalty trouble and a bit of puck management issues in the third and that cost us,” said Canada White head coach Sylvain Favreau. “It’s just trying to manage the game a little bit better and learning from our mistakes. I thought tonight, that for the most part, we gave them that game.”
Dean completed the comeback 52 seconds into sudden death, beating Brennan on the doorstep with his second goal of the night to take the win.
Blackburn stopped 15 in relief of Gaudreau to secure the victory. Brennan settled for the loss on 24 saves.
Canada Black earned two of a possible three points in the standings with the overtime victory, while Canada White left the ice with one.
Both of Group A’s Canadian teams are back in action at the Canalta Centre today. Canada Black hits the ice to take on the Czech Republic at 1 p.m., followed by a border battle between Canada White and Team U.S.A. at 7 p.m.
Canada Red 4, Russia 3
Over in Swift Current, Canada Red opened their tournament Saturday with a 4-3 victory over the reigning champion Russians.
After a scoreless first period, Red forward Logan Stankoven kicked off his tournament with the first two goals of the game before Connor Roulette tacked on less than a minute later to leave the Russians in a three-goal deficit.
Matvei Nadvorniy and Aleksei Prokopenko responded with back-to-back goals for the Russians, but Canada Red’s Dovar Tinling re-established a two-goal cushion in the third.
Russia’s Daniil Lazutin scored to keep things close, but Red goaltender Thomas Milic locked down the victory with a 28-save performance.
Russia’s Pavel Kanaev stopped 20-of-23 shots through the first 25 minutes of the game before Valerii Brinkman entered and allowed one goal on 20 shots down the stretch.
U.S.A. 10, Czech Republic 1
Team U.S.A. sprung to the top of the Group A standings with a 10-1 landslide win over the Czech Republic on Sunday at the Canalta Centre.
The Czechs jumped out to an early lead when Petr Moravec scored just 35 seconds into the game, but Chaz Lucius tied things up after 20 minutes then the U.S. exploded for seven in the second.
Tyler Boucher, Dylan Duke, Ty Gallagher and Liam Gilmartin scored in succession to chase Czech goaltender Daniel Kral from the crease in favour of Tomas Suchanek. But it took less than a minute for Jack Hughes to extend the lead even further.
Gallagher added his second two minutes later, then Sean Behrens tacked on in the dying minutes of the frame.
Lucius added another early in the third, then Ryan St. Louis rounded out the scoring with a late shorthanded goal.
Gibson Homer stopped 17 shots for Team U.S.A. to secure the win.
Suchanek stopped 15 in relief of Kral.
Sweden 6, Finland 4
Sweden kept the pace with Canada Red in the standings following a 6-4 victory over Finland Sunday at the Innovation Credit Union iPlex.
Fabian Lysell led the Swedish squad with a hat trick – including the game-winner – while Marcus Limpar Lantz, Simon Robertsson and Victor Stjernborg tacked on with individual tallies.
Finland’s Verner Miettinen opened the scoring to leave the Swedes in a deficit entering the second period.
Lantz and Lysell stole away the lead early in the second. The Finns regained a narrow edge on goals from Samu Salminen and Samu Tuomaala, only to have their hopes dashed by back-to-back goals from Lysell.
Finland’s Brad Lambert scored late in the third to keep things interesting, but Stjernborg pushed the game back out of reach just 12 seconds later.
Carl Lindbom stopped 33 shots to earn the win for Sweden. Finland’s Juuso Helomaa settled for the loss on 24 saves.
Group B action continues in Swift Current this afternoon with Russia facing Finland at 1 p.m. and Canada Red hosting Sweden at 7 p.m.
