Richards Scores In 7-2 Win Over Switzerland
Courtesy of www.tsn.ca
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Ryan Getzlaf and Anthony Stewart scored twice and 16-year-old Sidney Crosby netted a historic marker late in the game as Canada forged a 7-2 win over Switzerland on Sunday at the 2004 World Junior Hockey Championship.
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The victory put Canada (2-0-0) in first place in Group B, pending the results of later games.
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Crosby’s goal put him in the books as the youngest player to score for Canada at this tournament, and gave goal-starved Canadian hockey fans a glimspe of the future. Crosby’s goal was a sparkler as he danced around the Swiss defence and lifted a high shot over goaltender Daniel Manzato.
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The Swiss actually got on the board first. Leading an odd-man rush, Lukas Grauwiler beat Marc-Andre Fleury with a low hard shot to give Switzerland a 1-0 lead just 4:43 into the contest. Fleury did not look sharp in the game, but was rarely tested.
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The Swiss lead didn’t last long. Mike Richards tied it on a penalty shot at 8:13, beating Manzato with a high shot. He was awarded the penalty shot after Manzato threw his stick to prevent Richards from scoring on a wide open net during a Canadian powerplay.
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Less than three minutes later, Braydon Coburn took a centering feed from Brent Burns and hammered a shot past Manzato to put Canada ahead for the first time.
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Getzlaf then made his presence felt, scoring twice to give Canada a 4-1 advantage through 40 minutes. His first strike came on the powerplay late in the first period. He followed up by converting a rebound early in the second period. Both goals came with Getzlaf sitting alone at the side of the Swiss net.
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Anthony Stewart scored his second goal in as many games to widen the Canadian lead early in the third period. The Swiss got that one back, however, when Gianni Ehrensperger scored his third goal of the tournament.
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Stewart restored Canada’s four-goal margin with seven minutes to play when he was credited for a goal that appeared to be scored by Nigel Dawes. The decision gave Stewart a team-leading three goals in the tournament.
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Canada’s next game is Monday against winless Ukraine, a team that has allowed 19 goals against in two straight losses (TSN, 11:00 AM ET).
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