Ivankovic stands tall, Canada falls in shootout to Latvia
It came down to a thrilling eight-round shootout, and ended in bitter disappointment for Canada in a 3-2 outcome against underdog Latvia at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata on Friday.
After defeating Finland 4-0 in Thursday’s opener, Friday’s result will lead to a sobering off-day for the Canadians on Saturday as they look for answers following a loss that came despite outshooting their opponent 57-27.
Philadelphia Flyers prospect Jett Luchanko (Guelph Storm) broke the offensive silence on a shorthanded breakaway 3:28 into the second period. Eriks Mateiko (Saint John Sea Dogs) would level the score beyond the midway point of the third before Colorado Avalanche first round pick Calum Ritchie (Oshawa Generals) took an Easton Cowan (London Knights) feed on the power play and rifled it into the top corner to reinstate the lead.
Latvia scored the tying goal with with 2:29 to spare as defenceman Peteris Bulans (Chicoutimi Sagueneens) scored from the slot to force overtime and eventually a shootout.
Jack Ivankovic (Brampton Steelheads) stopped seven consecutive attempts before Mateiko scored the deciding goal high on he blocker side, securing one of the biggest upsets in World Junior history.
Latvian netminder Linards Feldbergs (Sherbrooke Phoenix) was outstanding, making 55 saves before turning aside seven straight Canadian shooters in the shootout to seal the win.
For his part, Ivankovic, who became the first 17-year-old to start a game for Canada at the World Juniors since Jimmy Waite in 1987, made 24 saves including seven-of-eight in the shootout loss.
Canada regroups on Saturday before facing Germany at 7:30pm ET on Sunday. Latvia returns to action on Saturday against the United States.
Friday’s Other WJC Scores:
Slovakia 2, Switzerland 1
Finland 3, Germany 1
FIN – Emil Pieniniemi (Kingston) – 1G
FIN – Tuomas Uronen (Kingston) – 1A
FIN – Jesse Nurmi (London) – 1A
Sweden 8, Kazakhstan 1
