Tavares leads by example
Experience is everything as far as John Tavares is concerned.
The Oshawa Generals’ captain scored a pair of goals and keyed the OHL’s 6-3 win over the Russian Selects in Game 3 of the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge on Thursday and said that his experience in playing on the international stage helped him prepare for that game.
“You get the experience and you understand what this event is all about,” Tavares said after the game in Guelph. “Definitely for us playing international competition before gives us an advantage; little things like how the day goes and how this event is. The coach counted on us (veterans) to be the leaders and to set the example and make sure we are playing well and doing the little things right. It paid off for us tonight.”
Tavares will hope to lead the way again tonight when the series continues with Game 4 in St. Catharines (7:00 p.m. Eastern on Rogers Sportsnet).
Tavares played in the series last year in Kitchener and Sudbury and went on to help Canada win the gold medal at the World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic last Christmas. On Thursday, Tavares opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game.
“It was nice to get that (goal) early,” Tavares said. “Britt (Josh Brittain) made a great play and I thought he was great tonight finishing checks and opening up a lot of room for me and Dale Mitchell. Just to get that first shot on net and being lucky enough for it to go in was a good feeling and a good way to start.”
The Russians came back with a pair of goals in the first period and took the lead with a goal 27 seconds in to the second. But Tavares scored a powerplay marker that tied the game in the second period and then picked up an assist on the OHL’s sixth goal that iced the win in the third.
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“It was great,” Tavares said. “I think our first two periods weren’t the best but you saw what Canadians were all about and why we come out on top every time. Just our heart and desire to bear down and want to win especially like this. It was a great feeling for a lot of the guys in their first game and it was a lot of fun out there tonight.”
The QMJHL split the first two games of the series before Thursday’s win put the CHL ahead by one game. After tonight’s game, the series concludes in the Western Hockey League with games in Swift Current, SK on Wednesday and Prince Albert, SK on Thursday.
Photo: Aaron Bell / CHL