Canada pours on offense in World Juniors opener
Canada had no difficulty finding the back of the net in its opening contest of the 2021 World Junior Championship, downing Germany in a 16-2 final.
The victory saw Canada come just two short of its all-time record for goals in a single contest, with the high-water of 18 goals set twice previously in 1985 and 1986.
En route to Saturday’s win, seven CHL players finished with multi-point performances for Canada including Buffalo Sabres first-round pick Dylan Cozens of the Lethbridge Hurricanes who pushed the pace with six points counting three goals and three assists to claim Player of the Game honours for his side.
GAME OVER. 🇨🇦 opens its Group A schedule with a win over 🇩🇪. Six points for @Dylan_Cozens, four for @DawsonMercer14.
Up next: 🇸🇰 on Sunday.
📊 https://t.co/mJfJ5g67tH#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/FJSTBxLp52
— #WorldJuniors (@WorldJuniors) December 27, 2020
“Obviously we are happy with how we played offensively, but there is still a lot to work on,” Cozens said. “We are happy with the depth. Every line is scoring, which is good to see. At the same time, there are things on the (defensive) side of the puck we can work on in our defensive zone and neutral zone, and I am sure we will do some video on that.”
Dawson Mercer (Chicoutimi Sagueneens), Philip Tomasino (Oshawa Generals), Peyton Krebs (Winnipeg ICE), Connor McMichael (London Knights), Cole Perfetti (Saginaw Spirit), and Justin Barron (Halifax Mooseheads) also wrapped up the night with multi-point showings.
Canada now looks to stay perfect when it returns to the ice Sunday versus Slovakia.