Canada Doubles Up Slovakia

FINAL: Canada 6, Slovakia 3

Team Canada survived a scare against Slovakia on Friday at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Canada trailed 2-0 and 3-1 but battled back to beat Slovakia 6-3 and improve to 2-0 at this year’s tournament.

Canada trailed 2-0 after an ugly first period that saw them get out shot 11-5. JC Lipon received a game misconduct for a hit to the head, ending his night.

Ryan Strome got Canada on the board early in the second but Marko Dano put the Slovaks back up by two at 10:35. Morgan Rielly, Ty Rattie, and Mark Scheifele would all score to give Canada a 4-3 lead heading into the third period. The biggest story line in the second period came when Anthony Camera was ejected for what the officials declared an illegal hit.

Strome and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in the final frame to give Canada a come-from-behind 6-3 victory.

Shots overall were 30-28 in favour of the Canadians. Malcolm Subban made 25 saves.

Saint John Sea Dogs captain Jonathan Huberdeau helped setup Nugent-Hopkins’ third period marker. Huberdeau also had three shots on goal and a +2 rating.

Up next for Team Canada is a big test against the United States on Sunday. Coverage begins at 5am once again on TSN.