Connor Bedard and Dylan Guenther each scored a hat-trick as Canada bounced back from a loss in the opener to defeat Germany 11-2 on Wednesday in the World Youth Championship. Bedard finished the game with seven points, tying the Canadian record for most points in a single world youth game, joined by Dave Andreychuk, Brenden Morrow, Mike Cammalleri and Gabriel Bourque.
Bedard now has 12 goals in his junior world career and is tied for second on Canada’s all-time goalscoring list with Eric Lindros, John Tavares and Jeff Carter. He sits two behind Jordan Eberle.
“Some great names on that list, so, I mean, it’s definitely an honor,” Bedard said of tying the points record. “But in the end, it doesn’t mean much. “I’m playing some pretty good guys so they made it very easy for me tonight and obviously some pretty lucky rebounding for me. So I guess it was just one of those nights.”
Canada entered the second period with a two-goal lead, but exploded for six second-period goals with Bedard scoring his second of the game a minute into the period and completing the hat-trick at 13:58 of the period to give Canada a lead. from 5-1.
“He was unbelievable. He was marked. You could tell there was a different air of focus around him after [Monday’s] performance. said Canada head coach Dennis Williams. “Not only was he finding the net, but he was also making plays.” Germany’s Rayan Bettahar received a serious penalty and game misconduct for an illegal check to the head of Adam Fantilli at 15:49 of the second and Canada would. score four goals in the next five minutes of power play to take a 9-1 lead.
Guenther scored a pair of goals during the power play, firing off a pair of Bedard single shots to complete his own hat-trick and give Bedard six points on the night. Brandt Clarke and Logan Stankoven each scored their first goals of the tournament during the major penalty kick, adding to Canada’s eight-goal lead in the second period explosion. Stankoven finished the match with three points.
“We played for 60 minutes,” Guenther said of his team’s performance. “When you get up like that, it’s easy to cheat. I thought we played the right way, especially in the third. That’s a good sign and we just have to carry this through to tomorrow.”
“The crowd here has been incredible,” Guenther added of the home crowd in Halifax. “It’s a big help, especially if we go through stretches where we’re not playing as well. It really helps us build momentum and it’s a lot of fun to play there, too.”
Guenther opened the scoring in the first period, firing what would be the first of his three power play goals on the night. Wright added a score in the first period, his second of the tournament, while Zack Ostapchuk scored Canada’s 10th goal of the night early in the third.
“We expected a rebounding game and that’s exactly what we got,” Canada captain Shane Wright said.
“Those games can be tough when you lose,” Bedard said of the comeback performance. “For us to come here and play a full game was pretty big for us.”
Montreal Canadiens prospect Joshua Roy scored his first of the tournament, on Bedard’s fourth assist of the night, midway through the third period to give Canada an 11-1 lead.
Canadian defenseman Olen Zellweger added three assists in the win.
Roman Kechter scored Germany’s first goal midway through the first half and Philip Sinn added the second with just over five minutes left in the third.
Thomas Milic started for Canada after Benjamin Gaudreau was pulled after allowing five goals on 17 shots against the Czech Republic. He saved 14 shots in his first junior world start.
“He made a great save for us in the second. I think he did a really good job with his rebounding,” Williams said. “It’s really nice to see him get a win.”
Germany goalkeeper Simon Wolf made 30 saves before being relieved by Rihards Babulis to start the third period. He made 11 saves in relief.
Canada head coach Dennis Williams shook up Canada’s line before Wednesday’s game and moved Bedard to the second line to play alongside Joshua Roy and Logan Stankoven. Guenther moved up to the front row with Shane Wright and Brennan Othmann.
Canada outshot Germany 52-16 in the contest and finished the game with seven power play goals in 10 chances.
“It’s important that the power play plays out well,” Guenther said. “We have good players on both units, so it’s a good sign that we’re producing when it matters.”
Canada improves to 1-0-0-1 following a stunning 5-2 loss to the Czech Republic in their opener on Monday.
Canada’s next game will be against Austria on Thursday. Germany will look for their first win of the tournament on Friday against Austria.
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