Canada continues their dominant play, defeat Austria 11-0

Adamo Marinelli

Dec. 29, 2022

Canada scored 11 goals for the second game in a row en route to a dominant 11-0 rout of Austria for their second consecutive blowout win. It was another offensive explosion for Canada which saw young offensive phenom Connor Bedard make more history. 

His two goals tonight give him six in this tournament and 14 in total which ties Jordan Eberle’s record for most all-time goals by a Canadian at the World Juniors. He has six goals and eight assists totaling 14 points this tournament - thanks to a seven-point game against Germany (three goals, four assists) and a six-point game tonight (two goals, four assists) - and Canada has only played three games. That’s impressive.

It took a while for Canada to get going, it was a defensive-oriented first period for both teams, but after Canada scored their first goal 14 minutes into the first period, within four minutes, Canada had scored two more goals to expand their lead to 3-0 after 20 minutes. Canada dominated from that point on and scored four goals in the second and third periods.

Canada controlled the game from start to finish and was the better team on both sides of the puck. They outshot Austria 47-12 and consistently created several scoring chances with their excellent playmaking, puck movement, and passing. 

Canada used their speed, size, physicality, and clever passing to create separation and open shooting and passing lanes. They spent a lot of time in the attacking zone thanks to their dominance in the neutral zone, controlling the possession and dictating the tempo. Canada’s defense stopped opposing attacks from happening before they could start and then moved the puck up in transition.

Canada was a perfect 3/3 on the powerplay tonight, not as efficient as last night when they scored seven powerplay goals against Germany, but it was still a large factor in their win. Canada’s penalty kill was perfect, killing both of Austria’s powerplays. 

Benjamin Gaudreau rebounded after a tough game against Czechia with a shutout win. He only had to make 12 saves, but he made a handful of big, timely saves the shutout win is a huge confidence booster for him going forward.

Canada’s defense was incredible once again and for the first time in this tournament, they kept their opponents off the scoreboard and pitched a shutout. Canada’s forecheck was great, they dominated in neutral ice, were very physical, created several turnovers, and didn’t allow Austria to create much of anything. Austria was kept out of the offensive zone for almost the entire game and when they were in Canada’s end, they were unable to create many high-quality scoring chances or shots on goal.

Canada did a great job limiting their opponent’s space to shoot and skate, blocking passing lanes and using their physicality, and checking to knock opposing players off the puck. Canada was first to every loose puck in their defensive end and won the puck battles in difficult spaces which led to creating scoring chances in transition. 

Logan Stankoven had another great game with a goal and three assists, Nathan Gaucher and Joshua Roy each recorded a goal and two assists and Adam Fantili was a threat with and without the puck on his stick, scoring a goal and an assist. 

With the win, Canada sits at 2-0-0-1 (6 points), one point behind Czechia and two points behind Sweden. Canada’s goal difference of +17 is better than Czechia’s at +11 and Sweden’s at +13. If Canada defeats Sweden in regulation and Czechia does not win their final game in regulation they will finish first in Group A. If Canada wins and Czechia wins in regulation, Canada will finish second. Canada could remain in third place if they lose to Sweden, but given Canada’s momentum right now, it’s hard to imagine Canada losing, even to a talented Swedish team.