CANADA DOWNS FINLAND 5-2 IN PRE-TOURNEY ACTION
KITCHENER, Ont. — Mark Visentin or Olivier Roy’
That’s the question going into Sunday’s clash between Canada and Russia to open the world junior championship.
And if anyone on the Canadian team knows the answer of who will get the start in goal Boxing Day inBuffalo, N.Y., they weren’t saying after Thursday’s final exhibition game, a 5-2 win over Finland.
“We’ll wait and see. I don’t know yet,” Visentin said after making 18 saves to pick up his secondexhibition victory as Canada finished its warmup schedule 3-0.
“We’re just getting over the game right now. I’m sure we’ll find out(soon).”
Roy sat on the bench for Thursday, and though he showed his worth in Tuesday’s 4-1 win against Sweden,five days is long time between starts in a tournament where every game counts.
There was a lot of talk before the Finland game about who would start, or if the goalies would split thetime.
“Whether I played half, didn’t play at all or played the full game, to me it was just to focus on the taskat hand,” Visintin added. “The task given to me was the full game and I’m really happy we won.”
Canada head coach Dave Cameron wasn’t tipping his hand with the media afterwards.
“What’s a conundrum’ Somebody said I had a goalie conundrum. Is that bad'” Cameron mused.
“This has been an ongoing thing through the summer camp, through the regular season, through these threegames. It won’t be my decision alone, like everything else it will be a coaching staff decision.”
Besides deciding on their goaltender, the Canadian team will have to get its power play in order aftergoing 2-for-7 with the man advantage Thursday.
“I think a lot of you guys are expecting us to go 7-for-7 or something like that,” said captain RyanEllis, who showed off his booming shot on Canada’s first goal.
“I think 2-for-7 is still pretty solid. It’s not the time you get them, but when you need them the mostand that’s what we did tonight.”
And the timing of Ellis’s goal couldn’t have been any better. After Finland took a 1-0 lead in the firston a goal by Henri Tuominen, Canada’s power-play quarterback tied the score 26 seconds into the secondperiod, one-timing a pass from Jaden Schwartz past Joni Ortio.
Ellis became the 13th different player to score for Canada in exhibition play.
The goal breathed some life into the Canadians, who crashed the net and made life difficult for the Finnsthe rest of the way.
Ryan Johansen became the first Canadian player to score more than once in exhibition when Zack Kassianfound him alone at the left faceoff circle and he snapped a shot past Ortio.
Erik Haula tied the game before the second period was out, but Canada scored three times in the third onSami Aittokallio, who replaced Ortio.
Canada took the lead for good just 2:01 into the third when Sean Couturier followed Curtis Hamilton to thenet and lifted his rebound over a sprawling Aittokallio.
Shortly after Aittokallio stoned Louis Leblanc from point-blank range, Quinton Howden found a hole in theFinnish netminder as the puck just squeezed over the line at 12:49 to make it 4-2.
Johansen rounded out the scoring with his second of the night on a pretty three-way passing play withKassian and Brayden Schenn, who finished with two assists.
Finland opens the tournament against the host U.S., also on Sunday.
“I thought the first game we played the way we have to play. The Sweden game we were a little bit off andgot away from the structure, we got a little bit too individualistic,” Cameron said of his team. “Tonight Ithought we got back to the way we have to play.”
