MONTREAL, QC–Down 3-1 midway through the game, Team Canada didn’t look like they were rebounding very well from their shootout loss to the Czech Republic a couple of days earlier.
With three minutes to go in the second period, Anthony Mantha scored to put his team within one and the play slowly shifted into Canada’s favour from there. Jonathan Drouin, after having been called out early in the game and temporarily benched as a result of an illegal check to the head penalty on Martin Reway, would make up for it in the third, tying the game off a feed from Mantha.
Nic Petan added two late goals to secure the comeback and ensure that Canada’s place in Group A would have to be disputed in what seems to have become the prototypical World Juniors’ formula–a showdown between Canada and U.S.A. on New Year’s Eve.
Reway would pick up a goal and two assists in a losing cause.
Some highlights from the game, courtesy IIHF’s YouTube channel, are below:
