Connor Bedard scored twice in Canada’s lopsided 11-0 win over Austria Thursday night in Halifax, tying Jordan Eberle’s Canadian junior world championship record of 14.
The first overall pick in the NHL Draft the following summer led the offense to a total of six points as Canada achieved the double-digit goal mark for the second consecutive night. He tied the record with a goal in the third period thanks to a pass from Logan Stankoven.
You can watch all matches from the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships live on TSN, TSN.ca, and the TSN app.
“Every time he hit his stick, something came out of it,” Canada’s coach Dennis Williams said of Bédard after the game.
“Their creativity and skill, you see a certain chemistry between him, [Stankoven] and the [Joshua] Roy there. So it’s nice to see that and they’re obviously building confidence during those games. »
Bédard praised his comrade for making it equal to the record.
“I didn’t think much of it, but I think some guys kind of mentioned it at the age of three. Obviously, a good game.” [Logan Stankoven] “There, on the third set, I think anyone could have done it. It was very easy to get,” said 17-year-old star Regina Bates.
Bedard scored a hat-trick and grabbed four assists in Canada’s 11-2 win over Germany on Wednesday night.
He scored four goals in the original 2022 FIFA World Youth Championship before it was postponed and scored another four in the rescheduled tournament last summer, giving him eight. He scored his ninth goal in Canada’s 5-2 loss to the Czech Republic to open the 2023 tournament before scoring 14 in Canada’s last two matches.
“We’re really happy for him. It’s a feat, it’s unbelievable. He played this tournament fantastically. I don’t think anyone in the room feels anything but happy for him right now,” said teammate Adam Fantelli.
Bédard has 27 World Junior points, four short of Eric Lindros’ Canadian record of 31 from 1990-92.
While the Canadians were flexing their muscles in all aspects of the tour game on Thursday, it took them a while to get going. Williams couldn’t find a shot on the net in the first 12 minutes, but Dylan Guenther put the champions on the board with a powerful goal from a fine pass between Brennan Osman’s legs. Just under two minutes later, Zack Dean fired a shot off the high post that went across Austrian goaltender Benedict O’Shegan to double Canada’s lead.
Then Shane Wright scored Canada’s third goal to extend their lead to 3-0 after the first 20 minutes.
Canada picked up where they left off in the second half when Joshua Roy came home to give them a four-goal lead. Less than a minute later, Bedard beat O’Shegan with a perfect wrist shot from an odd angle for his first night and perhaps his best in the tournament to date.
Chicago Blackhawks defenseman and defenseman Nolan Allen scored his first goal of the tournament shortly after and Logan Stankoven added another goal as Canada continued to advance and finished Group B with a 7-point lead. -0.
Fantilli scored his first goals of the tournament while Quebec Ramparts player Nathan Gaucher, Anaheim Ducks prospect Tyson Hinds and Bedard added goals in the final period as Canada advanced.
Also expected to be a top pick in next summer’s draft, Fantilli said he’s happy to have one on the board.
“I was just happy to get that first game. The first game was so high power that we didn’t get a chance to get out, but we got out and I’m glad we got it. They tried to keep going to Sweden,” said the University of Michigan product.
Ben Goudreau started the net for Canada, his first action since Tomas Milic caught him in the Canadian Championship opener. He stopped all 12 shots he faced on Thursday.
Canada has nine first-round picks and three NHL players on its roster while Austria went into Thursday’s game after losing both games by 20 goals.
The Canadians are third in Group A, with six points behind Sweden (eight) and the Czech Republic (seven). Canada lost their first game to the Czech Republic on Boxing Day, marking the first time they had lost their first game on home soil.
They recovered in stunning fashion on Wednesday, crushing Germany behind hat-tricks from Bedard and Guenther. Bédard also had four assists, tying the Canadian record for points per game with seven, which is also held by Dave Andreichuk (1983), Brendan Morrow (1999), Mike Camilleri (2002) and Gabriel Burke (2010).
Next up for Canada will be Sweden on New Year’s Eve to finish the league game. The top three teams from each group will advance to the medal round. Finland (seven points), USA (six points) and Switzerland (four points) are currently among the top three teams in Group B.
Canada has a day off Friday and Williams said his team is looking forward to resting after games on consecutive days.
“Guys can’t wait to take a break. We’re not going to be doing a lot of videos tomorrow, just having a mental day and trying to get them ready for the next game.”
