2024 Junior A World Challenge – Dec. 9-15, 2024
Zachary Deleau (La Prairie, QC/Valleyfield, LHJAAAQ) scored shorthanded to pull Canada East even at 2-2 at 8:30 of the third period.
Cameron Menard (Carp, ON/Espanola, NOJHL) also scored for Canada East.
Noah Tegelaar (Georgetown, ON/Collingwood, OJHL) made 38 saves.
Ivar Stenberg and Melvin Novotny had a goal and an assist each for Sweden.
Brendan McMorrow led the way with two goals and an assist for the United States.
Teddy Mutryn chipped in with three assists.
Jackson Kostiuk (East St. Paul, MB/Steinbach, MJHL) was named Player of the Game for Canada West.
Next Games – December 14 (semifinals)
Canada West vs. Sweden – 1 p.m. MT/3 p.m. ET
Canada East vs. United States – 5 p.m. MT/7 p.m. ET
Quotes:
“I don’t think the game really got away from us, I would say they got the puck luck that we didn’t get. Really, I’m so proud of the guys – nobody would have bet on us before the game, and I think we proved that we’re in the tournament and capable to play against anyone. We still have to stay out of the penalty box. We want to play an intense, in-your-face type hockey game, but we can’t cross the line. We killed off the penalties, but still didn’t win the special-teams battle. We’ll clean it up and we’ll be ready for Saturday, that’s for sure.”
Canada East head coach Bruce Richardson (Pincourt, QC/Valleyfield, LHJAAAQ) on being proud of his team’s effort.
“Right now it’s a tough game, a tough pill to swallow, but what we can do is shock people on Saturday and that’s what is motivating us right now. How can we come back from this, have resiliency and surprise people that are here at the tournament? That’s our motivation and that is what we have to strive for. Right now after a game like that, we all have to pick each other up; we have to stay unified and keep pushing through.”
Canada West assistant coach Éric Labrosse (Wawa, ON/Northern Manitoba, MJHL) on finding ways to regroup after three-straight losses.
“I liked our game and our goaltending was solid. We broke down a couple of times and they had good looks at the net, and [Caleb Heil] stood tall. He can move the puck well and he made some really great breakout plays to help us get out of our zone.”
“Without looking too far ahead, we know that the meaningful hockey starts now. That means we have to continue to be sharp and still work on our game. The moments and things we have worked on, our decision-making and how we play the game will become more important now. We’re all excited for the opportunity, it’s nice to go into these games feeling good and we’ll continue to build.”
United States head coach Matt Smaby on his team’s effort.
TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast the bronze medal and gold medal games; check local listings for details.
Both semifinals will be available via Hockey Canada’s livestreaming partner at HNLive.ca.
Photo credit: Hockey Canada Images
