🇨🇦 Canada 5-3 Switzerland 🇨🇭
Exhibition Game
Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, Victoria 🇨🇦
Wednesday, 19 December 2018

Maxime Comtois scored two goals and set up two others, sending Canada’s National Junior Team to a 5-3 win over Switzerland in its pre-tournament opener Wednesday ahead of the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Cody Glass added a goal and two helpers for the Canadians, who opened up a 4-1 lead midway through the second period before the Swiss clawed back to make it close.

Switzerland struck first, taking an early lead against the run of play; a bouncing puck found its way onto the stick of Philipp Kurashev in the slot, and his shot found its way under the right pad of Canadian goaltender Michael DiPietro just 5:13 in.

But Glass needed only 14 seconds to answer, roofing a backhand over the short-side shoulder of Swiss netminder Luca Hollenstein, and Owen Tippett rifled a shot from distance past the glove of Hollenstein at 11:43 to put Canada ahead for good.

Comtois, who earned assists on the Glass and Tippett markers, added a goal of his own before the end of the first period; Glass forced a turnover along the sideboards and set up Comtois, who snapped a quick shot to the far side on Hollenstein.

The Canadian power play clicked in the second period; Jack Studnicka followed up a Barrett Hayton chance in front and potted the 4-1 goal.

Switzerland made it a two-goal game less than two minutes later when Valentin Nussbaumer broke in alone and tucked a backhand around DiPietro, and Tobias Geisser hammered in a loose puck at 18:43 to pull the Swiss within one after 40 minutes.

But they would get no closer, and Comtois found the empty net in the final minute of the third period to finish his stand-out performance and clinch the win for the Canadians.

Canada is back on the ice at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre on Friday, taking on Slovakia before wrapping up its pre-tournament schedule against Finland on Sunday night in Vancouver.

The 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship begins Boxing Day with Canada opening defence of its gold medal against Denmark.

BOXSCORE
1st Period
05:13 – 🇨🇭 GOAL – Kurashev
05:25 – 🇨🇦 GOAL – Glass (Comtois, Brook)
11:43 – 🇨🇦 GOAL – Tippett (Comtois)
18:45 – 🇨🇦 GOAL – Comtois (Glass)
19:25 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Hayton, interference major

2nd Period
23:07 – 🇨🇭 PEN – Verboon, holding
30:06 – 🇨🇭 PEN – Burger, hooking
31:25 – 🇨🇦 PP GOAL – Studnicka (Hayton, Glass)
33:07 – 🇨🇭 GOAL – Nussbaumer (Müller)
35:42 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Anderson-Dolan, interference
38:43 – 🇨🇭 GOAL – Geisser (Aebischer, Kurashev)

3rd Period
42:15 – 🇨🇭 PEN – Lehmann, hooking
59:32 – 🇨🇦 EN GOAL – Comtois (Smith)

GOALTENDERS
W: 🇨🇦 DiPietro (14-17)
L: 🇨🇭 Hollenstein (36-40)

SHOTS ON GOAL
🇨🇦 16+14+11 = 41
🇨🇭 4+7+6 = 17

ROSTERS
🇨🇦 Goaltenders: Michael DiPietro, Ian Scott. Defence: Evan Bouchard, Josh Brook, Noah Dobson, Jared McIsaac, Ian Mitchell, Markus Phillips, Ty Smith. Forwards: Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Shane Bowers, Maxime Comtois, MacKenzie Entwistle, Morgan Frost, Cody Glass, Barrett Hayton, Alexis Lafrenière, Jack Studnicka, Nick Suzuki, Owen Tippett, Joe Veleno.
🇨🇭 Goaltenders: Luca Hollenstein, Gianluca Zaetta. Defence: David Aebischer, Davyd Baradun, Tim Berni, Gianluca Burger, Tobias Geisser, Nico Gross, Janis Moser, Dario Wüthrich. Forwards: Yannick Brüschweiler, Ian Derungs, Nando Eggenberger, Philipp Kurashev, Marco Lehmann, Nicolas Müller, Valentin Nussbaumer, Sandro Schmid, Kyen Sopa, Ramon Tanner, Matthew Verboon, Luca Wyss.

Article Credit: Hockey Canada
Photo Credit: Sportsnet – IIHF – HHOF – IOC