Canada’s Connor McDavid (#97) scores on Norwegian goaltender Lars Haugen while his teammates Tobias Lindstrom (#18), Jonas Holos (#6) and Canada’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (#93) look on.
photo: Matt Zambonin / HHOF-IIHF Images
Canada thumped Norway to the tune of 5-0 tonight in Herning to reclaim top spot in Group B. The team now has three wins and a shootout loss, for 10 points, one more than Finland and two more than the Americans.
The loss leaves Norway stranded in seventh place with three points, ahead of only Korea which has yet to earn a point.
The star of the night was Canada’s captain, Connor McDavid, who showed electric hand and foot speed, scoring three goals and racing up and down the ice with and without the puck in a way no other player is able.
"It’s almost like he plays in a league above all others," enthused teammate Ryan O'Reilly. "He’s just that much faster. And with him, it seems as though he even gains speed when he gets the puck. I don’t know how to explain it."
Curtis McElhinney and Darcy Kuemper shared the shutout, thanks to a classy move by coach Bill Peters, who inserted Kuemper midway through the third period and the game well in hand. Kuemper hadn't played since the team's first game, and this game action gave him a chance to get involved in the team.
Bo Horvat scored the other two goals for Canada.
"The team played great," McDavid said. "We came out and did what we had to do again. We’ve been getting a lot better as the tournament has gone on. We came out well. We understand what this tournament is about. You have to win every game you can; they’re all big. You have to take the points where you can get them, and tonight we did that. And now we can go on and focus on Finland."
"Our goal is to improve every time we hit the ice," O'Reilly added, "and that’s what we’re going for. We try to control our game, the way we compete, the way we prepare."
McDavid got things started early, at 1:23, to be exact, using his quick hands and lightning stickhandling to good effect. He had the puck behind the net, threatened pass, then came out front himself, uncontested. Several quick moves of the puck and he snapped a shot over the blocker of Lars Haugen who was left out to dry by his defence.
The loss leaves Norway stranded in seventh place with three points, ahead of only Korea which has yet to earn a point.
The star of the night was Canada’s captain, Connor McDavid, who showed electric hand and foot speed, scoring three goals and racing up and down the ice with and without the puck in a way no other player is able.
"It’s almost like he plays in a league above all others," enthused teammate Ryan O'Reilly. "He’s just that much faster. And with him, it seems as though he even gains speed when he gets the puck. I don’t know how to explain it."
Curtis McElhinney and Darcy Kuemper shared the shutout, thanks to a classy move by coach Bill Peters, who inserted Kuemper midway through the third period and the game well in hand. Kuemper hadn't played since the team's first game, and this game action gave him a chance to get involved in the team.
Bo Horvat scored the other two goals for Canada.
"The team played great," McDavid said. "We came out and did what we had to do again. We’ve been getting a lot better as the tournament has gone on. We came out well. We understand what this tournament is about. You have to win every game you can; they’re all big. You have to take the points where you can get them, and tonight we did that. And now we can go on and focus on Finland."
"Our goal is to improve every time we hit the ice," O'Reilly added, "and that’s what we’re going for. We try to control our game, the way we compete, the way we prepare."
McDavid got things started early, at 1:23, to be exact, using his quick hands and lightning stickhandling to good effect. He had the puck behind the net, threatened pass, then came out front himself, uncontested. Several quick moves of the puck and he snapped a shot over the blocker of Lars Haugen who was left out to dry by his defence.
Norway vs. Canada
NOR vs. CAN
Bo Horvat made it 2-0 midway through the period on a terrific solo effort while Canada was down a man. He drove hard to the net, and as he was pulled to the ice he managed to get a shot through Haugen’s pads at 12:49.
McDavid scored a gem three minutes later. Although his skating speed is a sight to behold, so, too, is his hand speed. He deked forward Kristian Forsberg out of his proverbial jock, cut in on goal, and beat Haugen to the far side again, virtually the same spot he scored the first goal.
McDavid got his hat-trick goal midway through the second after another great deke behind the Norway goal. He again came out front without problem and scored on his second whack at the puck with Haugen down and out after a teammate tripped him accidentally.
Horvat finished the scoring with his second of the night courtesy of a nice pass from Pierre-Luc Dubois early in the third.
Canada now plays Finland on Saturday night while Norway is right back at it, playing a key game against Denmark tomorrow afternoon.
McDavid scored a gem three minutes later. Although his skating speed is a sight to behold, so, too, is his hand speed. He deked forward Kristian Forsberg out of his proverbial jock, cut in on goal, and beat Haugen to the far side again, virtually the same spot he scored the first goal.
McDavid got his hat-trick goal midway through the second after another great deke behind the Norway goal. He again came out front without problem and scored on his second whack at the puck with Haugen down and out after a teammate tripped him accidentally.
Horvat finished the scoring with his second of the night courtesy of a nice pass from Pierre-Luc Dubois early in the third.
Canada now plays Finland on Saturday night while Norway is right back at it, playing a key game against Denmark tomorrow afternoon.
Norway vs. Canada
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