Connor Brown had a goal and two assists to lead Canada to a crucial 4-2 win tonight over Norway. It was the first win of the tournament after opening with three losses and moved Canada into a tie with Norway for 6th place in Group B with three points.

"We capitalized on our chances," a relieved Brown said. "We've created a lot of chances but had a little bit of poison in the scoring areas, but we got a couple of good bounces today."

The only reason the score wasn't much higher was the play of Norway's goalie, Henrik Haukeland, who made many fine stops among the 42 shots he faced. Canada surrendered only 15, 13 of which were stopped by Darcy Kuemper.

"Obviously, the tournament didn't start the way we wanted it to, but we've been building every period and keep getting better, which is what you want to do in a tournament like this," Kuemper said. "We had a little bit of adversity today, but this was a huge win and now we have to focus on the next game."

"We knew they were hungry but a little disappointed that we let in a goal that early because we knew they’d come out hard," said Norway's Mats Roselli Olsen. "That slowed our game down, and we had to adapt. They played a good game and deserved to win."

Canada has never failed to make the playoffs at the World Championship and has never finished worse than 8th (1992), but they are in a tough spot so far this year. They pretty much need to win all three of their remaining games to keep their lengthy streak alive.

Nevertheless, the Canadians got just the start they needed, scoring just 22 seconds into the game on a scrambly play in front of Haukeland. The puck went in off the skate of Brown, but after video review the goal counted.

At the other end, Kuemper got some confidence early on when he made a great right pad save off a quick shot from Michael Haga.

Canada controlled the puck in Norway’s end for most of the period and midway through had a lengthy five-on-three power play that allowed them to double their lead. Brown’s pass in front went to Adam Henrique, and although Haukeland made a great save on the first shot, Henrique got his own rebound and tucked it in at 10:23.

But nothing has been easy for the Canadians this year, and this game was no exception. Haukeland made two sensational saves early in the second to keep it a 2-0 game. Andrew Mangiapane found Maxime Comtois in front, and Haukeland got his right toe on a quick shot.

Mangaipane was playing in his first game with Canada after finishing the NHL season with Calgary and spending the mandatory six days in quarantine in Riga before being allowed to play.

Not long after, Liam Foudy used his speed in centre to get to a loose puck and go in alone, but again the Norwegian goalie made a great save.

All of this mattered because Norway struck for two goals just 80 seconds apart. Mario Ferraro bobbled a pass in his own end, and that allowed Thomas Valkae Olsen to fire a quick shot through the five-hole of Kuemper at 9:08. 

And then a hard pass from along the boards by Max Krogdahl hit the skate of Rosseli Olsen in front and in. Video review confirmed that the puck wasn’t kicked in, and just like that it was a 2-2 game.

The energy of Mangiapane contributed to a good push back by Canada, though. He took a pass from Brown in front, made some room for his stick, and fired a shot over the shoulder of Haukeland at 14:41 to give Canada a much-needed lead again.

It was the first time this year Canada has responded favourably to adversity, and it was keyed by an immediate and impressive sympatico on ice between Brown and Mangiapane.

"I like the way he plays," Brown enthused. "He helped our offence a lot. He creates a lot out there, thinks the game really well, attacks the middle. He made a lot of great plays, so he was big key for our offensive boost today."

Canada incurred three minors in the third, and wasn't playing with the required discipline for the moment. But on the third disadvantage, Jonas Holos, who played a game high 26:50, mishandled the puck at the Canadian blue line and Adam Henrique raced down the ice with the Norwegian captain in pursuit. Henrique slid the puck between Haukeland's pads for a crucial short-handed goal and a 4-2 lead.

Moments later, another Canadian penalty gave Norway a two-man advantage for 67 seconds, but the best chance came when Brown stepped out of the penalty box and went in alone, only to be stoned by Haukeland again.

Canada and Norway both have a day off. Canada has another must-win game against Kazakhstan on Thursday afternoon, while Norway plays the late game against Latvia.