PIESTANY, Czech Republic -- Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists
Monday as Canada kicked off its bid for a fifth straight gold medal at
the under-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial hockey tournament with a 4-1 win over
Switzerland.
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Curtis Lazar, Nicholas Ritchie and Yan-Pavel Laplante had the other
goals for Canada, which got 30 saves from goaltender Zachary Fucale.
Canadian head coach Todd Gill said opening the tournament with a win was
a huge positive for the squad.
"We obviously have a long way to go but were going to get better and
better with each game and each practise," said Gill. "We have three in a
row here and face Sweden (on Tuesday) and have to be better than we
were tonight.
"Were a brand new club trying to learn systems and new players so its
going to take a little bit but it was a good start."
Canada has dominated the summer tournament since its inception, winning
it 16 times since 1991.
Gill, who coaches the Ontario Hockey Leagues Kingston Frontenacs, said
the Canadian teams strength is its offensive firepower.
"Our kids are buying in and we had a good cycle going and we got a lot
of opportunities of it," he said. "We just have to start burying our
chances."
Canada fell behind in the first period after Switzerland scored on the
power play. But Lazar tied the score at 15:45 before MacKinnon, who is
expected to be one of the top picks at the 2013 NHL draft, put the
Canadians ahead to stay at 19:49.
Ritchies power-play goal accounted for all the scoring in the second
before Laplante cemented the victory with an empty-net goal at 19:46 of
the third.
Gill said the Canadian team adjusted well to the larger European ice
surface but had a harder time getting used to the officiating.
"We had nine penalties in this game and we really have to cut down on
that," Gill said. "A lot of them were stick penalties where the
defenceman has a man going wide and gives him that little tap that were
used to doing but it hits the other players stick and were in the box
all night.
"Its frustrating but you cant let it get you down because theyre going
to call it all night long no matter what the score is."
The good news, Gill said, is that can be readily fixed.
"Its discipline," he said. "As a coaching staff were going to have to
put a plan in place where instead of chasing the guy and giving him a
whack we play a turnover game where you turn the player over to someone
who is closer to him."
Canada is in Group A with the Czech Republic, Finland and Slovakia.
Russia, the U.S., Sweden and Switzerland make up Group B. The top two
teams in each division advance to the semifinal round Friday.
The two winners will square off in the tournament final Saturday.
Canada will face Slovakia on Wednesday before having a well-earned day
off Thursday. Gill said with such a condensed schedule, its important a
team be able to roll four effective lines to keep all the players fresh.
"You have to give everybody the opportunity to play," he said. "Tonight,
for the most part, we rolled four lines.
"The thing I find is (coaches) dont really match up here, they just roll
their lines and thats a bonus, I guess. If I see them throw a line that
I think is considered their fourth line then if I get last change Im
coming back with my No. 1 line. But tonight I wanted to roll four lines
to get everybody ready."
. -- When ace Jered Weaver limped off the mound with a back injury
after just 12 pitches, the Los Angeles Angels probably figured their
winning streak would be the least of their losses Monday night.
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Mark Stuart, returning to the lineup after missing 18 games with a
broken finger, had a goal in the first period. Gregory Campbell, Patrice
Bergeron and Michael Ryder also scored for Boston, which has lost just
twice in regulation in its last 13 games (8-2-3).
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Five manufacturers were present at the meeting, however, IRL president
Brian Barnhart declined to identify the companies except to say that
Honda was one of them.
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An afterthought in a star-studded Boston lineup that includes three
future Hall of Famers and perhaps the best pure point guard in the game,
Bass scored 18 of his 27 points in the third quarter on Monday as the
Celtics beat the Sixers, 101-85, to take the pivotal Game 5 in their
Eastern Conference semifinals series with the underdog Sixers.
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The defending champions in both Spain and Europe lost to Real Madrid 2-1
on Saturday and now trail their biggest rivals by seven points with
four games to go. Last week, the Catalan team lost at Chelsea 1-0 in the
first leg of the Champions League semifinals.Foxboro, MA (Sports
Network) - The New England Patriots have placed starting defensive end
Andre Carter on injured reserve with a leg injury, ending his season.
The Patriots announced the move Tuesday, two days after their sacks
leader was carted off the field at the end of the first quarter in
Denver.
He went down grabbing his knee with what was reportedly a quadriceps
injury that will require surgery. according to tthe Boston Herald. .
The Patriots beat the Broncos, 41-23, and clinched the AFC East for the
ninth time in 11 years. But they will play their remaining games without
Carter, who had 52 tackles, 10 sacks and two forced fumbles in his
first season with New England.
The 32-year-old end has 494 tackles, 76 sacks and 17 forced fumbles in
11 NFL seasons, including five each with the 49ers and Redskins.
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