With their playoff lives on the line, Germany did all they could to find a point against Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship on Sunday afternoon.
And wouldn’t you know it, they darn near pulled it off.
Germany hung tight with Canada right from the opening face-off before eventually falling 6-3 in the final round robin game for both teams in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Moose Jaw Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk, forward Brayden Yager and now forward Jagger Firkus are all in action with Canada at the tournament.
Canada finishes the round robin with a 3-1-0-0 record and will face Czechia in the quarter-final on Tuesday, while Germany drops to the relegation game against Norway.
There was no change for Mateychuk with his top defensive pairing alongside Maveric Lamoureux (QMJHL Drummondville), while Yager suited up on the third line alongside Owen Allard (OHL Sault Ste Marie) and Matthew Wood (U Conn) in addition to playing on the main penalty-killing unit. Firkus had arrived in Gothenburg, but didn’t suit up even with Matthew Savoie (WHL Wenatchee) sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
The decision not to dress Firkus had immediate unexpected consequences, as Conor Geekie (WHL Wenatchee) was hit with a checking to the head major only 11 seconds into the game, leaving Canada with only 11 forwards for the remainder of the contest.
The penalty led to Germany scoring the game’s first goal, with Julian Lutz putting a shot through traffic past a screened Mathis Rousseau 2:57 into the game. That goal came on one of only two shots for Germany through the entire power play.
Once the two teams were back to five-on-five, it didn’t take long for Canada to get on the board.
Macklin Celebrini (Boston U) continued his stellar showing at the tournament, carrying the puck into the zone and ripping a shot from the point low glove side on Germany’s Matthias Bittner at the 6:20 mark.
Fans got a glimpse of Firkus in Gothenburg moments later when TSN cameras showed the Warriors forward sitting in the stands with third goaltender Scott Ratzlaff (WHL Seattle) as Geekie joined them in civvies shortly after his ejection.
Mateychuk looked to have a certain goal on his stick when the puck found him with a wide-open net at the top of the crease at the nine minute mark, but Germany’s Roman Ketcher would slide into the crease to block his shot.
There would be no miraculous save on the next chance for a Warrior.
Yager finished off some great puck movement off the rush on Canada’s first power play and put home a quick shot off a pass from Nate Danielson (WHL Brandon) with 5:23 to play in the period.
Germany would have only two more shots in the frame after their five-minute power play as Canada outshot them 13-4.
A penalty early in the second gave Germany another chance to get on the board, and Kechter would tie the game on a shot from the left face-off circle 1:49 into the frame.
The three Warriors undoubtedly felt a bit deja vu as the second period played out, as Canada had chance after chance while carrying the play but couldn’t find a way to score, mimicking Moose Jaw’s pre-Christmas bad luck.
Carson Rehkopf (OHL Kitchener) and Owen Beck (OHL Peterborough) combined for the go-ahead goal 1:40 into the third. Rehkopf carried the puck into the Germany zone and drew every defender including Bittner to him before passing out front for Beck, who put the puck into the wide-open net.
Not long after, a double minor for high sticking to Jordan Dumais (QMJHL Halifax) gave Germany a chance to tie the game, and they’d get the job done.
Julius Sumpf scored with 7:32 gone in the period and a minute left on the double minor, and it was the same as the other two goals -- a shot from long distance that found its way past a screened Rousseau.
A German penalty less than a minute after their tying goal put Canada back on the power play, and Dumais would strike at the 8:32 mark, slamming home a rebound off a shot by Rehkopf.
Yager picked up his second point of the game on Canada’s fifth goal, and he had a great effort from Celebrini to thank for it. The 17-year-old continued his coming out party by racing for a lead pass from Yager and putting a shot from just above the goal line around a charging Bittner and into the net.
Germany began to throw everything they had into trying for a comeback and pulled Bittner with over three minutes remaining, leading to Easton Cowan scoring with 2:44 left in the game. Mateychuk picked up an assist after starting the play by sending Cowan away with the break-out pass.
Yager enjoyed his best game of the tournament, playing 21 shifts for 14:47 of ice time, recording two shots on net and going plus one. Mateychuk was his usual self, leading Canada in ice time with 30 shifts for 26:59.
Rousseau capped his night with 19 saves, while Canada had 35 shots on Bittner.
Canada’s quarter-final against Czechia is set for 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning, with the game broadcast on TSN.
