HOCKEY CANADA
2003-04 National Men's Under-18 Team
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IIHF World U-18 Hockey Championship Dubnyk, who plays for the Western Hockey League's Kamloops Blazers, held the Canadians in the game in the first period when they were outshot 10-5 by the Danes. Canada outshot the Danes the rest of the way and 38-27 overall, but Denmark goaltender Simon Nielsen allowed only one more goal. "It was a goaltenders' show both ways," Canadian head coach Dean Chynoweth said from Minsk.Liam Reddox of Whitby, Ont., scored the winner and his second of the game at 9:10 of the second period. Mad Christensen replied for Denmark. Canada, 3-0, meets the U.S. on Tuesday to complete pool play in Group A. The U.S. was 2-0 heading into Monday's game against Belarus. In a Group B game Sunday, Slovakia beat Norway 8-2. The top three teams in each of the two groups advance to the playoff round with the top team in each earning a bye in the quarter-finals. Canada played better Sunday than they had the day before in a 7-2 win over Belarus, said Chynoweth. "A bit of a slow start again," he said. "Our guys are a little unsure. They haven't seen the opposition and they're kind of dipping their toe in the water to see what it's like and then all of a sudden, we've got to play. "The last 40 minutes were better, but we've got to play a full 60 minutes against the U.S. if we're going to have anything successful happen in the medal round."If the U.S. beats Belarus, Tuesday's game is crucial for Canada because the winner avoids a quarter-final game against a team from a strong Group B and goes directly to the semifinal. "They have good speed, they play more of North American game so I expect a more physical game from them," Chynoweth said of the Americans. "They're strong in net, good on the back end a got couple of guys up front who are fairly dynamic, so we've got to bring our A game." Like the senior men's team selected for the world championship, the under-18 team is mostly comprised of players whose clubs did not reach the post-season or lost in the first round of playoffs. Hockey Canada has sent an under-18 side to an annual international summer tournament in Europe since 1997, but this marks only the third time a team has been entered in the world championship.
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For more information: Brad Pascall Vice-President, Hockey Operations |
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