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2022  m w c  preview  c a n  i t a

Men’s Worlds Preview: Canada vs. Italy

Sunday, May 15 | 5:20 a.m. ET | Helsinki, Finland | Preliminary Round

May 14, 2022
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TV: TSN | Stream: TSN Direct

Canada’s National Men’s Team will look to build off a strong start at the 2022 IIHF World Championship, taking on Italy in the second game of preliminary-round play in Group A on Sunday morning.

LAST GAME

Canada got the start it was looking for at worlds with a 5-3 win over Germany on Friday. Pierre-Luc Dubois led the scoring for the Canadian side with two goals, while Logan Thompson made 18 saves in his international debut. Cole Sillinger, the youngest member of the Canadian side, had the first goal of the tournament just past the eight-minute mark of the first period. Dubois scored in the first and second, before Kent Johnson and Noah Gregor netted in the middle frame.

Italy opened play on Saturday morning with a 5-2 loss to Switzerland. The Italians were outshot 47-14 and didn’t find the back of the net until the third period when Daniel Gira scored near the nine-minute mark. Dante Hannoun added a power-play goal with just over a minute to go, and Andreas Bernard made 42 saves.

LAST MEETING

Canada was already rolling at the 2021 IIHF World Championship when it came up against Italy near the end of the preliminary round, but a 7-1 win cemented its comeback-kids game play after starting that event 0-3. The Canadians jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first period, with Andrew Mangiapane recording a goal and an assist. He would add another of each before the game was done.

WHAT TO WATCH

Canada may be one of the younger teams at the event, but it is also one of the biggest, an asset which was on display against Germany from returning gold-medallist Max Comtois. It also has plenty of fire power up front, and once the forwards get more comfortable in their lines, expect to see some brilliant connections.

Italy finished the 2021 worlds as the only team without a win and will likely be relying on goaltending to get them out of some jams. With no NHLers on the roster and only a handful from elite leagues worldwide, the Italians will be in tough.

A LOOK BACK

In 15 meetings with Italy, Canada has never been beaten and has never given up more than two goals.

The last time Italy came close was a 2-2 tie in 1995, but since then Canada was won nine in a row. In 2014, Cody Hodgson had two goals in a 6-1 win over the Italians, with James Reimer backstopping the Canadians in a 22-save effort.

All-time record: Canada leads 13-0-2
Canada goals: 83
Italy goals: 16

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

emadziya@hockeycanada.ca 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

ssharkey@hockeycanada.ca

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

jknight@hockeycanada.ca

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