DAVOS, Switzerland – Canada’s National Men’s Team almost erased a three-goal deficit, but the comeback fell a goal short in a 3-2 loss to HC Sparta Prague on Monday to open up the 2022 Spengler Cup.
• Brett Connolly (Campbell River, B.C./HC Lugano, NL) scored both goals for Canada late in the second period. • Thomas Grégoire (Sherbrooke, Que./Lukko Rauma, Liiga) chipped in with a pair of assists. • Daniel Carr (Sherwood Park, Alta./HC Lugano, NL) and Cody Eakin (Winnipeg, Man./SC Langnau, NL) had one assist apiece. • Michael Hutchinson (Barrie, Ont./Henderson, AHL) made 16 saves. • Canada outshot HC Sparta Prague 30-19.
Next game:
Canada vs. HC Davos – Tuesday, Dec. 27 (2:15 p.m. ET/11:15 a.m. PT)
Quotes:
“I thought the last 40 minutes we played a much stronger game. Collectively, I thought our group came out and you could tell we hadn’t played together, but our urgency level got a lot higher and that needs to be a trademark of our group. You could really see that urgency in the final 40 minutes, and I think if we had another five minutes, we probably would have scored a goal. We have a brand-new team; it’s part of the process of being with a new group, but we expect to get better every day.”
- Head coach Travis Green (Castlegar, B.C.) on tournament opener
“I think we had a tough first period; we battled back hard, but the deficit was too much. I think we outplayed them for probably 50 minutes of the game, but it was that 10 minutes where we struggled and that was the difference.”
- Tyler Ennis (Edmonton, Alta./SC Bern, NL) on not playing a full 60 minutes
“I think we played better as the game went on. It’s tough to go down three on anyone and come back. We had our chances, but we weren’t able to bury one late.”
- Colton Sceviour (Red Deer, Alta./SC Bern, NL) on missed opportunities
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