USA rallies to shootout win over Canada in outdoor game
U.S. players celebrate their goal during a preliminary round game in the IIHF World Junior Championship against Canada in Orchard Park, N.Y., Friday, Dec. 29, 2017. Credit: AP / Adrian Kraus
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Brady Tkachuk and Kieffer Bellows found enough traction in the snow to score shootout goals and cap the United States’ 4-3 victory over Canada on Friday in international hockey’s first outdoor game.
Tkachuk and Ron Perunovich scored 34 seconds apart in the third period to rally the United States from a 3-1 deficit in the world junior championship game played in a steady snowfall at the NFL Buffalo Bills’ New Era Field. Casey Mittlestadt set up all three goals for the United States (2-1), which rebounded from a 3-2 loss to Slovakia a day earlier.
Bellows also scored in regulation, and goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 19 shots through overtime and all four he faced in the shootout.
Robert Thomas had a goal and an assist for Canada (2-1), which has lost four straight meeting to the Americans and blown two-goal leads in three straight meetings. That includes a 5-4 shootout loss to the Americans in the gold-medal game played at Montreal in January.
Cale Makar and Dillon Dube also scored, and Carter Hart stopped 32 shots through overtime.
In the only other tournament game, St. Louis Blues draft pick Klim Kostin scored twice in leading Russia (2-1) to a 5-2 win over Belarus (0-3).
Artur Kayumov and German Rubtsov had a goal and assist each for Russia, which won its second straight since a tournament-opening 5-4 loss to the Czech Republic. Alexei Polodyan also scored as Russia clinched a berth in the quarterfinal round Tuesday.
For Belarus, Sergei Pishuk had a goal and assist and Dmitri Deryabin also scored. Belarus closes the preliminary round against the Czech Republic on Saturday and is in jeopardy of finishing last in five-team Group B standings.
