Lake had an assist on Liam Kirk’s opening power play goal, while goaltender Whistle, who started somewhat surprisingly ahead of long-time number one Ben Bowns, dazzled with 30 saves against a Canadian side truly starry.
While in previous years the North Americans had sent watered-down teams to the World Championships – which take place during the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs and are considered less important than the Olympics – the roster of this year is made up entirely of NHL players.
And it took their star man, Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard, to get Canada across the finish line as the top pick in last year’s NHL draft scored twice, with Michael Bunting of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Brandon Hagel of the Tampa Bay Lightning also on the scoresheet.
Unsurprisingly, it was Kirk, the only British-trained player to be drafted into the NHL, who led the bulk of Britain’s offense at the O2 Arena by scoring the opening goal of the match, then placing Ben O’Connor. for a consolation goal in the third period, Pete Russell’s men would indeed win.
But the damage was done in the second period after a first period that ended tied at 1-1 as Bédard scored twice after Hagel gave Canada the lead to take the match beyond the Great Britain and secure the three points for André Tourigny’s men, who will be one of the favorites to win the tournament.
Kirk had given GB the lead when he scored with his first shot of the game at 7:47, Lake finding Evan Mosey who set the winger up for the finish on the power play with Dylan Cozens punished for high sticking, but Bunting equalized exactly 30 seconds in. later, when he fired in front of an invisible whistle.
Hagel scored the go-ahead goal at 5:45 of the second period when he knocked a bouncing puck into the crease, then superstar Bédard took over, scoring the winning goal at 31:39 and adding another at 35:29 for insurance.
But head coach Russell will be pleased with his players’ diligence which saw them add a consolation goal 8:49 into the final period, Kirk turning away a punt in the offensive zone and finding O’Connor skating past the blue line. , and the defender produced a superb finish, beating Joel Hofer – 13 saves – on the backhand.
GB even managed to get Whistle out for the extra skater late in the game as they attempted to produce a remarkable and stunning comeback, but an interference call on O’Connor forced them to play shorthanded late in the game. match and allowed Canada to come out of it convincingly.
The Great Britain tournament continues with another heavyweight clash on Sunday when they take on Finland (11.20am UK time), another team with three NHL players on their roster and a wealth of experience in the best European leagues.
They will know, however, that bigger tests await them in their bid to avoid relegation from the top tier, with clashes against the likes of Denmark, Norway and Austria later in the tournament more likely to decide their status for next year than these first two. games.
