CANADA 5, SLOVAKIA 1
Canada: Dawson Mercer, Damon Severson, Ryan Graves
Slovakia: Tomas Tatar
It was a battle between Devils teammates as Tomas Tatar, representing Slovakia, played Ryan Graves, Dawson Mercer, and Damon Severson who are playing for Canada. Canada would go on to win 5-1, improving to 3-0-0 in group play. Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice for Canada while Cole Dillinger, Morgan Geekie, and Adam Lowry each added one. Samuel Takac had the lone goal for losing team, as Slovakia dropped its second straight after winning against France in its opening game.
The two Devils defensemen playing for Canada picked up assists. Severson picked up the primary assist on Adam Lowry's goal which opened scoring in the middle of the first period. The helper was Severson's second at the tournament. The Alternate Captain for both Canada and the Devils played 17:13 and was +2. Graves picked up a secondary assist on Pierre-Luc Dubois's second goal in the final five minutes of the second period. The defenseman played 17:21, was +1 against Slovakia, and now has two assists through three games.
Mercer played a total of 12:42 in Monday's game where he registered three shots on goal. Mercer has three assists through three games at Men's Worlds. Tatar only registered one shot on goal after playing 18 minutes in the loss to Canada. The forward has one goal through three games at Men's Worlds, a power play goal against France in Slovakia's first game of the tournament.
Canada sits at the top of Group A with nine points, while Slovakia is fifth with three points.
Next: Canada plays Kazakhstan on May 19 at 1:20 p.m. ET. Slovakia plays Switzerland on May 18 at 1:20 p.m. ET.
FINLAND 4, UNITED STATES 1
United States: Luke Hughes, Jon Gillies
After winning its first two games of group play, the U.S. fell 4-1 to Finland on Monday. Luke Hughes picked up the primary assist on the lone American goal, when Alex Galchenyuk scored in the final two minutes of the third period. Hughes played just shy of 18 minutes (17:57), and registered two shots on goal, both in the third period. The helper from today's game was Hughes' second point of the tournament, his first was an overtime game winner in the U.S.'s game against Austria yesterday.
The Americans were assessed 41 penalty minutes throughout the game, and the host country capitalized, adding three power play goals. With the U.S.'s starting goaltender Alex Nedeljokovic out for the rest of the tournament with a lower-body injury, Jon Gillies backed up for today's game.
The U.S. is third in Group B with five points and a 1-1-1 record. Finland is first in Group B with nine points.
Next: The U.S. plays Great Britain on May 19 at 9:20 a.m. ET.
