World Junior Championship roundup: McTavish has four goals in Canada win

Thursday was the third day of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, which is being held at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

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Day 3 games

Canada 11, Slovakia 1 --
Mason McTavish
, an Anaheim Ducks forward prospect, had four goals and two assists to help give Canada its second straight win in Group A.
"It's pretty cool for sure," McTavish said. "It's a special moment but obviously credit to my teammates ... they were looking for me all game, it felt like."
McTavish, selected No. 3 in the 2021 NHL Draft, scored a hat trick in the second period when Canada scored four times to take an 8-1 lead.
"Everything was going in for him," Canada forward
Kent Johnson
(Columbus Blue Jackets) said. "Obviously he was all around the puck like normal, so it was a great game for him. We're really glad that he made the decision (to play in this tournament) and obviously that helps the team a lot and it's great for the culture."
The 19-year-old tied a Canada record for most goals in a WJC game with six other players (Mario Lemieux, 1984; Simon Gagne, 1999; Brayden Schenn, 2011; Taylor Raddysh, 2017;
Max Comtois
, 2019; Connor Bedard, Dec. 2022).

Joshua Roy
(Montreal Canadiens) had a goal and three assists,
Brennan Othmann
(New York Rangers) had a goal and two assists, and
William Cuylle
(Rangers),
Logan Stankoven
(Dallas Stars) and
Olen Zellweger
(Ducks) and Bedard each had a goal and an assist for Canada (2-0-0-0).
Dylan Garand
(Rangers), who made his tournament debut for Canada, made 22 saves.
Bedard, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, gave Canada a 1-0 lead on a shot from low in the left face-off circle at 6:16 of the first period.
Cuylle made it 2-0 nine seconds after a Slovakia power-play expired, breaking in behind the defense off a pass from
Ridly Greig
(Ottawa Senators) and scoring from the slot at 13:06.
"It was the end of the penalty kill and a couple nice plays from McTavish
(Senators) closed out the scoring at 19:39.
"I think the way we were moving the puck around and passing it quick … we looked pretty fast out there, so that was great," Johnson said.
Slovakia goalie Simon Latkoczy allowed four goals on 15 shots before being replaced at the start of the second period by Tomas Bolo, who made 22 saves.
Canada is 15-0-1 with a plus-68 goal differential against Slovakia in World Juniors competition.
Slovakia next plays Latvia on Friday. Canada next plays Czechia on Saturday.
United States 7, Switzerland 1 --
Carter Mazur
, a Detroit Red Wings forward prospect, had two goals and an assist, and the United States won its second straight game in Group B.
Mazur, selected in the third round (No. 70) of the 2021 NHL Draft, scored two of the United States' five goals in the second period to take a 5-1 lead.
"We came into this game lightly, I would say, so we had to start dialing it in and play the body so they knew we're there," Mazur told NHL Network. "If we did that, we knew we'd get to our game."
Thomas Bordeleau
(San Jose Sharks) had a goal and two assists,
Brock Faber
(Minnesota Wild) and
Landon Slaggert
(Chicago Blackhawks) each had a goal and an assist, and
Luke Hughes
(New Jersey Devils) had three assists for the United States (2-0-0-0). Kaidan Mbereko (2023 NHL Draft eligible) made 23 saves.
The forward line of Slaggert, Bordeleau, and Mazur combined for eight points (four goals, four assists). Mazur was named the player of the game for the United States.
"Coming off the (0-0) first period we had some things that we needed to tighten up a little bit and it just started with our work ethic," Slaggert said. "Switzerland] is a proud team, they work hard, so we just had to match that and elevate, and I think we did just that."
Mazur gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal off a no-look pass from behind the net by
[Mackie Samoskevich
(Florida Panthers) at 5:54 of the second period.
Joel Henry (2023 draft eligible) tied it 1-1 at 8:25, scoring on a breakaway for Switzerland (0-0-0-2).
Faber, the U.S. captain, made it 2-1 on a shot from the point at 11:29, and Mazur extended the lead to 3-1 at 13:22.
Slaggert tipped in a shot from the point for a 4-1 lead at 17:16, and
Matt Coronato
(Calgary Flames) made it 5-1 on a deflection off a Hughes shot from the point at 19:23.
"Faber and Hughes] are special players and if you're going to the net, you know they're going to put it in a spot for you to do something with it," Slaggert said. "We're fortunate to have those guys at the point. You just have to get to the front of the net, take away the goalie's eyes, and hope for the best."
Bordeleau scored a power-play goal on a one-timer from the right circle to make it 6-1 at 1:57 of the third period and
[Riley Duran
(Boston Bruins) scored from the left circle at 15:23 for the 7-1 final.
Switzerland goalie Kevin Pasche (2023 draft eligible) allowed five goals on 30 shots before being replaced at the start of the third period by Noah Patenaude, who made seven saves.
The United States next plays Austria on Saturday. Switzerland next plays Germany on Saturday.
Finland 4, Czechia 3 (SO) --
Kasper Puutio
, a Florida Panthers defenseman prospect, scored a goal and was named player of the game for Finland in a preliminary-round shootout victory in Group A.
Kasper Simontaival
(Los Angeles Kings) scored the decisive goal in the fifth round for Finland (1-1-0-0).
Leevi Merilainen
(Ottawa Senators) made 23 saves.
"Great win for us. We had a pretty rough start," Finland forward
Aatu Raty
(New York Islanders) said. "I thought we had a good overtime and some good shooters in the shootout, and obviously, Merilainen] stepped up big time for us."
[Jan Mysak
(Montreal Canadiens) and
Jiri Kulich
(Buffalo Sabres) each had a goal and an assist for Czechia (1-0-1-0).
Jan Bednar
(Detroit Red Wings) made 28 saves.
Jaroslav Chmelar
(New York Rangers) gave Czechia a 1-0 lead at 6:36 of the first period on a shot from below the right circle, and Kulich made it 2-0 at 11:31 on a power-play goal.
Roby Jarventie
(Ottawa Senators) scored a power-play goal for Finland on a one-timer from the right circle to make it 2-1 at 16:28.
Puutio tied it at 3:39 of the second from the right circle.
"It was just a pretty casual face-off play there," Puutio said. "I sensed there was a lot of time for me, so I just set it off the tee there and let it rip."
Raty scored from the right circle to give Finland a 3-2 lead at 10:24 of the third period.
Mysak tied it 3-3 at 12:38 when he banked a shot in off the left pad of Merilainen from the left post.
Czechia next plays Canada on Saturday. Finland next plays Slovakia on Sunday.
"I thought we played a great match," Kulich said. "Next game, we have to play the same, like this game. We'll try to be better. Against Canada (on Saturday), we have to skate well and have a great defensive game."
LNH.com staff writer Guillaume Lepage and NHL.com independent correspondent Derek Van Diest contributed to this report
Quick links
World Junior Championship predictions
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Group B preview
World Juniors Championship rosters
Tournament schedule
NHL.com independent correspondent Derek van Diest contributed to this report
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