Canada was losing to Great Britain, but didn’t allow any surprises. Bedard scored twice

After the opening day of the 2024 World Cup of Hockey, the favoured Canada also entered the tournament on Saturday after noon. One of the biggest candidates to win the title in Prague challenged Great Britain, with whom it had problems especially in the first period. In the end, however, the defending gold medalists won 4:2 thanks to two Connor Bedard goals.

Two and a half minutes were played and the Brits enjoyed a surprising leading goal, but prematurely. The referee disallowed Liam Kirk’s goal due to an illegal obstruction by goalkeeper Joel Hofer. The British implementation team, led by head coach Peter Russell, tried to overturn the verdict with a coaching challenge but were unsuccessful.

Therefore, the goalless situation remained due to this decision after a very close situation and the two-minute penalty went behind the bench to be served by Johnny Curran, who committed the very offence in question. André Tourigny’s men did not take advantage of the numerical advantage.

On the other hand, the British Isles outsider did score a regulation goal in the eighth minute during a shortened power play. Kirk, who spent this season in Litvínov, could celebrate with his teammates after his shot into the upper left corner of the net.

However, the North American giant quickly responded half a minute later. Michael Bunting tied the game at 1:1, also clearing the cobwebs at the top of the opponent’s net from the blue line. The score remained the same for the rest of the first period. Hofer, by the way, waited a long time for a successful save, but in the end he only scored two in the opening period. His counterpart, Jackson Whistle, made 11 saves.

In the 26th minute, however, he scored for the second time. Brandon Hagel finished off his own missed Zellweger’s attempt behind his back to turn the score to 2-1. Moments later, the Brits failed to capitalize on a well-played power play after McBain’s slashing.

32. one minute in, the star youngster Connor Bedard scored his first goal at the World Championship. The number one overall pick in last year’s NHL draft increased the score to 3-1 with a successful finish over the goalie’s left shoulder. Four minutes later, Bedard finished off a nice Canadian combination with a shot into the open net to make it 4:1 with his second goal.

The third period was much quieter from the start. It was clear that a big turnaround was unlikely to happen. Nevertheless, Ben O’Connor reduced the score gap after a shorthanded goal in the 49th minute when he skated between two defending players and beat Hofer.

Canada wasn’t going anywhere as the end approached and simply played what they needed to play. The Brits tried a goalless game at the end, but were thwarted by O’Connor’s exclusion. Canada’s numerical superiority then made no difference to the 4:2 score.

The Canadians next game in Group A at 87. World Championship on Sunday afternoon when they will play the Danes. Great Britain will face another tough opponent, Finland, on the same day in the afternoon.

Source: IIHF, CT Sport