Eurolanche

WJC: Makar, Timmins earn assists

The 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo continued yesterday with the second game day of the group stage. Only two games were played – Switzerland faced Belarus in the day’s earlier game, while Colorado Avalanche prospects Cale Makar and Conor Timmins played their second game at the tournament in as many days, as Canada squared off against outsiders Slovakia.

Slovakia – Canada 0:6 (0:1, 0:3, 0:2)

4. Steel (Makar, Kyrou), 22. Kyrou (Mete, Dube), 26. Gadjovich (Makar), 31. Raddysh (Kyrou, Steel), 56. Comtois, 59. Gadjovich (McLeod, Timmins)

The Canadian juggernaut had a slow start to the game against outsiders Slovakia, with Sam Steel’s opening goal being the only one scored during the opening period. Cale Makar had the primary assist on Steel’s tally. Canada finally got going shortly after the second frame began, as Jordan Kyrou and Jonah Gadjovich scored less than four minutes apart to effectively seal the game for the favorites. The Canadians fired a whooping 21 shots on David Hrenak’s goal in the second period alone, slowly turning the game into an exhibition of on-ice skill and finesse. Their Slovak counterparts repeatedly kept shooting themselves in the foot, causing unnecessary turnovers, taking bad penalties and giving up on a lot of plays the Canadians barely failed to capitalize on. If not for a couple of great stops by Hrenak, as well as several pucks ringing off the iron, the game could’ve easily been a lot more messy. Both Avalanche prospects had a great game. Namely Makar redeemed himself with his superb performance following a bad, albeit limited outing in Canada’s opener. Since Canada’s coaching staff chose to rest defenseman Kale Clague, the lineup only included six defensemen and gave Makar the chance to shine. This year’s fourth overall pick was only behind d-man Victor Mete in TOI (25:12) and recorded two assists for his first two points at the international level. Makar also saw significant time on the power-play, recorder two shots on goal and finished the game +3. The youngster showed his raw skill, making a lot of gutsy moves not only in the offensive zone, but in his own zone as well. His teammate Timmins was solid yet again, being third on the team in TOI behind Makar and recording a power-play assist on Canada’s last goal. All in all, both Avs prospects had a terrific outing and now have two points each in as many games played at this year’s tournament. Canada has a day off today and will face their archrival from the US in the first outdoor game in World Juniors history tomorrow. 

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