2018 IIHF World Junior Championship

CANADA TOPPED BY U.S. IN JUNIOR CAMP OPENER

JASON LA ROSE

PLYMOUTH, Mich. – Cliff Pu (Richmond Hill, Ont./London, OHL) scored in the second period and Brett Howden (Oakbank, Man./Moose Jaw, WHL) added a goal in the third, but Canada Red dropped an 8-2 decision to USA White in the Canadians’ first game Tuesday at Canada’s National Sport Chek Summer Development Camp.

Facing a team playing its third game together in four days, Canada Red fell into an early hole, with the Americans netting four goals in the first 10 minutes.

Logan Brown was first just 1:36 in, jamming the puck past Canadian goaltender Dylan Wells (St. Catharines, Ont./Peterborough, OHL), and Casey Mittelstadt ripped a wrist shot off the post and in for a power-play goal less than two minutes later.

Patrick Harper pushed the lead to three at 6:38, before Max Gerlach poked a loose puck through Wells just as the clock struck 10 minutes.

Brown capped the first period with his second of the game late in the opening frame, roofing a shot to the short-side on Wells to send the United States to the intermission up 5-0.

Canada Red began to find its legs in the second, outshooting the U.S. 9-5 and scoring the lone goal of the period; Pu did the honours, finishing off a pretty saucer pass from Jonah Gadjovich (Whitby, Ont./Owen Sound, OHL) to cut the deficit to four after 40 minutes.

Howden made it a three-goal game on a Canadian power play at 7:30 of the third period, getting his stick on a point shot from Dennis Cholowski (Langley, B.C./St. Cloud State University, WCHA), but that would be the last shot to beat U.S. netminder Jake Oettinger.

Mittelstadt added his second of the game just past the midway mark of the final stanza before Dylan Samberg and Joey Anderson rounded out the scoring in the final five minutes.

The Americans finished with a 31-24 advantage in shots on goal.

Canada and the U.S. meet again Tuesday night in the second half of the doubleheader – Canada White vs. USA Blue – before a full Canadian team faces Finland on Wednesday (1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on TSN).