2014-15 National Men's Team

CANADIAN COMEBACK FALLS ONE-GOAL SHORT IN SPENGLER CUP SEMIFINAL

JASON LA ROSE

DAVOS, Switzerland – Canada’s National Men’s Team twice turned a five-goal deficit into a one-goal game in the third period, but dropped a 6-5 decision to HC Genève-Servette in Tuesday’s semifinals at the 2014 Spengler Cup.

It’s the second year in a row Canada has lost to the Swiss side in the semifinals, by the same score.

Mike Hedden (Dunnville, Ont./Ässät Pori, FIN), Ryan Parent (Sioux Lookout, Ont./St. John’s, AHL), Jérôme Samson (Greenfield Park, Que./Syracuse, AHL), Alexandre Giroux (Quebec City, Que./HC Ambri-Piotta, SUI) and Marc-Antoine Pouliot (Quebec City, Que./HC Fribourg-Gottéron, SUI) had the Canadian goals.

Canada trailed 5-0 at the 10:25 mark of the second period, but scored three times before the end of the middle frame to make a big dent in the HC Genève-Servette lead, and got to within one at 5-4 and 6-5 in the third period.

Inti Pestoni got the defending champions on the board first at 8:10, stepping out from behind the net and beating Canadian goaltender Drew MacIntyre (Charlottetown, P.E.I./Charlotte, AHL), and Tom Pyatt batted in the 2-0 goal in the final minute of the opening period.

HC Genève-Servette turned it on in the second period, scoring three times in 3:39 – from Romain Loeffel on the power play, Francis Boullion at even strength and Timothy Kast shorthanded – to open up a seemingly-commanding 5-0 lead.

Boullion’s goal meant the end of the night for MacIntyre, who gave up four goals in 23 shots.

Hedden got the Canadian comeback started just 29 seconds after Kast’s goal, beating HC Genève-Servette netminder Janick Schwendener just one second after a power play ended to make it 5-1.

Parent hammered a point shot past Schwendener at 16:03, and Samson spun at the top of the crease and went five-hole in the last minute of the period to cut the Swiss lead to 5-3 after two periods.

The Canadian power play struck just 1:39 into the third period, with Giroux getting his fourth goal in as many games, but Loeffel’s second on a HC Genève-Servette man advantage restored the two-goal lead at 5:19.

Pouliot made it a one-goal game again at 10:42, but Canada would get no closer.

Nolan Schaefer (Yellow Grass, Sask./SC Bern, SUI) stopped eight of the 10 shots he faced in relief of MacIntyre.

HC Genève-Servette, which will look for back-to-back championships when it faces Salavat Yulaev Ufa in Wednesday’s championship game (6 a.m. ET/3 a.m. PT, LIVE on TSN), outshot Canada 33-31.