OTAWA –
Eriks Mateiko scored the only goal of the shootout as Latvia stunned an alarmingly dull Canada 3-2 at the world junior hockey championship on Friday.
The striker advanced in his country’s eighth effort before scoring a goal to record one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history.
Mateiko and Peteris Bulans scored in regulation time for the European workers in their first game of the 10-team tournament in the country’s capital. Linards Feldbergs stopped 54 shots in 65 minutes. Bruno Osmanis had two assists.
Calum Ritchie and Jett Luchanko responded to the tournament hosts, who are coming off a disappointing fifth place finish last year in Sweden. Jack Ivankovic made 24 saves.
Canada, seeking its 20th gold medal, came into the event with a 4-0 record and a combined 41-4 all-time lead against Latvia, including a 10-0 victory about 12 months ago.
After the Latvians tied the game 1-1 with a man advantage in the third period, Ritchie fired a shot up off a pass from Easton Cowan.
But Canada’s Ethan Gauthier was whistled for a hook shot with just over three minutes left and Bulans tied it on that power play with 2:29 left.
Canada took a penalty for having too many men on the ice in 3-on-3 overtime, but survived that shorthanded situation to force the shootout that many didn’t see coming before the opening faceoff.
Ivankovic is only the third 17-year-old goalkeeper to play for Canada in the under-20 tournament, and the first to start a game since Jimmy Waite in 1987. Brian Finley entered a stint of action as a 17-year-old in 1999.
The goaltender from Mississauga, Ont., started in place of Carter George at the end of a back-to-back after making 31 saves in a 4-0 win over Finland in Thursday’s opener.
Hockey Canada’s think tank led by Peter Anholt spoke before the tournament about how the group was much better prepared this time around after the disastrous performance in Gothenburg that saw the powerhouse defeated by Czechia in the quarterfinals.
The coaching staff led by Dave Cameron was ready early, while the program also held a summer camp and hired a full-time scout.
The management team insisted that all the pieces were in place. In short, there were no excuses.
Canada, however, didn’t have many answers against one of the sport’s minnows on Friday despite dressing 11 NHL first-round picks and three other players expected to go high in the next two drafts.
A disjointed performance in the first 20 minutes was marked by an injury to star defenseman Matthew Schaefer, a 17-year-old potential first-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft, after he crashed into the Latvian net on a power play after the race. .
Ivankovic had to be precise on a couple of penalties and on another solo opportunity off Olivers Murnieks’ stick.
Things didn’t get much better from there.
Canada got on the scoreboard 3:28 into halftime when Luchanko stole a puck on a penalty and scored on a breakaway after Feldbergs decided to stay in his area.
The Canadians, 0 for 3 on the power play against Finland, fell to 0 for 6 later in the period after two largely lifeless man advantages.
With his team seemingly content to stay out and not challenge the Latvians in the middle of the ice (an unfortunate hallmark of the 2024 version of the country), Cameron attacked his players on the bench late in the period.
The crowd at the Canadian Tire Center attempted to rally the nation’s teenagers midway through the third period, but the group continued searching for answers that simply weren’t there to be found.
Canadian defenseman Andrew Gibson then took an elbow to set up Mateiko’s equalizer with 6:42 left in regulation before Ritchie and Mateiko traded goals late.
young guns
Cameron said before the match that the 17-year-old Canadian trio of Gavin McKenna, Ivankovic and Schaefer will not receive special treatment related to their age.
“If we thought they needed any special services, they probably wouldn’t belong on the team,” said Cameron, in charge of the world youth bench for the third time. “We don’t want extra obstacles like having to coddle guys through scenarios. We have enough work to do as it is.
“No matter how young they are, they are mature.”
familiar faces
Canadian forward Berkly Catton and defenseman Caden Price were neighbors growing up in Saskatoon, while captain Brayden Yager’s family moved to the city from Prince Albert, Sask., when he was 11.
“We all dream about this,” Catton said. “We just lived it and enjoyed it.”
Next
Latvia faces the United States on Saturday. Canada will face Germany on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2024.
