OTAWA –
Hockey Canada executive Scott Salmond says “the buck stops” with him.
The country’s under-20 men’s team was eliminated from the world junior hockey championship in the quarterfinals Thursday for the second year in a row.
Salmond, the program’s senior vice president of high performance and hockey operations, added that he is “incredibly disappointed” and “apologetic” after Canada lost 4-3 to the Czech Republic.
The defeat came after the country was eliminated at the same stage 12 months ago by the same opponent.
Poor scoring and discipline problems plagued Canada in the nation’s capital.
The hockey powerhouse scored just 13 goals in five games (just two more than lowly Kazakhstan) thanks to a tournament-worst 6.34 shooting percentage. Canada was also by far the most penalized team in the event and was shorthanded 27 times.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2024.
