2017 IIHF World Championship – Canada vs. Czech Republic

PARIS, France –  Canada, the two-time defending gold-medallists, opened the 2017 IIHF World Championship with a 4-1 win over the Czech Republic Friday at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris.

• Tyson Barrie (Victoria/Colorado, NHL) and Jeff Skinner (Toronto/Carolina, NHL) netted a goal and an assist each in the game, while Michael Matheson (Pointe-Claire, Que./Florida, NHL) and Ryan O’Reilly (Varna, Ont./Buffalo, NHL) also added a goal each for the Canadians.
• Team Canada captain Claude Giroux (Hearst, Ont./Philadelphia, NHL) chipped in with a pair of assists.
• Calvin Pickard (Winnipeg/Colorado, NHL) picked up his first win of the tournament making 28 saves, as the Czech Republic outshot Canada 29-28.

Next game: Team Canada is back in action on Sunday, May 7, at 6 a.m. ET when they face Slovenia.

 “When you get in situations like this, the way it starts is usually not the way it finishes, but we have to have a starting point. We’ll get guys in and out [of the lineup] and get a feel for strengths and weaknesses of players. The one thing is everybody is committed, we’re all excited to play and the first time you put the jersey on it’s pretty exciting.” –  Jon Cooper (Prince George, B.C./Tampa Bay, NHL) Team Canada head coach.

U.S. Falls to Germany, 2-1, in Men’s Worlds Opener

COLOGNE, Germany – Connor Murphy (Dublin, Ohio/Arizona Coyotes) scored and Jimmy Howard (Syracuse, N.Y./Detroit Red Wings/University of Maine) made 25 saves, but the U.S. Men’s National Team fell to Germany, 2-1, to open play here at the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Championship before a sellout crowd of 18,688 at LAXNESS Arena.

2017 IIHF World Championship schedule