US Falls to Canada in WJC

The United States dropped a 5-4 decision to Canada in the World Junior Championships on Thursday night, losing a lead late in the third period before getting beat in a shootout. The Americans are now 3-1 in the tourney and

Philip McRae (London Knights) tied the score for the US in the first period and Jordan Schroeder (U. of Minnesota) gave them the lead seven minutes into the second frame. After Canada tied the score four minutes later, Tyler Johnson scored short-handed to give the Americans a 3-2 lead with just 11 seconds remaining in the second.

Danny Kristo (U. of North Dakota) made it 4-2 just one minute into the final period before Canada came storming back before the partisan crowd in Saskatoon. Jordan Eberle scored his second of the night to cut the deficit to one, and Alex Pietrangelo tied the score with 4:15 remaining in the third.

After a scoreless overtime period, Canada won the game in a shootout.

Jack Campbell (Boston College) got the start in goal and turned aside 30 Canadian shots. Jerry D'Amigo (RPI) picked up two assists in the game.

The US will play Finland on Saturday in Saskatoon, as the juniors head into the single-elimination round of the tournament. The loss to Canada kept the Yanks from receiving a bye, which was won by Canada instead. Should the US beat the Finns, the next opponent would be Sweden on Sunday, also in Saskatoon.

I'll leave it to the readers to decide if a shootout should decide any tournament game, but I personally am fine with the result. The US lost a two-goal lead in the third period and have only themselves to blame for missing out on a bye. Now, it's time to take care of business against a couple of Scandinavian entries before possibly re-matching with the Canadians in the title game next Tuesday night. The Americans proved they can play with the elite teams, but now must win some games.