Connor Bedard scores 4 goals to enter record books, Canada thrashes Austria 11-2
Connor Bedard's four goals propelled Canada to an 11-2 win over Austria at the world junior men's hockey championship on Tuesday.
Mason McTavish scored twice and Cole Perfetti had a goal and two assists for the host country (2-0). Kent Johnson, Lukas Cormier, Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque also scored for the Canadians.
Eliot Desnoyers and Will Cuylle each assisted on three Bedard goals. Brett Brochu stopped 20 of 22 shots for the win in his first start of the tournament.
Lukas Necesany and Mathias Bohm scored for Austria (0-2) with beleaguered starter Leon Sommer making 53 saves in the loss.
Bedard joined Mario Lemieux (1983), Simon Gagne (1999), Brayden Schenn (2010), Taylor Raddysh (2016) and Maxime Comtois (2018) in the Canadian junior men's record books for the most goals scored in a single game.
Bedard was the seventh 16-year-old named to the national men's junior team in its 45-year history, joining players such as Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby.
No other 16-year-old produced four goals in a game, however. Gretzky scored a hat trick in 1977 against Czechoslovakia.
Canada plays its second Pool A game in as many days Wednesday against Germany and concludes the preliminary round New Year's Eve against the Finns.
That's if the men's under-20 tournament isn't further derailed by the COVID-19 virus. Canada versus Austria was the only game played Tuesday.
Two American players testing positive had the U.S. forfeiting a Pool B game to Switzerland with the entire team in mandatory quarantine.
The Swiss were awarded a 1-0 win under International Ice Hockey Federation rules. The IIHF has yet to determine if the U.S. can play Wednesday's Pool B game against Sweden in Red Deer.
The quarterfinals are Sunday followed by the Jan. 4 semifinals and Jan. 5 medal games in Edmonton.
Players moving out and into the lineup had Canada shuffling lines Tuesday, with Bedard shifted onto a line with Cuylle and Desnoyers.
Canadian forward Justin Sourdif served a one-game suspension Tuesday for an illegal check to the head in Sunday's tournament-opening 6-3 win over Czechia.
Forward Xavier Bourgault also didn't play after taking a hit to the head in Sunday's third period.
Stankoven of the Kamloops Blazers and Soo Greyhounds defenceman Ryan O'Rourke drew in to play their first games of the tournament.
Bedard's fourth goal was a tip-in at 2:34 of the third period. The Canadians scored six unanswered goals before Austria responded late in the second period.
Bedard scored back-to-back goals in a 71-second span late in the first period to spot his team a 5-0 lead.
The Regina Pats forward then collected the puck off an offensive-zone draw and whipped a wrist shot over Sommer at 6:13 of the second period to complete his hat trick.
He got a second swing at a pinballing puck for a power-play goal and finished a give-and-go with Cuylle off the rush in the first period.
Alberta's COVID-19 restrictions limits spectators in Edmonton and Red Deer to 50 per cent capacity. Rogers Place wasn't close to its half-capacity of 9,320 for Tuesday's game.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.