Canada completes Para ice hockey round robin with perfect record

Photo: Hockey Canada

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic – Tyler McGregor and Zach Lavin each scored a hat trick as Canada blanked Czech Republic 10-0 on Tuesday to conclude round robin action at the 2021 World Para Ice Hockey Championships. 

The Canadians finish the round robin with three wins and no losses for first place in pool A. Canada beat the defending champion Americans 2-1 this past Saturday and South Korea 8-0 on Sunday. 

“We were able to build some momentum in our offence, and we had some different players step up and get their first goals of the tournament,’’ said Canada’s head coach Ken Babey. ‘’We were able to get our younger players some more ice time in the third period to hopefully give them some extra experience as we head into the medal round.”

Other Canadian scorers were Rod Crane with two goals while Anton Jacobs-Webb and Corbyn Smith added one apiece. Billy Bridges earned four assists and Adam Kingsmill recorded the shutout. The score was 5-0 after the first period and 9-0 after two.

“It was a fun game today and a good opportunity to work on our offensive play and a lot of our systems,’’ said Jacobs-Webb. ‘’It was good for us to be able to build up our offence and to have our third line producing and helping us get on the scoreboard. We were able to try out some new line combinations and I think we are all getting more comfortable with each other as the tournament progresses.”

Canada’s opponent for its semifinal on Friday won’t be known until Wednesday when tournament round robin play is concluded. 

Prior to Tuesday’s game, Team Canada announced that Rob Armstrong and James Dunn will miss the rest of the tournament due to injury.

Audiences across the country can watch Canada’s games live and on-demand at Paralympic.ca and the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s Facebook page. CLICK HERE for more broadcast information. 

Quotes provided by Hockey Canada