Canada’s offence too strong for South Korea in Para ice hockey mini-series

LUNENBERG, N.S. – Tyler McGregor earned a goal and three assists while Billy Bridges and Liam Hickey added three points apiece as Canada defeated South Korea 7-0 in the third of four games between the two nations in preparation for the Paralympic Winter Games this March in Beijing.

Canada, the reigning world and Paralympic Games silver medallists, has won all three games so far with 7-0 and 6-1 victories on Sunday and Tuesday against the 2018 Paralympic Games bronze medallists.

“This was our best game so far and I just liked the way the guys played unselfishly,’’ said Canada’s head coach Ken Babey. ‘’They were looking for each other on plays and not trying to do it individually. I liked the way we were able to use all our lines and get some of the young guys some ice time and experience.’’

Hickey scored consecutive goals in the second period, both assisted by Bridges to put Canada ahead 6-0. The Canadians enjoyed a much better start than on Tuesday with four first period goals by Zach Lavin, Rob Armstrong, McGregor and Greg Westlake. Adam Dixon was the lone marker in the third.

Dominic Larocque earned the shutout.

The Westlake-Lavin-McGregor line combined for nine points.

“The line has been awesome,’’ said McGregor. ‘’Today was probably our best game, not just for our line but for our whole team. I think over the week, we’ve built a little bit of chemistry and got off to a quick start, which was pretty important for our whole group.”

The last game in the series is Friday at 5 p.m. ET and can be livestreamed on HockeyTV without a subscription.