Canada 5 Finland 2
KITCHENER, Ont. — Mark Visentin or Olivier Roy?
That’s the question going into Sunday’s clash between Canada and Russia to open the world junior championship.
And if anyone on the Canadian team knows the answer of who will get the start in goal Boxing Day in Buffalo, N.Y., they weren’t saying after Thursday’s final exhibition game, a 5-2 win over Finland.
“We’ll wait and see. I don’t know yet,” Visentin said after making 18 saves to pick up his second exhibition victory as Canada finished its warmup schedule 3-0.
“We’re just getting over the game right now. I’m sure we’ll find out(soon).”
Roy sat on the bench for Thursday, and though he showed his worth in Tuesday’s 4-1 win against Sweden, five days is long time between starts in a tournament where every game counts.
Besides deciding on their goaltender, the Canadian team will have to get its power play in order after going 2-for-7 with the man advantage Thursday.
And the timing of captain Ryan Ellis’s goal couldn’t have been any better. After Finland took a 1-0 lead in the first on a goal by Henri Tuominen, Canada’s power-play quarterback tied the score 26 seconds into the second period, one-timing a pass from Jaden Schwartz past Joni Ortio.
Ellis became the 13th different player to score for Canada in exhibition play.
The goal breathed some life into the Canadians, who crashed the net and made life difficult for the Finns the rest of the way.
Ryan Johansen became the first Canadian player to score more than once in exhibition when Zack Kassian found him alone at the left faceoff circle and he snapped a shot past Ortio.
Erik Haula tied the game before the second period was out, but Canada scored three times in the third on Sami Aittokallio, who replaced Ortio. Canada took the lead for good just 2:01 into the third when Sean Couturier followed Curtis Hamilton to the net and lifted his rebound over a sprawling Aittokallio.
Shortly after Aittokallio stoned Louis Leblanc from point-blank range, Quinton Howden found a hole in the Finnish netminder as the puck just squeezed over the line at 12:49 to make it 4-2.
Johansen rounded out the scoring with his second of the night on a pretty three-way passing play with Kassian and Brayden Schenn, who finished with two assists.
Finland opens the tournament against the host U.S., also on Sunday.