Some thoughts from the game
McKenna-Catton-Pinelli: McKenna and Catton were Canada’s most potent offensive threats and spent the majority of their time in the offensive zone. For as puzzled as I was about Pinelli’s inclusion on this roster, at least last night he complimented those two well, pressuring the puck and looking relatively in sync
Luchanko line: Howe made his presence felt physically, but apart from that this line didn’t create a whole lot and probably was only responsible for 5 SOG. Cataford looked like a deer in headlights with the puck on his stick and Luchanko committed some horrible turnovers, specifically the one in the third period thar nearly turned out to be costly
Yager line: Beaudoin looked even slower than he did at u18 given the increased level. Gauthier was "out there getting cardio" as the kids say, he created nothing, apart from one hit, he was not particularly noticeable on the forecheck, which is the reason for his inclusion on this team. If I was coaching staff, with how good it went for Pinelli with McKenna and Catton, I’m having Yager centre Rehkopf and Martone on this line, the other two dragged him down last night
Nadeau: pretty toothless offensively playing with Ritchie and Cowan, who both had good nights. Felt like the spare tire
Schaefer: Bar the one turnover up ice that lead to the second goal, he was everywhere last night. He seemed to have the most TOI and I think his play will heavily dictate the fortunes of this team in this tournament
Goaltending: made the saves they needed to make. Ivankovic in particular made two series of fantastic saves in first period, his footwork and explosiveness are impressive
Overall a satisfying night in which the top 6 pretty heavily outplayed one of the tournament favourites, but the lack of depth scoring could be a concern going forward