Canada's Ryan Strome celebrates his goal against Team USA during the first period of their preliminary round game during the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
Canada's goalie Malcolm Subban (30) guards the net with teammates Xavier Ouellet (16) and Mark McNeill (24) as Team USA's Sean Kuraly (7) and Riley Barber (16) go for the puck during the second period of their preliminary round game at the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch (RUSSIA - Tags: SPORT ICE HOCKEY)
Canada's Ryan Murphy collides with Team USA's Blake Pietila (R) during the first period of their preliminary round game during the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
Canada's players celebrate defeating Team USA during their preliminary round game at the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
Canada's goalie Malcolm Subban celebrates with teammate Phillip Danault (R) after they defeated Team USA in their preliminary round game during the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
Canada's Ryan Nugent-Hopkins celebrates his goal with Xavier Ouellet (16) against Team USA during the first period of their preliminary round game during the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
Canada's goalie Malcolm Subban makes a against Team USA during the third period of their preliminary round game at the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
Canada's goalie Malcolm Subban lays on the ice after making a save as Team USA's Nathan MacKinnon (L) skates by during the first period of their preliminary round game during the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
Canada's players celebrate defeating Team USA during their preliminary round game at the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
Canada's goalie Malcolm Subban falls on the ice in play against Team USA during the third period of their preliminary round game at the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
Canada's Ryan Strome (L) celebrates his goal against Team USA's goalie John Gibson during the first period of their preliminary round game at the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
Canada's goalie Malcolm Subban stretches before his team plays Team USA in their preliminary round game during the 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championship in Ufa, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark Blinch
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UFA, Russia ? Goaltending? Check.
A short bench? No big deal.
Discipline? Not really an issue.
The factors that might have been problems for Canada in its game against the United States at the 2013 World Junior Championship didn?t materialize.
Instead, goalie Malcolm Subban, who had allowed six goals in Canada?s first two games of the tournament, was nearly perfect in a 2-1 victory.
Canada played the game without a pair of suspended forwards. JC Lipon served his one-game suspension, while Boone Jenner?s three-gamer is done as well. Both will be in the lineup when Canada and Russia meet on New Year?s Eve in the final preliminary-round game for both teams. The winner will earn a bye the semifinals on Thursday.
But there was not much off the pace of the Canadian forwards, who didn?t perform like they were one man short.
Captain Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan Strome scored for Canada.
With Strome in the penalty box, Jacob Trouba scored for the U.S. in the third period on a power play.
Nugent-Hopkins, who leads the tournament with eight points, scored on a wrist shot in the first period after Mark Scheifele won a faceoff in the U.S. end. Canada gained control and Jonathan Huberdeau made a pass off the side boards to Nugent-Hopkins, whose wrist shot cleanly beat American goalie John Gibson to the stick side.
Strome made it 2-0 at 14:44 when he flipped a pass from Niagara IceDogs linemate Brett Ritchie behind Gibson. U.S. defenceman Seth Jones, a potential No. 1 pick in the 2013 NHL entry draft, had no idea Strome was in front of the net when Ritchie made the pass.
Subban?s biggest save came on a breakaway by U.S. forward John Gaudreau in the first period with Canada up 1-0. Gaudreau deked to his backhand and tried to slip the puck between Subban?s legs, but the netminder simultaneously slid across the crease and closed the five hole.
But Subban was sharp throughout the game. He settled into a groove with a pair of tough stops on Vince Trocheck in the first few minutes, demonstrating to fans at the rink and across Canada that he was capable of taking his game to a higher level.
In the second period, Subban stopped a close-range chance by J.T. Miller and then saved an Alex Galchenyuk shot from the slot.
And there was Subban lunging across the crease to deny Ryan Hartman not long after Trouba scored to preserve the one-goal lead.
Canada had to kill off its share of penalties ? Mark McNeill and Phillip Danault were excellent ? but nothing came close to being a suspension. The pair was instrumental in killing off a four-minute minor to Griffin Reinhart in the second period.
Nugent-Hopkins was sent off for boarding with just under two minutes to play, but the U.S. could not score. Subban stopped Galchenyuk, among other saves.
Subban and Gibson were named the MVPs of the game for their respective teams.
terry.koshan@sunmedia.ca
twitter.com/koshtorontosun
Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/30/world-junior-championships-canada-beats-us-2-1
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