he told TSN of his mindset on Tuesday morning<\/a>. \u201cGet my legs going early, get pucks in and I\u2019m going to try to drive the play more.\u201d<\/p>\nIn a bid to spark the top line, Team Canada moved Kelowna Rockets sniper Tij Iginla to the left side of Misa and Martone. McKenna, who played in that spot on Saturday, shifted to the second line with Michigan Wolverines centre Michael Hage and Soo Greyhounds forward Brady Martin.<\/p>\n
Misa made an immediate impact against Denmark setting up Iginla for a goal on their first shift. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe came to work right from puck drop,\u201d said Iginla. \u201cIt\u2019s great to score, great to get the chemistry flowing in exhibition games. It gets you feeling good, your legs feeling a little bit lighter and stuff like that. In a short tournament like this chemistry\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Misa also set up Iginla for a goal early in the second period. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey worked together,\u201d said head coach Dale Hunter of the top line. \u201cThey had a good net-front presence and worked the puck from high to low and made the proper plays using their D. It\u2019s a five-man unit out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iginla: ‘The real tournament is starting now and we’re fired up and ready to go’ Tij Iginla discusses Canada’s scoring outburst against Denmark, what he liked about his line’s performance in the pre-tournament tune-up, and where the team is at with the World Juniors days away. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
McKenna generated instant chemistry with Hage and Martin during the first pre-tournament game on Dec. 17. Martin scored twice against the Swedes with McKenna picking up the primary assist on both goals.<\/p>\n
McKenna, Hage and Martin clicked again on Tuesday night with all three scoring. <\/p>\n
McKenna had gone seven games (five in the NCAA and two pre-tournament games with Canada) without scoring. Tuesday\u2019s tally marked his first goal since a game on Nov. 7 at Michigan State. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels good,\u201d the 18-year-old acknowledged. \u201cSome great players to play with here and they made some great plays to me and, yeah, it felt good to get it in the back of the net.\u201d<\/p>\n
McKenna finished the night with two goals and three assists. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think last night and the games against Sweden pushed him to play faster,\u201d said Mark Hunter. \u201cAnd last night his speed and his skill and his shooting and his passing came to the forefront and he got rewarded. The three [pre-tournament] games were good for him. The style of play against the Swedes was high. There wasn\u2019t much room on the ice and that was good for our skill guys to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
McKenna has four goals and 14 assists so far this season at Penn State. He has not recorded more than two points in any NCAA game. <\/p>\n
McKenna is one of six returning players on the roster. That group is looking for redemption in Minnesota after being knocked out by Czechia in the quarter-finals last year. Czechia also ended Canada\u2019s hopes in the quarter-finals at the 2024 event. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited,\u201d McKenna said. \u201cObviously very confident. I think we\u2019re itching. Losing to Czechia back-to-back years, that angers us and fuels us, so game one we got to be flying, and we\u2019re excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘We’re itching’: McKenna says Canada is angry and ready for redemption at World Juniors Gavin McKenna shares his takeaways from Canada’s demolition of Denmark, how it felt to score twice, and where Team Canada is at heading into the World Juniors with the pre-tournament preps all out of the way. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
After going 0\/7 on the power play in the first two pre-tournament games, Canada broke through on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
\u201cA big thing at practice was simplifying it,\u201d said Martone. \u201cWe have so much skill that it can sometimes get too complicated. We have two really good units and if both of them can score it will be tough for penalty killers because it\u2019s a full two minutes you have to work to stop us from scoring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both units scored on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
Martone created the first man-advantage marker with a heavy shot that created a rebound, which was batted in by fellow Philadelphia Flyers prospect Jett Luchanko, who plays for the Brantford Bulldogs in the OHL.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey shot the puck,\u201d Dale Hunter said. \u201cIt was a shot from Martone and Luchanko knocked it out of the air. You got to get to the blue paint and get rebounds.\u201d <\/p>\n
McKenna set up for Martin for a tap-in goal on the power play in the third period. <\/p>\n
Must See: Iginla, Luchanko score pretty goals as Canada strikes twice early vs. Denmark Tij Iginla finishes off a pretty give-and-go play to put Canada on the board just 1:03 into the game against Denmark. Later in the first period, Jett Luchanko bats in the puck out of mid-air to put the Canadians back in front. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
The game remained close through 20 minutes with Canada up 2-1 after the first period. Canada pulled away in the second by outshooting Denmark 24-0 while scoring four times in the middle stanza. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great win,\u201d said Bulldogs defenceman Ben Danford. \u201cThroughout the game, we stuck to how we want to play. We had quite a few goals, but I\u2019m talking about our defence and the way we were breaking out the puck, and systems-wise I thought we were really good. That\u2019s good to see going into the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
Canada tacked on seven more goals in the third period. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was great from our squad to stick with those habits through the whole 60 minutes,\u201d said Martone. \u201cWe could have got away from our game when the game got out of reach. I\u2019m proud of the group in there. We stuck to our habits. That\u2019s big for us to kind of prepare our team for Boxing Day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hunter happy with Canada’s win over Denmark, expects Misa to be fine for Boxing Day Team Canada head coach Dale Hunter shares his takeaways from Canada’s rout of Denmark in pre-tournament action, the big performance from the team’s top line, how Michael Misa is feeling after exiting early, and more. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Danford experienced a scary moment in the second period on Tuesday when he was hit into the boards from behind by Denmark forward Sebastian Stromstad. <\/p>\n
\u201cGot hit on the numbers,\u201d the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect said. \u201cIt was a stinger. I\u2019m all good. I feel fine so it\u2019s all good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Danford did stay down for a few moments in the aftermath of the hit. <\/p>\n
\u201cInitially I didn\u2019t feel right, but it kind of went away quick and I feel great now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Stromstad received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for checking from behind. <\/p>\n
Danford declares himself ‘all good’ heading into World Juniors after hit from behind After taking a scary hit from behind against Denmark, Ben Danford shares how he’s feeling and breaks down Canada’s big win. Danford likes how Canada is coming together on and off the ice heading into the World Juniors. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Team Canada is bringing three goalies to the World Juniors after all. Hockey Canada initially planned to release one of the three goalies brought to training camp, because they did not want a goalie to come to Minnesota and then not play. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe made a decision that we\u2019re going to keep all three because all three have looked good in practice and in the games,\u201d Mark Hunter confirmed. \u201cWe\u2019ll push on with three and let the coaches make the decision on who to start.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, Prince George Cougars netminder Joshua Ravensbergen remains with the team alongside returning goalies Carter George of the Owen Sound Attack and Jack Ivankovic from the University of Michigan. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to see,\u201d Mark Hunter said of the depth in net. \u201cIt\u2019s impressive. Sometimes the goaltending situation in Canada goes up and down, but Canadians gotta feel pretty comfortable seeing these three goalies on our team, and they have a great future in the National Hockey League also.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the first time Canada will have two returning goalies available at the World Juniors. <\/p>\n
George stopped two of the three shots faced in 30 minutes of action against Denmark on Tuesday. He stopped 19 of 20 shots to pick up the win against Sweden in the first pre-tournament game.<\/p>\n
In his only pre-tournament appearance, Ravensbergen turned aside six of seven shots in the final 30 minutes of Tuesday\u2019s game. <\/p>\n
Ivankovic stopped 12 of 14 shots in a pre-tournament start against Sweden on Saturday. <\/p>\n
Canada keeps three goalies for World Juniors: ‘Canadians gotta feel pretty comfortable’ National Junior Team management group member Mark Hunter confirmed that Canada will be keeping their three goalies, Carter George, Jack Ivankovic and Joshua Ravensbergen on the roster saying “Canadians gotta feel pretty comfortable” about their netminders. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Iginla is the eldest son of Hockey Hall of Fame player Jarome Iginla, who assisted on the overtime winner by Sidney Crosby in the gold-medal game at the 2010 Olympics. Crosby famously shouted \u201cIggy!\u201d to call for the puck right before scoring. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was liney\u2019s with Hage [on Saturday] and he says every time he calls for the puck he thinks about that,\u201d Iginla said with a smile. \u201cThe golden goal, guys always still talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Does his dad bring it up much? <\/p>\n
\u201cNot very often (smile). Not as often as other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not every Canadian teammate is going with the \u201cIggy\u201d nickname at the World Juniors. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember the Kelowna announcer goes \u2018Iggy, wiggy, woo, woo,\u2019 so that\u2019s what I say,\u201d Martone said with a laugh. \u201cBut, yeah, the golden goal there, Iginla assisted Crosby so, yeah, that\u2019s pretty funny. Calling \u2018Iggy!\u2019 is the same thing as the Olympics back then.\u201d <\/p>\n
The nickname isn\u2019t the only similarity between father and son. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re hard on the puck,\u201d said Mark Hunter. \u201cThey\u2019re really hard. He\u2019s hard on the puck. His dad was hard on the puck. He doesn\u2019t give the puck away and the other player, to defend him, has to find ways to get that puck away from him. He guards the puck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Echoes of ‘Iggy! Iggy!’: Crosby’s presence felt on Canada’s World Junior team ‘The Golden Goal’ is still a memory that lives on in the current generation of World Junior players. Tij Iginla is certainly reminded of it by his teammates and Harrison Brunicke has been fortunate enough to watch Sidney Crosby first-hand with the Penguins. Michael Misa also shared a special memory of playing against Crosby in the NHL. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Crosby, now 38, is a larger-than-life figure for the players on Canada\u2019s World Junior team, even for the guys who have shared the ice with him this year. <\/p>\n
\u201cI took a couple faceoffs against him,\u201d said Misa when asked about his welcome-to-the-NHL moment. \u201cThose were pretty cool. I didn\u2019t say anything to him. I was kind of nervous a bit. Those faceoffs against him were a pretty cool feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Misa went 1-1 at the dot against Crosby. <\/p>\n
\u201cI won one,\u201d Misa said proudly. \u201cThe one I did win I took a picture of it so I have it on my phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Misa produced one goal and two assists in seven games with the Sharks this season. <\/p>\n
Team Canada is looking to a Canadian icon for inspiration Canada plays its final World Junior pre-tournament game tonight when they face Denmark in Minnesota. After scoring just four times in two exhibition games against Sweden last week while going 0-7 on the power play, the focus is on breaking through offensively. As Mark Masters reports, Team Canada is looking to a Canadian icon for inspiration. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Crosby broke the Penguins franchise scoring record previously held by Mario Lemieux. <\/p>\n
\u201cPretty unreal,\u201d said Penguins defenceman Harrison Brunicke, who is on loan with Team Canada. \u201cHe just manages to keep breaking and setting new records. Pretty cool to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brunicke and Hockey Canada\u2019s strength and conditioning coach Sean Young, who also works with the Penguins, sent Crosby a congratulatory message. <\/p>\n
\u201cI did get a response,\u201d Brunicke revealed. \u201cHe just said, \u2018Thank you,\u2019 and \u2018Good luck.\u2019 He said that he\u2019ll be watching and \u2018Win that gold medal!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Brunicke will be applying some lessons from Crosby at the World Juniors. <\/p>\n
\u201cPuck management is probably the biggest piece and the way he can hold onto pucks and make the right decisions whether he\u2019s cutting back or making a play low too high,\u201d Brunicke said. \u201cFor me, as a defenceman, it\u2019s about managing pucks and putting it into good areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Canadian teammates are appreciating Brunicke\u2019s mature game. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou can just tell out there, he\u2019s a pro,\u201d said Misa. \u2018Everything he does, the way he plays the game, you can just tell how easy it was for him to translate to the NHL. We\u2019re happy to have him here.”<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Team Canada did not hold a practice on Wednesday as the players enjoyed a rare day away from the rink. <\/p>\n
\u201cAn opportunity for them to kind of unwind just a little bit,\u201d said assistant coach Misha Donskov. \u201cSpend some time together. Spend some time around the hotel together with their friends, talk to their families, and connect a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team will enjoy a Christmas dinner in the evening and there will be some Secret Santa gift giving involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve actually got Dale Hunter,\u201d said Donskov with a smile. \u201cI know him really well. I got him something that I think he\u2019ll like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donskov spent three seasons on Hunter\u2019s staff with the London Knights (2009-12). He helped them win an OHL championship in 2012 while serving as assistant general manager and assistant coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a great friendship,\u201d said Donskov. \u201cHe\u2019s a great mentor. I think he\u2019s one of the best coaches in the world and I learned a ton from him. He makes it fun every day. He\u2019s the first guy at the rink every morning. He\u2019s a grinder, but it\u2019s been a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donskov notes that Hunter arrives to the rink between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. every morning. And despite his no-nonsense persona, Donskov is quick to highlight Hunter\u2019s lighter side. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe keeps you on your toes all the time,\u201d Donskov said with a grin. \u201cA practical joker, who keeps things light when he has to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donskov has been the victim of Hunter\u2019s pranking \u201cmany times\u201d but didn\u2019t want to share details. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll leave those off-camera,\u201d he said with a chuckle. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Mark Hunter revealed that he has Donskov in Hockey Canada\u2019s Secret Santa, but as of noon on Wednesday still hadn\u2019t picked up a gift. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a last-minute shopper,\u201d he said with a big smile.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Team Canada lines in Tuesday\u2019s game: <\/p>\n
Iginla – Misa – Martone<\/p>\n
McKenna – Hage – Martin<\/p>\n
Reschny – Beaudoin – Luchanko<\/p>\n
Greentree – Cootes – O\u2019Reilly<\/p>\n
Bear, Desnoyers<\/p>\n
Reid – Parekh<\/p>\n
Aitcheson – Brunicke<\/p>\n
MacKenzie – Danford<\/p>\n
Carels – Verhoeff<\/p>\n
George <\/p>\n
Ravensbergen<\/p>\n
Scratches: Desnoyers, Aitcheson, Ivankovic<\/p>\n
WJC: Canada 13, Denmark 2 Canada capped its pre-tournament exhibition games with an offensive explosion against Denmark, scoring 13 goals on 50 shots in a dominant victory. Projected first overall pick Gavin McKenna had two goals and two assists, while Tij Iginla continued his scoring surge with a pair of goals. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Team Canada defeated Denmark 13-2 at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato, Minn,. on Tuesday night.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[712,49,48,132644,82,146516],"class_list":["post-367538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-apple-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-hockey-canada-sports-hockey-hockey-canada","tag-sports","tag-world-juniors-sports-hockey-world-juniors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}