Re: U20 World Junior Championship 2023
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What a game last night. US vs Canada is always a great matchup and last night was no different.
People say Canada was sluggish out of the gate but I saw it more like the US wanted it more and it showed. Their speed really gave Canada issues all night long. Milic was excellent in this one again. His best game by far and was probably the main reason Canada came out victorious.
Del Mastro was Del Magnificient in his own end. Canada really needs more just like him as the other defenders seemed to be scrambling most of the night in their own end, again.
Canada once again seemed to have issues in the faceoff circle and that hurt them at varying times. This helped the US control a lot of the play.
That first "no goal" against the US was certainly questionable and could have really gone either way. International hockey refs tend to be less liberal when it comes to plays that happen in the crease so I wasn't surprised when they called it off but I wouldn't have been surprised if they have allowed it either. That was a huge no goal for Canada at that point in the game. The second "no goal" was a lot easier to call and was the right call. You cannot push the puck into the net when it's under the player.
It was good to see the 4th line get rolled out a bit more than usual as well. Beck, Fantilli and Bankier offered some solid speed and forechecking with offensive chances when they got their shot.
Redemption game tonight for Canada as they take on the Czech's for Gold. The Czech's have been a solid team this whole tournament and this game is far from a gimmie for Canada. They will need another strong performance from Milic if they hope the win because I don't trust the D in front of him to offer him much help.
Originally Posted by Feenom
