Canada Austria preview World Juniors

It was a humbling start to the 2023 World Junior Championship for Team Canada, losing 5-2 to Czechia for their first opening-game loss as a host country in tournament history.

Canada forward Dylan Guenther said his team needed to hit the reset button. And did they ever in their second game against Germany. Boxing Day’s disappointment seemed like a

distant memory as Canada steamrolled Germany 11-2 Wednesday night behind hat-tricks from both Connor Bedard and Dylan Guenther as well as a four-goal power play late in the second

period. Canada improved to 1-0-01 to pull into third in Group A behind Czechia and Sweden. The Canadians will take on winless Austria Thursday in Halifax. Watch the game LIVE at

6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on TSN4, TSN.ca and the TSN App. You can watch every game of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship LIVE on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App. Bedard also

had four assists in Wednesday’s game, tying the Canadian World Juniors single-game record of seven points also held by Dave Andreychuk (1983), Brenden Morrow (1999), Mike

Cammalleri (2002) and Gabriel Bourque (2010). Logan Stankoven and Brandt Clarke had three points apiece in the win. “Some pretty cool names on that list, so, I mean, it’s

definitely an honour. But in the end, it doesn’t mean too much,” the projected top pick in next year’s NHL Draft said. "He was unbelievable. He was dialed in. You could tell

there was a different air of focus around him after [Monday's] performance,” said Canada's head coach Dennis Williams. "Not only was he finding the net but he was making plays

out there as well." Bedard now has 12 goals in his World Junior career and is tied for second on Canada’s all-time scoring list with Eric Lindros, John Tavares, and Jeff Carter.

He sits two behind Jordan Eberle’s record of 14. Ben Gaudreau allowed all five goals in the opener, prompting Williams to turn to Thomas Milic against Germany. In his first World

Junior start, the Seattle Thunderbirds netminder stopped 14 of 16 shots as Canada improved to 16-0 all-time at the World Juniors against Germany. "He made a real big save for us in

the second. I thought he did a really nice job with his rebound control," said Williams.  "It's really nice to see him get a win." Germany’s starter Simon Wolf allowed nine of

Canada’s 11 goals and was yanked after the second period Wednesday night.   Canada attempted the ‘Michigan’ move twice early on in Monday’s loss, prompting a discussion

about whether the failed lacrosse-style shot attempts meant the tournament favourites overlooked their Czech opponents. "We have a lot of creative players," Clarke said on Monday.