BY PATRICK KING
sportsnet.ca

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Team Canada survived a scare, but their best is yet to come.

Mark Visentin made his second start of the tournament in Canada’s 4-1 quarterfinal win over Switzerland. A different goaltender didn’t bring much in the way of different results early in the game, as Visentin allowed a strange goal with the game was barely a minute old.

Swiss forward Inti Pestoni’s shot from along the goal line ricocheted off Ryan Ellis’ stick and found room between Visentin’s skate and the post. There was a collective gasp among those in attendance as fans inevitably must have thought, "here we go again."

"Obviously I wanted that back," Visentin said following the game.

Visentin never seemingly got in a rhythm as the game grew, often fumbling around with shots and allowing second-chance opportunities. Late in the second period, a routine glove-save turned into an adventure when he failed to catch it and the puck bounced at his feet.

Visentin covered it up, but it was just one of many examples that goaltending isn’t the strength of this year’s world junior team.

Later in the second period Visentin darted towards the Canadian bench for a delayed penalty call. The ref, however, didn’t blow the whistle as the penalty was against Canada and not Switzerland, leaving the Swiss with an open cage. Canada eventually touched the puck and stopped the play.

"We actually touched the puck and the ref didn’t blow the whistle," Visentin explained. "I think it was the ref’s fault there. I’m not going to skate to the bench if it’s the wrong penalty on a normal basis. I really pay attention to those kind of things."

Visentin wasn’t the only one pointing a finger at the refs after the game. Canada enjoyed a big edge in terms of special teams. Swiss captain Nino Niederreiter felt there was a double-standard among the American and Finnish referees calling the game.

"We only got one power-play," Niederreiter said.

When asked about the head checking penalty given to Tristan Scherwey with less than five minutes remaining in the third period, Niederreiter wondered if the same call would have been made had it been a Canadian player.

"I think when a Canadian player did that they didn’t call it a two-plus-10 (penalty), but calls for the underdog they’re going to call," he said.

Niederreiter was later assessed a 10-minute misconduct after Zack Kassian’s empty-net goal, when he mistakenly flipped the puck over the glass and into the crowd.

Goaltending was the storyline, only it was the Swiss goaltender, Benjamin Conz, who made the headlines. Conz was exceptionally strong in goal for the Swiss, stopping 46 of the 49 shots he faced.

Canadian player of the game Ryan Johansen, in particular, was stymied throughout the game. Johansen eventually tied the game for Canada on the power-play late in the first period, but couldn’t beat Conz again on any of his many scoring chances.

On one such play, Conz came out and plucked a Johansen slap-shot heading for the far side top corner.

"We were doing everything we can to get good scoring chances and he stood real strong for them," Johansen said. "He’s one of those goalies where you got to make sure you have a lot of offensive chances or else he could squeeze out a win for that team."

Canada eventually found a chink in his armour, when Casey Cizikas gave the tense pro-Canadian crowd something to cheer about. Cizikas held as long as he could on a two-on-one with Louis Leblanc, but seeing that his passing lane was taken, Cizikas fired it top corner over Conz’s glove.

Cizikas, who admitted after the game he was looking to pass rather than shoot, said he might have to reconsider shooting more often.

"I kind of waited out the goalie and I saw an opening up top so I put it there," he said. "Luckily I found the spot."

Leblanc found a similar spot on the third goal of the game. After receiving the pass from Cody Eakin along a cycle in the corner, Leblanc fired quickly, not giving Conz a chance to set himself to the shot and take away space.

"He’s a big goalie and he takes up a lot of space so you definitely have to get him back in his crease to open up more room in the net," Cizikas said.

"He’s got a big trapper that guy," Canadian forward Marcus Foligno said. "His block looks -- I don’t know -- a little bigger than usual. I’m not sure he’s got the right inches or whatever, but he knows how to use it and he’s a pretty good goaltender."

Canada head coach Dave Cameron said Visentin would start the next game against the Americans. The finals rematch from last year’s tournament will decide which team advances to this year’s final.

With less than three minutes remaining, the crowd began chanting, "We want U.S.A.! We want U.S.A.!"

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Swiss head coach Richard Jost was hit by a puck while on the bench. He became the second Swiss coach to be struck by a puck in this tournament, after assistant coach Alex Reinhard had been hit in a previous game. Reinhard, who handles the post-game press conferences, said Jost suffered a concussion.

"I think for sure next year we have to coach with a helmet now," Reinhard joked after the game.