GRAND FORKS, N.D. — It didn’t take Boris Katchouk very long to make an impact for Canada at the under-18 world hockey championships.
Katchouk, who was one of two players added to Canada’s roster earlier in the day, scored Monday night as the Canadians downed Slovakia 3-1 in preliminary-round action.
The 17-year-old Waterloo, Ont., native was still playing for Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League when the U18 championships began on Friday, but was available to join Canada after the Greyhounds’ season came to end in the second round of the playoffs.
"Boris looked real good, he was a strong player for us," said coach Shaun Clouston, who found success with Katchouk on a line with Will Bitten and Tyson Jost.
Canada (3-0-0) was leading 2-0 when Katchouk found the back of the net in the final minute of the second period. The three-goal lead gave the Canadian squad some much-needed insurance and came off a tic-tac-toe passing play. Jost carried the puck into the Slovak zone before going cross-ice Bitten, who quickly laid a pass onto the stick of Katchouk in the slot.
"It gave us a little bit of breathing room and it was a great play," said Clouston.
After a scoreless first period, David Quenneville put Canada on the board 3:50 into the second and Brett Howden doubled the lead at 8:16. Noah Gregor, who was the second player added Monday morning along with Katchouk, earned an assist on the play.
"I think we executed much better in the second, we had a large number of turnovers through the neutral zone in the first and we minimized that," said Clouston. "We managed the puck much better, had better support."
Samuel Bucek scored shorthanded for Slovakia (1-2-0) midway through the third period, ending Stuart Skinner’s shutout bid in the process. Skinner finished the game with 26 saves while Roman Durny kicked out 27-of-30 shots for Slovakia.
"(Skinner) was very solid, made some big saves at crucial times and it was a very strong performance by Stuart," said Clouston.
Canada is undefeated through three round-robin games and will face its toughest opponent on Tuesday when it plays Finland. The Finns also have three victories and the outcome of the game will most likely determine seeding for the quarter-finals.
"It’s gonna be a huge test, they got a great team," said Clouston. "It’s gonna be a big challenge for us."
