BOISBRIAND, Que. — Defenceman Victor Mete scored in the first period as the Canadian junior hockey team defeated the U Sports all-stars 3-0 Tuesday afternoon, holding the student team to only 15 shots on goal.
Nicolas Roy and Brett Howden also scored for Canada, which was coming off a 5-3 win over U Sports on Monday night. With both teams playing a second game in less than 24 hours, neither side looked sharp. But the juniors’ edge in speed and skill, as well as seven power play opportunities, eventually prevailed.
The junior team, set to make its final cuts ahead of the world junior championship Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Montreal and Toronto, concludes its four-day selection camp with a game Wednesday night against the Czech Republic.
To give all three of Canada’s goalies playing time, Canada’s Michael McNiven played the entire game for U Sports, stopping 23 of 27 shots.
Carter Hart, who looks to be leading the battle for the top goalie’s job, started for Canada and faced only four shots through 30 minutes before ceding the net to Connor Ingram, who faced 11 shots.
Hart has stopped all 14 shots he has faced playing the first half of two straight games. He handled only two shots in the first period Tuesday, but had to be sharp as UNB’s Philippe Maillet stole a puck, went in alone and tried to score between the pads.
Mete got the only goal of the first frame when a deflected pass went to him, and his shot from 10 feet out barely made it through traffic and trickled in off the post at 7:35.
It took Canada nearly half of the second period before Dillon Dube got the team’s first shot, but they doubled their lead at 13:50 when Blake Speers sent Mathieu Joseph in the right side. His shot was stopped by McNiven, but Roy followed in to score on the rebound.
Howden scored on a power play at 18:05 as he tipped a wrist shot from the point by Kale Clague.
U Sports had a goal disallowed at 13:36 of the third period when it was ruled that McGill forward Mathieu Pompei’s stick was too high on a deflection
Those who did not get into the game on Monday night all played Tuesday, including Speers of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds who has been nursing an injury. He looked to be skating trouble-free and survived a heavy collision in the first with York’s Derek Sheppard.
Canada’s scratches included the returning players from last year’s team — Dylan Strome, Ryan Barzal, Thomas Chabot, Julien Gauthier and Mitchell Stephens.
Canada leads U Sports 14-6 all-time in selection camp exhibition games.
