DAVOS, Switzerland — Cory Conacher scored the winner as Canada opened the Spengler Cup with a 2-1 victory over Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg on Saturday.
Trevor Carrick also chipped in for the Canadians (1-0-0), who got 22 saves from Drew MacIntyre.
"For the first game of the tournament and (for this) group of new Canadian players, it was great to come together so quickly and get rewarded with a win," Conacher said. "We’re really excited about the team here in Davos and want to represent our country with pride and passion."
Alexander Torchenyuk had the lone goal for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (0-1-0), a team from the KHL. Igor Ustinsky turned aside 25 shots in net.
Carrick opened the scoring for Canada with under a second remaining in the first period on a slap shot from the left hashmarks. The puck was tipped off a Yekaterinburg defenceman’s stick and into the back of the net. The play was briefly reviewed before being ruled a good goal.
The Canadians outshot Yekaterinburg 13-5 in the first period at Vaillant Arena.
Torchenyuk tied the game 1-1 with a short-handed goal on a partial breakaway midway through the second period.
Canada regained the lead at 13:15 of the second when Conacher received a saucer pass from Derek Roy before bursting down the left-hand side and lifting a backhanded shot past Ustinsky.
Yekaterinburg got into penalty trouble at the start of the third period and gave Canadians a pair of 5-on-3 opportunities, which they failed to convert on.
"It was quite impressive to see all of these players that have never played together look in sync after one full practice," said Canada’s head coach Guy Boucher. "Now we don’t want to be satisfied — we want to keep growing together."
Canada finished the game 0 for 7 on the power play with Yekaterinburg going scoreless on two chances.
The Canadians are back in action on Monday when they face HC Davos.
Notes: Matthew Lombardi was named Canada’s captain prior to the game. … The Canadians last won the Spengler Cup in 2012.