CANADIAN JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Media Update
Release date: Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016
Photo credit: Hockey Canada Images
Canada East clips Czech Republic in WJAC opener
Gold Miners’ Lafleur serving as assistant coach with club
BONNYVILLE, Alta. – Canada East is off to a good start at the World Junior A Challenge in Bonnyville, Alta., after defeating the Czech Republic 4-1 Sunday in their opening game at the R.J. Lalonde Arena.
It took Canada East less than three minutes to open the scoring in the contest as Nic Mucci (Wellington Dukes, OJHL) finished off a feed from Luke Keenan (Whitby Fury, OJHL) at 2:54.
Moving into the second stanza, Charles Levesque (Hawkesbury Hawks, CCHL) added to the East lead midway through the session while Finn Evans (St. Michael’s Buzzers, OJHL) made it 3-0 at 16:17.
A late power play allowed the Czech Republic to get on the board as Adam Kubik beat Canada East starter Stefano Cantali (Collège Francais de Longueuil, LHJQ) for their only marker of the match.
Up a man five minutes into the third, Vincent Chapleau (Collège Francais de Longueuil, LHJQ) capped off the scoring with a power play tally.
Keenan finished with two assists in the Canada East triumph.
CJHL player of the game award honours went to Cantali, who stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced to record the victory and his Czech Republic goaltending counterpart, Jan Ruzicka, who made 29 stops in defeat.
Canada West takes on Switzerland in their initial game at the WJAC in a 7:30 p.m. MT start back in Bonnyville.
