Allen and Ritchie post four point each, Gauthier scored a hat trick and Canada cruises to shutout win over Switzerland
RED DEER, Alta. –Ethan Gauthier tallied a hat trick and both Cameron Allen
and Calum Ritchie had four points as Canada opened the prelimary round of
the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup with a 14-0 win over Switzerland.
Colby Barlow opened the scoring early with a shorthanded score just two
minutes into the first period. Barlow would finish the night with a pair of
goals and an assist, taking home player of the game honours.
The power play was 4-for-4 on the night with goals from Andrew Cristall,
Mathew Wood and a pair from Gauthier.
Brayden Yeger, Carson Rehkopf, Andrew Cristall, Denver Barkey, Caden Price,
and Kalen Lind rounded out the goal scorers.
In total, 15 players ended up on the scoresheet with at least a point,
including starting goaltender Scott Ratzlaff, as the Canadians outshot the
Swiss 52-17.
Swiss netminder Diego Simeoni swapped with Ewan Huet at 10:02 in the first
after allowing 4 goals on 7 shots. Huet finishing with 35 saves on the
night.
“It’s always fun to have three goals in a game but our whole line has been
good and our team got momentum on the [penalty kill],” says Gauthier.
“Barlow and Barkey were awesome in the first period. We just want to stick
together as a team and try to work for the next game.”
Both teams will return to action on Tuesday with the Swiss facing Sweden (7
a.m. MT) and the Canadians taking on Slovakia (7 p.m. MT) at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
