Canada's men lay down marker in opening win over Germany
Ben Street had a goal and an assist as Canada won 5-1 to avenge their PyeongChang 2018 semi-final defeat.
Ice Hockey
This was just the start Canada wanted to the men's ice hockey tournament at Beijing 2022.
The Canadians are always among the favourites for Olympic hockey gold and, even without their NHL stars, they showed they are a force to be reckoned with in their 5-1 win over PyeongChang 2018 silver medallists Germany on Thursday (10 February).
Captain Eric Staal told Olympics.com afterwards, "I thought both teams came out pretty physical, some good chances for us early and we were able to capitalise. As the game wore on we got better, a little bit more zone time, hold the play a little bit more.
"It was tight, it was competitive, a good start for our guys. Hopefully we’ll get better as the tournament goes on.”
Three first-period goals propel Canada to opening win
Canada received a boost before the match as head coach Claude Julien took his place on the bench having been injured in practice two weeks ago.
His charges were deadly in the first period with Alex Grant, a wicked one-timer from Ben Street - who also assisted on Grant's opener - and Daniel Winnik putting them three-up with just 10:19 played although Germany goalie Mathias Niederberger will feel he should have done better with the third.
The Germans had chances and pulled one back midway through the second period when Tobias Rieder struck on the rebound after Eddie Pasquale had parried Leonhard Pfoderl's initial shot on the turn.
But the surprise packages of PyeongChang were soon facing a three-goal deficit again as Konrad Abeltshauser went to the box for high sticking, and Canada immediately struck on the powerplay through Maxim Noreau's spectacular rip from the point low into the corner of the net.
And Jordan Weal completed a comfortable victory on 51:22, firing home from Adam Tambellini's pinpoint pass.
No points for teenage defenceman Owen Power, but the number one pick in July's NHL Draft had the most ice time of any Canadian - 19:33 - to show that he is going to be a key part of this team's push for gold on his Olympic debut.
Next up for Canada is a clash with the United States who defeated China 8-0 in their opener. The North American neighbours meet on Saturday at 12:10 local time (23:10 EST, 20:10 PST on Friday).
Germany must beat China on Saturday to have any chance of reaching the play-offs with captain Moritz Muller admitting, "We didn't get the start we wanted to. First period, Canada really capitalised on the chances I think they were really fresh and put a lot of pressure on us.
"Canada was really ice cold in front of the net and converted all the chances. It's not the start we wanted but it's a long tournament."
MORE: Why you should be watching Canada's Owen Power at Beijing 2022