3 takeaways from Canada-Latvia game Friday at the World Juniors

If nothing else, coach Dave Cameron and his Team Canada players showed they can take a punch in the mouth at the world junior hockey championship Friday night.

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There were no stunned looks or words of worry as they addressed the media moments following a 3-2 shootout loss to unheralded Latvia in what ranks as one of the most surprising upsets in tournament history.

The win was just the third ever in the preliminary round for Latvia, which is still looking for its first medal from the world juniors.

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Canada has 35 of those, including 20 golds.

“It sucks for about 30, 35 minutes, but you’re not dead in this tournament until you lose your last game,” said Cameron. “Game on.”

The Canadian players looked almost unfazed as they fielded question after question from reporters.

“There’s no panic,” said Jett Luchanko, who scored Canada’s first goal in the 3-2 loss – a shorthanded marker that looked like it might stand up as the only puck to get by either Latvian goalie Linards Feldbergs, who stopped 54 shots, and Canada’s Jack Ivankovic, who made 24 saves in regulation time. “We know the kind of group we have, and we knew we were going to have to overcome adversity either way.

“We’re just looking forward to the next game. Every game is big in this tournament, and now they’re even bigger. Like I said, there’s no panic, we’re just going to play our game.”

When a loss is more than a loss

Insult was added to injury in the opening minutes of the first period when Canadian defenceman Matthew Schaefer suffered what looked to be a serious left shoulder injury crashing into the Latvian goal.

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Schaefer, the 17-year-old blue liner who has arguably been the team’s best all-around player since the pre-tournament competition began, did not return and, judging by the force of the impact with the post, his participation in the remainder of this WJC has to be in doubt.

Because Canada had dressed seven defencemen for the game, the workload wasn’t overly heavy for Oliver Bonk (24:05), Tanner Molenkyk (21:20), Andrew Gibson (21:17), Caden Price (19:15), Sam Dickinson (16:10) and Beau Akey (14:34).

But Schaefer, a 17-year-old considered a top candidate as the first overall selection in next June’s NHL entry draft, is a valuable contributor at both ends of the ice.

“Obviously he was a big help for the blueline, and he’s an awesome kid around the room, so it hurts us a bit,” said Akey. “But I think we still have the pieces to put it together.”

Maybe so, but Schaefer was a key part of that puzzle.

If Cameron decides to dress seven D-men against Germany on Sunday, Sawyer Mynio, a third-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks, will have to step in.

Better special teams results are needed.

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Through two games, Canada has scored as many times shorthanded as on the power play.

The tally is one each, and both came against Latvia.

Luchanko’s shorty was matched by Calum Ritchie, whose one-timer with the man advantage found mesh 64 seconds after Eriks Mateiko erased Canada’s lead 1-0 lead with just over six minutes left in regulation.

Peteris Bulans also scored on the power play for Latvia with 2:29 left to send the game into overtime.

Through two games, Canada is 1-for-7 on the power play and has killed 10-of-12 shorthanded situations.

What now, brown cow?

Canada did pick up one point for the shootout loss and can still bounce back from this unexpected setback, but beating Germany on Sunday is a must.

It’s also not a given, even though the Germans were crushed 10-4 by the Americans on Boxing Day and fell 3-1 to Finland on Friday.

All it takes is a hot goalie as proven by Feldbergs, an undrafted 19-year-old ‘tender with the Sherbrooke Phoenix in the QMJHL who has the ninth-best goals-against average (2.51) and the 20th-best save percentage (.899) in the league.

Getting past Germany would allow Canada to still finish atop the ‘A’ Group by beating the USA on New Year’s Eve if the Americans take down Latvia on Saturday and Finland on Sunday.

Either way, the margin for error has just become a little slimmer on Canada’s road to where it wants to go.

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