Team Canada and Team Slovakia skated at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on Friday.
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Canada is poised to make a change in net for Friday’s quarter-final game against Slovakia.
Per usual, head coach Dale Hunter declined to confirm his lineup, but Jack Ivankovic departed the ice first at the morning skate, which is the usual routine for the starting goalie.
“Jack’s been solid,” Hunter said. “He’s had a good year with his team and he came in here and he’s been solid the whole time.”
Ivankovic stopped 26 of 27 shots to win his lone preliminary round appearance against Latvia in overtime. The Nashville Predators prospect is off to a scorching start with the Michigan Wolverines this season going16-4-0 with a .927 save percentage in NCAA play.
“You see the numbers he’s doing in Michigan, and they’re there for a reason,” said defenceman Kashawn Aitcheson. “He’s starting, he’s going, so I’m just excited to see what happens.”
Ivankovic made his World Juniors debut last year in Ottawa where the 18-year-old from Mississauga, Ont. lost his only start in a shootout against Latvia. So, Friday will be Ivankovic’s first World Junior game against a team other than Latvia as well as his first in the knockout stage.
“He’s been unreal,” said forward Jett Luchanko. “He’s had a great year and we’re really lucky to have him here. He’s tough to score on in practice, so it’s nice to have him on our side.”
Owen Sound Attack goalie Carter George started three of four games in the preliminary round, but posted an .844 save percentage, which is the lowest among the primary starters in Minnesota. George allowed four goals on 18 shots against Finland on New Year’s Eve.
George led the World Juniors in save percentage last year en route to being named one of Canada’s top-three players at the event in Ottawa.
“It’s always been tough,” Hunter said of the goalie decision. “When you got three good goalies, you have a lot of options. We got three good goalies so it’s always been tough right from the get go from the summer camp and the [training] camp in Niagara.”
Joshua Ravensbergen of the Prince George Cougars is Canada’s third goalie. He dressed as the backup to Ivankovic against Latvia, but has not played.
Canada Ice Chips: All signs point to Ivankovic starting It has yet to be confirmed but Jack Ivankovic appears to be Canada’s starting goalie in Friday’s quarter-final game against Slovakia at the World juniors. TSN’s Mark Masters has more on the confidence the team has in Ivankovic and the difficult decision that comes with deciding who gets the call.
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Canada and Slovakia will be facing off at the World Juniors for the first time since Connor Bedard authored a moment that will live forever three years ago during a quarterfinal game in Halifax.
“I remember that goalie [Slovakia’s Adam Gajan] standing on his head,” said left winger Gavin McKenna. “And then Bedard, the heartbreaker in overtime, that goal is huge. Every Canadian, you see it all over TikTok or Instagram or whatever. That’s a cool game, and hopefully we can relive that moment here.”
Bedard deked around all three Slovak players on the ice before depositing the puck behind Gajan. But Hunter is hoping his players remember how tough that game was before Bedard’s brilliance.
“That’s how hard they can play, guys,” the coach noted. “You gotta prepare going into the game that it’s going to be a one-goal game.”
“Being comfortable in those situations is key,” McKenna said. “I think this group has a lot of confidence in those situations as you’ve seen in this tournament. We’ve been in close games and found a way to win.”
Canada looks for their Bedard moment in first showdown with Slovakia since Halifax The 2023 World juniors featured a quarter-final game between Canada and Slovakia and ahead of tonight’s matchup, the Canadian team looked back on that memorable clash, which was capped by a sensational overtime-winner from Connor Bedard.
The Slovaks, who have never beaten Canada at the World Juniors, are also drawing inspiration from that 2023 game despite the devastating defeat.
“It was beautiful to watch,” said Slovak winger Jan Chovan. “Now we are in this situation again and we’re going to win this game.”
The Sudbury Wolves rookie repeated that prediction multiple times during a brief interview on Friday morning.
“We’re ready to play and we’re going to beat Canada,” Chovan said when asked about the mood around the team.
What does Aitcheson think of that?
“I don’t really like to talk before [games] and say things,” the Barrie Colts blueliner said with a smile. “We just gotta put our head down and go to work and let them talk and let the score be the result.”
Slovakia’s Chovan confident ahead of quarterfinal: ‘We’re going to beat Canada’ Slovakia forward Jan Chovan wasn’t shy to to share his confidence heading into Friday’s quarter-final against Canada at the World Juniors and emphatically stated that his team will win. Canadian defenceman Kashawn Aitcheson wasn’t biting on the statement and wants his team to let the results speak for themselves.
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Slovakia went 1-3-0 in finishing fourth in Group A, but all three of their losses came by just one goal, including tight games against tournament top dogs Sweden and the United States.
“We’re a humble team, but also confident,” said Boston College defenceman Luka Radivojevic. “We have no fear. We believe our team can do much so we will try and beat Canada today.”
Peter Fruhauf was asked what his pre-game message will be to his team.
“Family,” Slovakia’s coach said. “That’s it. Family effort. That’s all it takes. Be a wolfpack out there. We’re facing a talented team with great structure, but wolfpack has to stick together. Once we have that, I think we have a chance.”
Luchanko: ‘Gonna be a battle out there, we can’t take anyone lightly’ TSN’s Mark Masters is joined by Team Canada forward Jett Luchanko to describe the mood around the team ahead of their quarterfinal matchup against Slovakia, what he likes about this stage of the tourney, what stands out to him about the Slovaks, what has stood out to him about goaltender Jack Ivankovic, and more.
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Cole Beaudoin led Canada to victory over Finland on New Year’s Eve with two goals and one assist. But it was apparently not enough to impress his little brother.
“He kind of chirped me about not getting the hat trick,” Beaudoin said. “But that’s just what little brothers do. It’s funny.”
Beaudoin had a chance for a third goal, but passed to linemate Sam O’Reilly, who sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
Ryker Beaudoin, 12, arrived on Wednesday to watch the win and will be here the rest of the tournament.
Despite the offensive outburst, Beaudoin is vowing to stay focused on defence. Canada’s shutdown centre will be tasked with containing Slovakia’s Tomas Chrenko, who is tied for the tournament scoring lead with eight points.
“He’s a super skilled player,” said Beaudoin, who leads all Canadian forwards in ice time (17:32 per game). “He’s at the top for a reason. Our line’s been doing a good job being physical, and being reliable. It’s an honour that the coaching staff has trust in us, but we’re not going to change anything about our game.”
“They got to be disciplined,” said Hunter. “They got to be focused on defence first when they go out on the ice and then the offence will come.”
Beaudoin is one of six Canadian players back from last year’s quarter-final loss in Ottawa.
“It’s motivated me a lot,” the Barrie Colts centre said. “You just want to win a gold medal. This is my last chance at the World Juniors, so I want to go out there with this group and do it.”
The Utah Mammoth prospect was ejected from the quarter-final game last year after being assessed a kneeing major.
Canada was the most penalized team in Ottawa.
“That was a big key for us last year that sent us out,” said McKenna. “But our group this year, we’re smart.”
Canada is the least-penalized team so far in Minnesota.
Last year’s QF loss motivating Beaudoin a lot: It’s my last chance to win a WJC gold Team Canada forward Cole Beaudoin joins TSN’s Mark Masters to share his excitement for tonight’s quarterfinal against Slovakia, discuss how much last year’s loss is motivating him, what stands out about the Slovaks, the full trust the team has in all their goalies, and much more.
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Aitcheson loved seeing his Colts teammate collect player-of-the-game honours on New Year’s Eve.
“He’s one of my best friends, so it was definitely a cool moment,” the New York Islanders prospect said. “He was a huge piece to the puzzle and without him I don’t know how that game comes out. Super proud of him. Couldn’t be happier for the guy.”
Beaudoin and Aitcheson have bonded through their competitive nature. In fact, they actually dropped the gloves and fought during a Colts practice only a few days before going to the Canadian camp.
“It was just trying to get each other going, trying to get the team going,” Beaudoin said. “Just bring the competitive juices to the practice and trying to get the guys fired up.”
“We’re two really, really competitive guys,” Aitcheson said. “We practise how we play and it just happens, I guess, and we got into it a bit.”
It was a short-lived scrap.
“We threw a couple punches and then we realized, ‘What are we doing here?’” Aitcheson said. “The boys got fired up. It was good for the practice.”
Now, they’re fighting for gold together with Team Canada.
“It means a lot,” Beaudoin said. “I walked into Barrie with him, and he’s been that Day 1 brother to me. He pushes me and I push him. He means a lot. He’s a competitive player. You see him out there, and he’s doing so good. It’s been amazing to have him alongside me here.”
OHL teammates Beaudoin, Aitcheson dropped gloves at practice before joining Canada Just before joining Team Canada for the World juniors, Kashawn Aitcheson and Cole Beaudoin got into a fight during practice with the Barrie Colts. Both players can look back at the moment and laugh it off.
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Team Canada lines at Friday’s skate:
Iginla – Misa – Martone
McKenna – Hage – Martin
Desnoyers – Beaudoin – O’Reilly
Luchanko – Reschny – Cootes
Bear, Greentree
Reid – Parekh
MacKenzie – Brunicke
Aitcheson – Danford
Carels – Verhoeff
Ivankovic
George
Ravensbergen
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