Makar Sets WJAC Record as Canada West Defeats Switzerland

Canada West finished off the Canada double on the opening day of the World Junior A Challenge in Alberta, beating Switzerland by a score of 6-2.

Canada came in as the favoured team, and it was clear with two goals before the period even hit the halfway mark. At 6:31, Cale Makar made a great pass to Ian Mitchell, making the defenders think he was going to shoot on net. Instead, Mitchell fired a hard wrist shot past Beat Trudel, giving Canada the 1-0 lead.

Then, two minutes after that, Makar got one of his own. Makar found the puck to the right of Trudel, and after a quick hesitation, he sent the puck flying over Trudel and in for the 2-0 lead early in the battle.

Canada was ready to walk away with the contest. At 11:40, everyone looked to be covered in the Swiss defensive zone. Everyone except for Johnny Tychonick, who skated in past two defenders and wired a shot over Trudel’s arm to make it 3-0 after a quick burst of offense. It was the third goal by a defenceman for Canada, who had three goals on 20 shots while Switzerland had just five at the time.

Switzerland didn’t look strong to start, but a checking from behind penalty to Canada’s Jeff Stewart made things slightly more interesting. At 14:32, Sven Leuenberger tipped in a shot in close off of a Gabriel Widmer chance, putting Switzerland on the board heading into the first intermission.

Switzerland came out a little more determined in the second period, knowing that they still had a chance with a score as close as it was. But a quick defensive error resulted in Canada regaining their three-goal advantage. Once again, Makar made a great pass, this time off the boards from his own zone. Cox was in a good spot to pick up the pass, rushing in all alone and putting the puck in the net on the breakaway to make it 4-1 Canada.

The second period was rather slow, but Canada was pleased with their second goal of the frame. Makar would get his fourth point of the game when he shot the puck on net, only to get stopped by Trudel. Fortunately for Canada, Jordan Kawaguchi was there to tap in the rebound, giving Canada the 5-1 lead with just under six minutes left to play in the period.

Makar was up to his old tricks again near the end of the game, scoring the best goal of the day thanks to a beautiful move. After stealing the puck in the defensive zone, Makar dangled past two defenders and made a quick deke past Switzerland’s goaltender, recording his second goal of the night and fifth point of the contest. The goal made him the first defenseman in the history of the tournament to record five points in a single game, a massive achievement for the 2017 NHL Draft prospect playing in his second WJAC tournament.

Switzerland didn’t have any chance of coming back, but they did want to add to their goal total. At 13:25, Arnaud Riat kept with a play that saw the Swiss take a few chances, but Riat’s drive to tap it in the net gave Switzerland their second goal of the game. It also happened to be the final goal of the game, giving Canada West the 6-2 victory on Sunday.

Canada West will skate again on Monday against Russia in a 7:30 PM local time start. Switzerland will also meet up with Russia, but not 3:30 PM on Tuesday afternoon.

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