Canada begins WJHC with a win

(Updated)
Team Canada’s junior hockey team is looking to stop a streak of five years of disappointment at the World Junior Hockey Championships over the next couple of weeks. And with home ice advantage this time, they can feel the support of the country in person.

Friday night, the team was in Montreal taking on Slovakia and it was a good start for the juniors.

We were at a self-proclaimed ‘Team Canada’ bar in Burlington taking in the game with local fans and gauging their reaction.

It was a Boxing Day blowout for Team Canada as they beat Slovakia 8-0.

Our juniors’ last gold came in 2009 in a 5-1 win against Sweden.

But fans we spoke to Friday evening are hopeful this will be Team Canada’s year.

Eric Gage, CHCH Sports: “This year’s team is exceptionally talented. Probably the best team they have put on the ice in the last few years for sure led by Connor McDavid.  The entire country rallies around the tournament. The timing is perfect. It’s after Christmas. We are stuffed from food, we are sitting on our couches.  It’s just a brilliant time for this tournament.”

Canada takes on Germany on Saturday night. The Germans were the only ‘Group A’ team that did not play on Friday.

The Canadian juniors than play Finland on Monday night before the New Year’s Eve game against the United States.