MONTREAL – Sam Reinhart scored twice as Canada beat Finland 4-1 to remain undefeated at the World Junior Hockey Championship at the Bell Centre in Montreal Monday night.
Reinhart capitalized on a power-play goal to open the scoring in the first period after he fed Shea Theodore at the point and then tapping the rebound past Finnish goaltender Juuse Saros.
Reinhart scored his second of the night on a beautiful pass from linemates Max Domi and Anthony Duclair in the second period. Finland answered with a goal late in the period from Artturi Lehkonen.
FULL COVERAGE: 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship – Team Canada schedule and results
Dulcair and Curtis Lazar scored in the third to make it 4-1 for Canada, avenging a 5-1 loss to the Finns in the semifinals at last year’s tournament in Sweden.
Canada continued its strong play outshooting Finland 36-28 on their way to their third win of the tournament. The Finns offensive woes continued as they have now scored only once in each game and are 0-for-13 on the power-play.
“I thought we moved the puck the best, and got the most speed that game,” Reinhart told reporters following the game. “We’re able to carry the momentum through all four lines and that’s what you need in a tournament like this.”
Zach Fucale was solid in net for Canada stopping an early breakaway by Finnish forward Roope Hintz and made 27 saves on the night.
“We knew it would be a hard fought game and we were ready for that,” said Fucale. “We were very confident coming into the game. we played a strong team game.”
Canada ends group stage play with a showdown against the United States for first place on New Year’s Eve Wednesday.
Finland, meanwhile, must beat Germany to advance to the quarter-finals.
*With files from the Canadian Press
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