CALGARY – Greg Westlake prides himself on his goal-scoring ability, but he showed he’s no slouch as a playmaker either.
Westlake, of Oakville, Ont., set up a pair of goals to lead Canada to a 3-1 win over the United States on Wednesday at the World Sledge Hockey Challenge.
“I was happy about that,” said Westlake, assisted on goals by Anthony Gale of Brampton, Ont., and Brad Bowden of Orton, Ont. “I’m more of a goal scorer and it was kind of nice to give it back.”
Bowden, who also had an assist in the game, scored the game-winning goal late in the second period after Westlake and Billy Bridges of Summerside, P.E.I., teamed up to set him up in the slot.
“Bowden’s probably assisted on 90 per cent of my career goals so it’s nice to give him one back tonight,” Westlake said. “He still had to work for it. He was high in the slot and made a good shot.”
Canadian head coach Mike Mondin praised Westlake for his efforts in the tight-checking game.
“Every game you know what you’re going to get,” Mondin said. “He’s real consistent. It’s a pleasure to have him on the team. It’s the emotional part that he brings, that leadership, and it’s a real key component.”
Marc Dorion of Bourget, Ont., also scored for Canada (3-0), while goalie Benoit St-Amand of St-Hubert, Que., stopped 15 of 16 shots he faced to pick up the win.
Tim Jones scored for the U.S. (2-1), while netminder Steve Cash made 16 saves.
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Despite the setback, U.S. coach Jeff Sauer said he was proud of his team’s effort.
“I knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Sauer said. “They took advantage of a couple mistakes of ours. It’s a game of mistakes. Hopefully we can come back and play them again this weekend.”
Earlier in the day, Rolf Pedersen had a hat trick and an assist to lead Norway (1-2) to a convincing 8-3 win over Japan (0-3).
Next up, the Americans will face off against Norway in one semifinal on Thursday at the new WinSport Athletic and Ice Complex, while Canada will battle Japan later in the evening.
After an off-day on Friday, the bronze medal and gold medal games will take place on Saturday.
Gale opened the scoring at 5:37 of the first period when he took a pass from Westlake and lifted a shot up and over Cash.
U.S. forward Adam Page almost tied the game shortly after as he picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and broke in alone on St-Amand, who made a nice shoulder save to turn aside the scoring threat.
“He made a great save,” Page said. “Just through the whole game we didn’t bury our chances. That’s the team definitely to beat. I know our guys are just as good. We’ve got to come back strong and beat (Norway) and have a chance to beat (Canada) in the championship.”
The U.S. tied the score at 1-1 with 1:31 left in the opening period when Jones tapped in a cross-crease pass from Taylor Chace during a Canadian power play.
The Americans had a great chance to pull ahead during a second-period power play, but Brad Emmerson’s shot hit the post and deflected wide.
Late in the second period, Bridges sent a pass into the slot for Bowden, who quickly fired a shot past Cash to put Canada up by a goal.
During another U.S. power play in the third, St-Amand reached up to make a glove save on a high rising shot by defenceman Nikko Landeros.
“He had a heck of a game,” Mondin said of St-Amand. “He was focused the whole day. There was nothing getting him off his game.”
At the other end of the ice, Cash made a nice chest save to turn aside a shot by Bridges and keep it a one-goal game.
Dorion added an insurance goal for Canada with 55.1 seconds left in the game.
Notes: In six meetings last season, Canada had a 3-2-1 record against the U.S. … After scoring three goals and adding three assists in Team USA’s first three games, Landeros was held off the scoresheet against Canada. … With his assist, Bridges moved into sole possession of the tournament scoring lead with seven points (four goals, three assists), one ahead of both Landeros and Pedersen.
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