Canada Edges out Australia Thanks to Huge Comeback in Third Period – 07.12.2018

In the replay of the last head-to-head encounter from Gothenburg in 2014, where Canada won easily 7-1, Australia finally found a way of playing an even game with the North Americans. It was a really tough battle, but the Canadians were the happier side at the end after winning 6-5.

Already in the first minute the duo Perry – Daniel Gärtner showed a pretty nice combination, with the latter opening the score. In the 11th minute, shortly after the end of Australia’s power-play, Tomáš Gärtner doubled the lead with a long-range shot. And the Gärtner twins were just unstoppable. Less than two minutes later, Tomáš dispossessed one of the opponents and served the ball to Daniel, who scored his second of the game.

After three minutes of play in the second period, Valtteri Viitakoski found Jonathan Kuysten who had score into a wide-open net. In a power play in the 30th minute, Viitakoski didn’t search any of his teammates, took the responsibility himself and reduced the lead to 2-3. But the Australians took their two-goal lead back in another power-play just thirty seconds later, when Jonathon Veron scored from a rebound of Tomáš Gärtner’s shot. Still in the second period, Australia went up by three goals thanks to Kade Ebeling, but Viitakoski’s third point for an assist on Tristan Walsh’s goal 74 seconds before the second intermission reduced the gap to 3-5.

In the third period, the fans saw several goal-scoring opportunities on both sides, but it took more than ten minutes for any of the teams to score. In the 53rd minute, Valtteri Viitakoski scored from a penalty shot and just after 14 seconds Jonathan Kuysten tied the game with his second of the afternoon. And that was not it from the Canadians. Just 47 seconds before the end, Brandon Barber stunned the Australians with the decider and secured the 11th place for team Canada.