Canada responds to Austria scare with easy win over Norway at hockey worlds

Dylan Cozens scored short-handed for his third goal of the tournament as defending champion Canada remained undefeated at the world hockey championship with a 4-1 win over Norway on Thursday.

After giving up five third-period goals in a 7-6 overtime win over Austria on Tuesday, Canada left little to chance against the Norwegians.

Brandon Tanev, Andrew Mangiapane and Jared McCann also scored for Canada, which outshot Norway 33-6 in a drama-free win.

“Our response was very good tonight,” said Canada coach André Tourigny. “We were more mature in our decisions and we played really well on both sides of the puck. We played a complete game with a lot of commitment, and I am really proud of the boys.”

Norway didn’t register its first shot on goal until the third period.

“Obviously the end of our last game was pretty crazy, and we cannot accept giving up five goals (in the third period),” Cozens said. “To come out and play the way we did and not allow a shot on goal for two periods was a great bounce back performance for us.”

Nicolas Daws made his first start in goal after Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer struggled earlier in the tournament. He made five saves and assisted on McCann’s empty-net marker.

Jamie Oleksiak had two assists, while Kaiden Guhle registered his team-leading fourth assist.

Stian Solberg scored for Norway, while Henrik Haukeland made 29 saves in goal.

The win kept Canada in first place in Group A with 11 points from three regulation wins and an overtime victory. Switzerland also has 11 points through four games, but Canada has a superior goal differential (plus-10 to plus-8).

Canada next faces Finland on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.