Czechs fall to Canada at U18s

The day after opening the tournament with a big 2-1 victory over Sweden in their tournament opener, the Czech Republic wasn't able to duplicate the feat against Canada.

In their own tournament opener, Canada scored 3 goals in the first period and then cruised to a 5-0 victory. Malcom Subban made 26 saves for the shutout.

The Canadians got off to a quick start. Eric Locke, parked at the side of the net, one-timed a pass from Ryan Murphy that went in and out of the net so quickly that some players on the ice continued playing. By the time the game was four minutes old, it was already 2-0; Morgan Reilly firing a shot under the crossbar. A power-play goal from Mark Schiefele late in the period made it 3-0.

The announced gathering of 2,077 was mostly pro-Czech, based on Dresden's proximity to the Czech border. But the quick start by the Canadians against a seemingly tired Czech team silenced them. "Yeah, they had a tough game against Sweden last night," said team captain Ryan Murray after the game. A defenceman who won't be eligible until the 2012 Draft, Murray led the team with 3 assists.

After a scoreless second period, Schiefele scored his second goal of the game in the third, followed by Murphy's first to go along with 2 assists.

Now 1-1, the Czechs play their next game Sunday at 15:30 against Norway. They finish the group stage against Finland on Tuesday.