VANCOUVER – December 28th, 2021
In the IIHF World Junior Tournament Today Team Canada demolished Team Austria 11-2 in a lop-sided game that had the 16-year-old phenom Connor Bedard score 4 goals and help Canada continue their winning streak. Bedard tied a Canadian record for most goals in a game by a player, he also was the first 16-year-old to score a hat-trick at the World Juniors since Wayne Gretzky did back in 1977. This was the lone game being played today, the other game scheduled for today was Team USA vs Team Switzerland, but the USA had 2 players test positive for Covid so with the rules in place Team USA had to forfeit their game tonight.
The NHL announced today that due to current attendance restrictions in certain cities, nine additional games will be rescheduled for later dates in the season. All these games involved Canadian teams playing at home. This change was made to the schedule due to the teams’ owners not wanting to lose any more revenue this season then they already have lost the last two years. In addition, the Detroit Red Wings at New York Islanders game has also been postponed due to Covid related issues effecting both clubs.
Vancouver Canucks news, the team left for their California road trip today with all their players and coaching staff testing negative for Covid, including Alex Chiasson who had an earlier positive test but had no symptoms of Covid. He was cleared to travel with the team today. The Canucks play the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow and the Los Angeles Kings the night after.