(WGR 550) - Friday was a good start for some Buffalo Sabres players taking part in the World Championship.
Starting with winger Alex Tuch, he scored two goals to help lead Team USA to a 4-1 win over Finland.
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Tuch was dangerous throughout this game for the Americans. He almost pounced on a puck just laying in the crease, which would’ve given him three goals.
On his first goal, Tuch had little to do, as Rocco Grimaldi led a 2-on-0, sending a perfect pass over. All Tuch had to do was shoot the puck into the wide-open net.
Drew O’Connor set Tuch up for the empty netter to put the game away. The Pittsburgh Penguins forward had three points on the day, while his teammate, Casey DeSmith, made 23 saves in goal for the win.
Tuch played 21:28 and had eight shots on goal.
As for Peyton Krebs and Jack Quinn with Team Canada, they both had assists in their 6-0 victory over Latvia.
Devon Levi wasn’t in net, as Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault has been named Canada’s starting goalie. I’m sure Levi will get some games as the tournament progresses.
In their win over the host team, Quinn got a nice assist on MacKenzie Weegar’s (Calgary Flames) power play goal. Quinn played a total of 14:43 for the Canadians on Friday.
Krebs assisted on Canada’s first goal by Arizona Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse. Krebs played more than Quinn, getting 17:04 of ice-time, as he played left wing instead of center.
In the official stats, Krebs got credited with an assist on Sammy Blais’ goal, but he wasn’t even on the ice. It was Joe Veleno who made the play to Blais. I would guess at some point that will be changed.
JJ Peterka and Germany got shutout by Sweden, 1-0. The Sabres rookie got a lot of ice-time, skating 21:38, but only had one shot on goal.
Both Canada and the U.S. are next in action on Sunday.
