Lee Boyadjian
GAME STATS: CANADA 8, SOUTH KOREA 0
OSTRAVA, Czech Republic – Tyler McGregor (Forest, Ont.) scored three times and Liam Hickey (St. John’s, N.L.) added five points as Canada's National Para Hockey Team beat South Korea in a dominating 8-0 performance Sunday at the 2021 IPC World Para Hockey Championship.
With the win, Canada secures a spot in the semifinals. It also improves to 30-0 against South Korea all time.
Hickey opened the scoring just 21 seconds into the game, dropping to the top of the circle off a face-off win and firing one quickly past netminder Man Gyun Yu. The pressure didn’t end there, as just over two-and-a-half-minutes later, McGregor scored his first of the game off a great feed from Greg Westlake (Oakville, Ont.) through a pair of defenders. McGregor would add another (on the power play) before the end of the period for a 3-0 lead at the break.
The second period brought about many firsts for Team Canada. Just past the two-minute mark of the middle frame, Auren Halbert (Calgary, Alta.) and Hickey set up Corbyn Smith (Monkton, Ont.) for his first goal of the tournament, which was also Halbert’s first point in a Team Canada jersey. Smith was flying down the middle of the South Korean zone when Hickey found him with another fantastic pass for an easy finish.
Midway through the second, Adam Kingsmill (Smithers, B.C.) swapped out with Dominic Larocque (Quebec City, Que.), marking the first Team Canada appearance for Kingsmill. The 21-year-old stopped both shots he faced in the remainder of the game.
From Smithers, B.C., to para worlds, @AdamKingsmill didn’t let a lawnmower accident stop him from living his hockey dreams and representing his country. 🇨🇦🏒#Ostrava2021 | @BCHockey_Source pic.twitter.com/uctJI8VxKw
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) June 16, 2021
Halbert would check another first off his list, scoring from a tight angle at the side of the net, off a pass through traffic from Dominic Cozzolino (Mississauga, Ont.). It was an impressive performance from the 18-year-old, who added another goal at the start of the third period to finish with three points.
McGregor completed his hat trick just past the midway mark of the final frame, picking up a loose puck at the top of the crease. Including his three today, McGregor leads the tournament with four goals, while Hickey is atop the scoring race with six points (two goals, four assists).
Canada is off tomorrow but back in action Tuesday against the Czech Republic (8:15 a.m. ET/5:15 a.m. PT).