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COMEBACK FALLS SHORT AS CANADA DROPS EXHIBITION DECISION TO FINNS
MINSK, Belarus – John McFarland (Richmond Hill, Ont./Sudbury, OHL) scored a hat trick to pace the Canadian
offence, but it wasn’t enough as Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team fell 5-4 to Finland in exhibition
action on Friday night at the Minsk Ice Palace.
The game was Canada’s lone pre-tournament contest before opening the 2010 IIHF World Under-18 Championship
next Tuesday (8 a.m. ET/5 a.m. PT) against Switzerland in Bobruisk, located 138 km from Minsk. Canada is
looking to improve on its fourth-place finish from the 2009 U18 Worlds in the U.S.
The Finns jumped out to a quick start, striking just 46 seconds after the opening face-off for an early
1-0 lead. But McFarland, one of three returning Canadians from the 2008 world championship, got Canada back
on even terms less than five minutes later, scoring shorthanded.
The second period was a parade to the penalty box, as the two teams combined for 24 minutes in penalties
in the middle frame. The Finns used an early power play to regain a one-goal lead thanks to Petteri Halinen,
and pushed it to 3-1 when Teemu Pulkkinen beat Calvin Pickard (Winnipeg, Man./Seattle, WHL) at the
five-minute mark.
McFarland notched his second of the game with two minutes left in the second period, but the Finns
restored their two-goal lead before the buzzer sounded on Halinen’s second goal of the period.
Outshot 24-22 through two periods, the Canadians fell into a three-goal hole early in the third period
when Mikael Salmivirta beat Kent Simpson (Edmonton, Alta./Everett, WHL) – who had replaced Pickard midway
through the second period – to make it 5-2.
But the Canadians fought back, getting goals from Ryan Spooner (Kanata, Ont./Peterborough, OHL), at 10:47,
and McFarland, who wrapped up his hat trick at 14:42 to make it a one-goal game at 5-4. Despite outshooting
the Finns 15-10 in the final 20 minutes Canada could not get the tying goal past Finnish goaltender Jonathan
Iilhati, falling short in its comeback attempt.
Ryan Murray (White City, Sask./Everett, WHL) added two assists for Canada, which outshot Finland 37-34
overall.
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