Canada’s defencemen stepped up and provided the offence needed during a 7-1 win over Latvia.
Three defencemen scored goals as Canada jumped into sole possession of first place in Group A at the 2025 IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship. Latvia played a solid opening 20 minutes and were down just two heading into the second, but that’s when Canada took over, scoring three goals in a 12-minute span.
“We started off slow,” said Ryan Roobroeck, who scored two goals for Canada. “That second period was more of our game. We put a little more towards the net and had more offensive zone time.”
Canada took a 5-0 lead into the third but the Latvians didn’t quit, as they finally solved Canadian goaltender Lucas Beckman on a 5-on-3 powerplay. Daniels Serkins moved in from the point and wired a shot past Beckman. The goal sent the Latvian fans into a frenzy in Allen.
Canada restored its five-goal lead when Lev Katzin grabbed a loose puck and had a ton of time before snapping a shot past Latvia’s Regnars Capars. Canada made it 7-1 on Roobroeck’s second of the game, which came on the powerplay.
Although Canada was expected to win this game, it took some time for them to get going.
The defending-champions opened the scoring at 9:03 of the first, when Brady Martin sent a pass to Jackson Smith and the defenceman made no mistake with a hard wrist shot that beat Latvian starter Ivans Kufterins above the glove.
Then, with just under four minutes left in the frame, defender Xavier Villeneuve showed off his fancy footwork with two beautiful moves around Latvian players at the blueline and went in for a shot on Kufterins. Although the Latvian goalie made the first save, the puck squirted loose and Villeneuve stayed on it, finding the loose puck amongst several bodies and then flipping it over the goaltender to make it 2-0 Canada.
That goal fired up the Canadian bench and Smith marveled about it during a TSN interview.
“He’s got some crazy moves, it’s impressive to watch in the O zone,” said Smith about Villeneuve. “It was a very good goal.”
Latvia had a great chance on a second-period power play when Olivers Murnieks found open ice and had a Grade A look from the slot, but Murnieks couldn’t beat Beckman. It was Murnieks’ second great chance of the game as he was also stopped on a first-period breakaway.
"I think we played great. The score doesn’t tell the whole game," said Murnieks. "The first period was pretty good. We had a lot of chances and didn’t allow them to keep the pressure on us. We did our best but it went downhill from there. The second period wasn’t the greatest. We let them get into our zone easily and stack shifts on us. They got to the O zone and goals just came."
Shortly after killing off the penalty, Canada took a 3-0 lead when Roobroeck headed to the net and Quinn Beauchesne made a tape-top-tape pass that Roobroeck easily tipped into an empty net.
Alberts Smits made a strong move from the blueline, drove the Canadian net and tried to tuck the puck in, forcing Beckman to make another quality save.
Jack Nesbitt appeared to make it 4-0 Canada when his hard snap shot beat Kufterins midway through the second period. But, following a coach’s challenge, officials determined Canada entered the zone offside prior to the goal.
Latvia made a goalie change after Nesbitt’s shot went in, with Capars coming in for Kufterins.
Carson Carels – one of three underagers on the Canadian roster – became the third defenceman to score in this game when he stepped into a shot and absolutely blasted it past Capars.
Canada then scored shorthanded to make it 5-0 when Alessandro Di Iorio won a board battle and took the puck hard to the net before flipping it over the shoulder of Capars.
Latvia, which sits in third in Group A, faces Finland on Saturday, while Canada faces the Finns on Sunday.
Three defencemen scored goals as Canada jumped into sole possession of first place in Group A at the 2025 IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship. Latvia played a solid opening 20 minutes and were down just two heading into the second, but that’s when Canada took over, scoring three goals in a 12-minute span.
“We started off slow,” said Ryan Roobroeck, who scored two goals for Canada. “That second period was more of our game. We put a little more towards the net and had more offensive zone time.”
Canada took a 5-0 lead into the third but the Latvians didn’t quit, as they finally solved Canadian goaltender Lucas Beckman on a 5-on-3 powerplay. Daniels Serkins moved in from the point and wired a shot past Beckman. The goal sent the Latvian fans into a frenzy in Allen.
Canada restored its five-goal lead when Lev Katzin grabbed a loose puck and had a ton of time before snapping a shot past Latvia’s Regnars Capars. Canada made it 7-1 on Roobroeck’s second of the game, which came on the powerplay.
Although Canada was expected to win this game, it took some time for them to get going.
The defending-champions opened the scoring at 9:03 of the first, when Brady Martin sent a pass to Jackson Smith and the defenceman made no mistake with a hard wrist shot that beat Latvian starter Ivans Kufterins above the glove.
Then, with just under four minutes left in the frame, defender Xavier Villeneuve showed off his fancy footwork with two beautiful moves around Latvian players at the blueline and went in for a shot on Kufterins. Although the Latvian goalie made the first save, the puck squirted loose and Villeneuve stayed on it, finding the loose puck amongst several bodies and then flipping it over the goaltender to make it 2-0 Canada.
That goal fired up the Canadian bench and Smith marveled about it during a TSN interview.
“He’s got some crazy moves, it’s impressive to watch in the O zone,” said Smith about Villeneuve. “It was a very good goal.”
Latvia had a great chance on a second-period power play when Olivers Murnieks found open ice and had a Grade A look from the slot, but Murnieks couldn’t beat Beckman. It was Murnieks’ second great chance of the game as he was also stopped on a first-period breakaway.
"I think we played great. The score doesn’t tell the whole game," said Murnieks. "The first period was pretty good. We had a lot of chances and didn’t allow them to keep the pressure on us. We did our best but it went downhill from there. The second period wasn’t the greatest. We let them get into our zone easily and stack shifts on us. They got to the O zone and goals just came."
Shortly after killing off the penalty, Canada took a 3-0 lead when Roobroeck headed to the net and Quinn Beauchesne made a tape-top-tape pass that Roobroeck easily tipped into an empty net.
Alberts Smits made a strong move from the blueline, drove the Canadian net and tried to tuck the puck in, forcing Beckman to make another quality save.
Jack Nesbitt appeared to make it 4-0 Canada when his hard snap shot beat Kufterins midway through the second period. But, following a coach’s challenge, officials determined Canada entered the zone offside prior to the goal.
Latvia made a goalie change after Nesbitt’s shot went in, with Capars coming in for Kufterins.
Carson Carels – one of three underagers on the Canadian roster – became the third defenceman to score in this game when he stepped into a shot and absolutely blasted it past Capars.
Canada then scored shorthanded to make it 5-0 when Alessandro Di Iorio won a board battle and took the puck hard to the net before flipping it over the shoulder of Capars.
Latvia, which sits in third in Group A, faces Finland on Saturday, while Canada faces the Finns on Sunday.
Latvia vs Canada - 2025 IIHF U18 Men's World Championship
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