Canada vs. Switzerland results: Quinton Byfield's six-point night powers Canadians to 10-0 win

Jackie Spiegel

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Canada vs. Switzerland results: Quinton Byfield's six-point night powers Canadians to 10-0 win image

Quinton Byfield has officially arrived at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

Last year, the then-17-year-old kid from Newmarket, Ont., notched one assist in limited time over seven games as Canada won gold. Byfield entered Tuesday's game with one assist in three games in 2021. By the end of 60 minutes against the Swiss, he tacked on six more points with two goals and four helpers as the Canadians handily won by a final score of 10-0.

"Definitely in camp, not playing hockey for eight to nine months definitely affects you a little bit, and I feel like I just had to ease myself back into it," Byfield, the youngest skater on Team Canada at 18, said after the win. "I finally found my footing, but I’ve been playing the same way. I’m trying to play hard and play our structure, but everything kind of just happened tonight. I think me and [Jakob Pelletier] had some good connections on some goals and getting the bounces tonight."

He added regarding that first goal, "Definitely a big relief. Not getting a goal last year definitely hurt a little bit, but I wouldn't take that back for anything. We still came home with a gold medal, that's the objective. That's the same thing here. It's just nice to get a goal and contribute as much as I can. Definitely happy with that."

"[Byfield is] a big guy, good skater, good sniper too," Pelletier said. "For me to play with him, it's an absolute treat. We kept things simple, and it's kind of working for us."

Before the game, Canada had two very different wins under its belt. Boxing Day brought a lopsided win over a depleted German squad while Sunday was a tight win against a more formidable opponent in Slovakia. This contest started off looking like the game from just two days ago as the Canadians could only muster one goal — Philip Tomasino's fourth of the tournament — on 14 shots in the first period. It was a period filled with penalties for both sides, so momentum was at a premium.

But when the game shifted to the middle frame, the floodgates began to open. Canada notched four in the second period before potting another five in the final stanza. In the end, 14 skaters collected at least one point led by Byfield and Pelletier (two goals, assist) while Connor McMichael, Cole Perfetti, Dylan Cozens and Ryan Suzuki chipped in a goal and an assist apiece. Overall, the team put 52 shots on net against QMJHL netminder Nathan Patenaude.

"A lot happened in that game. It doesn't look like [it], but really good, strong start," Team Canada coach Andre Tourigny said. "Got two power plays, struggle on those two power plays that cut our momentum and we were nervous from there. Came back in the second, played really, really solid. That was our best period, no doubt about it.

"I'm happy with the way our team grew during that game. The way we bounced back after the tough start, or tough second half of the first period. The way our power play responded from the first two power plays. ... The way we bounced back after getting loose a little bit. So that was a really good game for us to learn about ourselves and to get better as a group and get on the same page."

On the backend, Devon Levi was once again a calming presence in between the pipes as he turned aside all 15 shots he faced. Over the course of three games, he has stopped 40 of 42 shots. 

Canada will now have a day off before its final game of the preliminary round, a tough test against Finland. The Finns do play Wednesday against Slovakia, so they will take on Canada, the top team in Group A, on the second night of a back-to-back.

“I think we are much better [than at the start of the tournament]," said Tourigny. "We have more chemistry, less hesitation in our game, more structure, more confidence. We are a hard forechecking team that has the ability to counter-attack quickly, we have big bodies who can create turnovers and our defense skates well. [The defense] kills plays in the neutral zone and we know who we are now better than we did a week ago.”

Sporting News had all the action as Canada skated away with another Group A win.

Canada vs. Switzerland scores, highlights from 2021 World Juniors

(All times Eastern)

Third period: Canada 10, Switzerland 0

8:20 p.m. — GOAL. Jakob Pelletier takes the touch pass from Byfield and buries it. The Flames prospect with his second of the night. Canada leads 10-0.

8:16 p.m. — GOAL. Kaiden Guhle fires the one-timer from the right point and rips it off the post and in. Canada leads 9-0.

8:12 p.m. — Holloway takes a penalty and Switzerland heads to the power play for the sixth time. They would not score.

8:10 p.m. — GOAL. Sixty-two seconds later, Cole Perfetti gets his first of the tournament as he takes the pass in the right circle, pivots and scores. All the work on that goal goes to Peyton Krebs who maintained control on the board. Canada leads 8-0.

8:08 p.m. — GOAL. Make that a five-point night for the 2020 second-overall pick. Byfield one times the Jack Quinn royal road pass; beauty of a goal. Canada leads 7-0.

8:04 p.m. — Penalty on Connor Zary for hooking.

8:02 p.m. — PP GOAL. Quinton Byfield is having himself a game. Standing alone in front of the goalie he deflects in the Jamie Drysdale point shot. His first goal of the tourney and fourth point on the night. Canada leads 6-0.

8:00 p.m. — Canada heads back to the power play as Dawson Mercer takes a stick to the face. It's Canada's sixth power play of the game.

7:55 p.m. — The third period is underway and the Swiss are on the power play.

7:50 p.m. —  During intermission, Kirby Dach gives an update.

Second period

Shots on goal: Canada 37, Switzerland 7 (they had four in the period); Penalty minutes: Canada 8, Switzerland 20

7:36 p.m. — With time winding down Simon Knak gets a good chance flying down the wing after his teammate is held. Knak almost carries the rebound into the net. Canada will start the third period on the penalty kill.

7:32 p.m. — GOAL. Connor McMichael with the shovel one-timer that gets past Patenaude. And guess who made the pass? Dylan Cozens. Canada leads 5-0.

7:27 p.m. — Ryan Suzuki follows the goal up with a fantastic shift that includes Tomasino ringing one off the pipe.

7:25 p.m. — PP GOAL. Ryan Suzuki's first shot is stopped but cleans up the rebound. Canada leads 4-0.

7:22 p.m. — Canada gets a power play.

7:16 p.m. — GOAL. The Calgary Flames' prospects connect. After Connor Zary's shot from the slot just goes wide (may have dinged the outside of the post), Jakob Pelletier buries the puck from the sharp angle. Quinton Byfield showcasing some nifty hands at the blue line to stay onside. Canada leads 3-0.

7:05 p.m. — PP GOAL. Dylan Cozens chips the rebound from the Cole Perfetti shot over the netminder. That's the Sabres prospects fourth goal and eighth point in three games. Canada leads 2-0.

7:04 p.m.. — Swiss called for a penalty just a second after they end their power play.

7:03 p.m. —  The second period begins. BTW, Avalanche prospect Bowen Byram is wearing the "C" today.

First period: Canada 1, Switzerland 0

Shots: Canada 14, Switzerland 3; Penalty minutes: Canada 6, Switzerland 16

6:45 p.m. —  The period comes to an end. Switzerland will start the second with 1:04 of power-play time.

6:43 p.m. — Connor McMichael called for interference; lucky he didn't get a 2+10.

6:42 p.m. — Canadians and Swiss share a good chance. 

6:39 p.m. — Levi with a solid save on a point from Guggenheim.

6:38 p.m. — Good pad save by Patenaude. In 11 games with Saint John this season, Patenaude was 4-3-3 with a .889 save percentage.

6:30 p.m. — Alex Newhook gets two for high-sticking. Swiss would not register a shot on goal with the man advantage and have just two with 6:30 left on the clock.

6:27 p.m. — Now a 5-on-4. Canada would not score across that whole sequence of penalties.

6:24 p.m. — Salzgeber gets a 2+10 for checking from behind after hitting Braden Schneider who is back in the lineup after his one-game suspension. So Canada now has a 5-on-3 for around a minute.

6:22 p.m. — Swiss had a few seconds on the power play but then gets called for tripping (not sure about that call either, sorry). It'll be 4-on-4 for a few ticks above 30 seconds and then Canada will go back to the man advantage.

6:20 p.m. — Switzerland gets its first shots of the game almost seven minutes in.

6:19 p.m. — Cozens called for high-sticking but didn't really see it on the replay. Regardless it'll be 4-on-4 for a little over a minute. (Follow-up another look showed it.)

6:17 p.m. — Canada heads to the power play. The team is 2-for-5 in the tournament entering Tuesday's game.

6:11 p.m. — GOAL. For the third straight game, Tomasino gets a goal. The Predators' draft pick takes the pass and scores over the blocker of Patenaude. Canada leads 1-0.

6:08 p.m. — Game on and the Canadians immediately get a good scoring chance.

Pregame

5:10 p.m. — Lineup. Devon Levi gets the start again.

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Jackie Spiegel