Team Canada defeated tournament newbie Frolunda Gothenburg 4-0 at the 95^th Spengler Cup in Davos. Best advertisement with his shutout came from Aaron Dell, the currently unsigned goaltender.

Last year Team Canada bowed out of the Spengler Cup with three straight losses. The Canadians took part one on their road to redemption on Tuesday evening. In their success over Frolunda, the team from overseas showed a convincing display of determination on offense and efficiency on the finish. They decided the game early with back-to-back goals in both the first and second periods. Ty Smith and Jonathan Hazen scored within 71 seconds shortly before the first intermission to make it 2-0. Corban Knight on the powerplay – effectively an own-goal by Frolunda – and Hazen again increased the comfortable lead between the 33^rd and 35^th minute of play.

The game in front of a sell-out crowd of 6,267 in the Eisstadion, was not nearly as one-sided as the final score suggests. Frolunda even had a 30-28 shots-on-net advantage. The Scandinavians fired 17 shots on the Canadian net in the third period alone. But the Swedes regularly failed to get past Canadian keeper Aaron Dell. In addition, Jere Innala only hit the goal post (48^th minute). Juicy fact: this was the 34-year-old Dell’s first game of the season. Despite his 134 career NHL appearances, he did not get a contract extension from the San Jose Sharks at the end of last season. Now the Carolina Hurricanes are showing interest in Dell. And he advertised himself in the best way with a shutout, which surely reached all the way to Raleigh, the hometown of the Hurricanes.

After only a few shifts, Frolunda’s Carl Klingberg’s first Spengler Cup game came to an early end in the 9^thminute. The forward received a five-minute penalty and game misconduct after boarding Tyler Morley.

While Team Canada will get the day off from Wednesday’s Spengler Cup play, Frolunda will face HC Davos in the evening game at 8.15pm.

Quelle: Spengler Cup-Online Redaktion   Foto: Keystone