World Championship Recap - 16.05.24

Andrew Mangiapane factored in with the game-winning goal as Canada dispatched Norway 4-1 Thursday at the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Czechia.

Canada 4, Norway 1

The opening 20 minutes were a touch tepid, but Canada found the icebreaker at the 11:50 mark, going ahead 1-0 when Brandon Tanev tapped in Kaiden Guhle's hard pass to the top of the Norway crease.

Mangiapane - affectionately named Canada's Chief Energy Officer earlier this week by head coach Andre Tourigny - lived up to his billing, and brought the game to life early in the second period after a lengthy net-front battle with a Norwegian defender.

Teammate Bowen Byram waltzed into the left circle with the puck, as Mangiapane broke free of his opponent and made himself available at the back post. Byram pushed the puck to Mangiapane’s skate, the Flames forward then redirected the disc onto his stick and pushed it past Norway netminder Henrik Haukeland for his first goal of the tournament.

Mangiapane's goal extended the Canadian lead to 2-0, and that scoreline remained static through 40 minutes.

Canada held a 21-0 edge in shots on goal over the first two periods, stifling any attempt at a Norwegian attack before any type of spark could ignite.

Norway answered back on their second shot of the game 2:47 into the third period on a pretty passing play, as Stian Solberg connected on a 2-on-1 rush with a shot that just eluded the paddle of Canadian netminder Nico Daws.

But Canada answered back while short-handed just under four minutes later, when Dylan Cozens strode down the wing, froze Haukeland and snapped a puck home from the left circle. 

Jared McCann salted the game away, scoring an empty-net marker with 90 seconds left on the clock.

Mangiapane finished the game with two shots on goal, to go along with his game-winning marker, over his 14:46 of ice-time.

Canada outshot Norway 33-6.

Both Mangiapane and Flames teammate Martin Pospisil are back in action at the World Championship Saturday as round-robin play continues.

Canada faces Finland at 8:20 a.m. MT, while Slovakia hits the ice at 12:20 p.m. MT versus France.