World Championship Recap - 16.05.26

Flames forward Martin Pospisil made an immediate impact in his Slovakia side's tournament-opening victory over Norway, while defencemen Zach Whitecloud and Olli Määttä helped Canada and Finland stay perfect in Saturday's IIHF World Championship action in Switzerland.

Italy 0, Canada 6

Team Canada kept its perfect record intact with a 6-0 win over Italy Saturday.

Macklin Celebrini paced the Canadian attack with two goals and an assist, while Calgary product Dylan Holloway's two-point day included the game-winner 9:21 into the opening frame.

Whitecloud finished tied with Celebrini for tops among Canadian skaters with five shots on goal, also registering two penalty minutes over his 17:23 of work.

Former Calgary netminder Cam Talbot stopped all 19 he faced in his first action of the tournament.

Slovakia 2, Norway 1

Slovakia's tournament started on a winning note Saturday morning thanks to a 2-1 win over Norway.

And it took only 8:15 for Pospisil to hit the scoresheet, as he pivoted with the puck at his own blue line and sprung older brother Kristian in for a breakaway marker.

In all, the Flames forward finished the game with a helper and a shot on goal, while also winning 14 of his 24 face-off attempts.

Slovak captain Marek Hrivik, who spent one season in the Flames organization in 2017-18, scored the game-winner 8:07 into the third period.

Hungary 1, Finland 4

Määttä and the Finns picked up their second win on the spin with a 4-1 triumph over Hungary, thanks in part to a two-goal performance from Jesse Puljujarvi.

The Calgary blueliner - wearing an 'A' for Finland at this year's tournament - finished the day with three shots on goal over his 15:27 of playing time.

Joonas Korpisalo earned the win in goal for Finland, making nine saves.

The Flames-related action at Day 3 of the World Championships begins early Sunday morning.

Matt Coronato, Devin Cooley and Team USA get things started with a 4:20 a.m. MT face-off versus Great Britain, while at the same time, Pospisil and the Slovaks take on Italy. 

Finland and Canada are both idle Sunday, with the Finns returning to action Monday against the Americans while Canada faces Denmark Monday morning.