Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice and Logan Thompson made 18 saves, leading Canada to a 5-3 win over Germany in its opener at the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Helsinki.

Four different skaters found the back of the net as Canada’s National Men’s Team kicked off the 2022 IIHF World Championship with a win, downing Germany 5-3 on Friday.

Quotes:

“When you get that first win, it certainly helps build confidence. I thought our team played well considering it was our first game, and it’s encouraging to know that we have more to offer. We are happy to come away with a win in our first game, but we are on a mission here and we are going to keep getting better as the tournament goes on. We have our first win under our belt, and we are going to enjoy this and get ready for our next game on Sunday.”

– Head coach Claude Julien (Orleans, Ont.) on continuing to progress throughout the tournament

“We are constantly talking before the game, after the game, between periods and between shifts, and everyone on our team is a smart player. That makes the game easier, and with [Dylan Cozens and Nicolas Roy] being natural centremen, we are all used to doing the dirty work to make plays. It does not really matter who plays centre, we always have good units on the ice regardless of who is out there, and I thought our entire forward group played well tonight.”

– Dubois on developing chemistry with his linemates

“It was our first game of the tournament and the first time a lot of us have played with each other. We are all still learning how each guy on our team plays since we all come from different NHL teams, but overall I think we played well. We gave up two power-play goals in the third period to make the game closer than we would have liked, but special teams play is something we can keep working on. At the end of the day, this win is something we can be proud of.”

– Chabot on the team’s first win