Connor Bedard鈥檚 four goals propelled Canada to an 11-2 win over Austria at the world junior men鈥檚 hockey championship on Tuesday in Edmonton.
Mason McTavish scored twice and Cole Perfetti had a goal and two assists for the host country (2-0). Kent Johnson, Lukas Cormier, Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque also scored for the Canadians.
Eliot Desnoyers and Will Cuylle each assisted on three Bedard goals. Brett Brochu stopped 20 of 22 shots for the win in his first start of the tournament.
Lukas Necesany and Mathias Bohm scored for Austria (0-2) with beleaguered starter Leon Sommer making 53 saves in the loss.
Bedard joined Mario Lemieux (1983), Simon Gagne (1999), Brayden Schenn (2010), Taylor Raddysh (2016) and Maxime Comtois (2018) in the Canadian junior men鈥檚 record books for the most goals scored in a single game.
馃Б are flying for Connor Bedard! 馃憦#WorldJuniors | #OurGameIsBackpic.twitter.com/a5AiaHdRBh
鈥� Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 29, 2021
Bedard was the seventh 16-year-old named to the national men鈥檚 junior team in its 45-year history, joining players such as Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby.
No other 16-year-old produced four goals in a game, however. Gretzky scored a hat trick in 1977 against Czechoslovakia.
Canada plays its second Pool A game in as many days Wednesday against Germany and concludes the preliminary round New Year鈥檚 Eve against the Finns.
That鈥檚 if the men鈥檚 under-20 tournament isn鈥檛 further derailed by the COVID-19 virus. Canada versus Austria was the only game played Tuesday.
Two American players testing positive had the U.S. forfeiting a Pool B game to Switzerland with the entire team in mandatory quarantine.
The Swiss were awarded a 1-0 win under International Ice Hockey Federation rules. The IIHF has yet to determine if the U.S. can play Wednesday鈥檚 Pool B game against Sweden in Red Deer.
READ MORE: U.S. forfeits world juniors game against Switzerland due to COVID-19 quarantine
The quarterfinals are Sunday followed by the Jan. 4 semifinals and Jan. 5 medal games in Edmonton.
Players moving out and into the lineup had Canada shuffling lines Tuesday, with Bedard shifted onto a line with Cuylle and Desnoyers.
Canadian forward Justin Sourdif served a one-game suspension Tuesday for an illegal check to the head in Sunday鈥檚 tournament-opening 6-3 win over Czechia.
Forward Xavier Bourgault also didn鈥檛 play after taking a hit to the head in Sunday鈥檚 third period.
Stankoven of the Kamloops Blazers and Soo Greyhounds defenceman Ryan O鈥橰ourke drew in to play their first games of the tournament.
Bedard鈥檚 fourth goal was a tip-in at 2:34 of the third period. The Canadians scored six unanswered goals before Austria responded late in the second period.
Bedard scored back-to-back goals in a 71-second span late in the first period to spot his team a 5-0 lead.
The Regina Pats forward then collected the puck off an offensive-zone draw and whipped a wrist shot over Sommer at 6:13 of the second period to complete his hat trick.
He got a second swing at a pinballing puck for a power-play goal and finished a give-and-go with Cuylle off the rush in the first period.
Alberta鈥檚 COVID-19 restrictions limits spectators in Edmonton and Red Deer to 50 per cent capacity. Rogers Place wasn鈥檛 close to its half-capacity of 9,320 for Tuesday鈥檚 game.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
