On Saturday, he did it in a big way, scoring a worthwhile goal that helped Canada to a 5-1 win over the Czech Republic at the world junior hockey championship. Johnson pulled off the dazzling game-winner 19 minutes into the first period, tucking the puck on the blade of his stick behind the net, picking it up as he slid forward and curling it over the Czech goaltender’s shoulder for an elusive goal in the “ Michigan.” [brightcove videoID=6310851704112 playerID=JCdte3tMv height=360 width=640] The move — also known as a lacrosse goal — is something the Columbus Blue Jackets prospect has been honing for about six years. “I’ve been doing this move since I was 14 years old doing it,” he said. “Now it’s something that’s kind of in the toolbox.” Still, pulling away to give the Canadians a 2-1 lead — one they never relinquished — was exciting. “It’s a big goal, really good,” said Johnson, who added an assist in the third period. “I think it’s the period I had too. I think I’d be pretty excited for him to come off my skate as well.” The play drew wild cheers from the crowd of 5,135 at Rogers Place. On the ice, Johnson’s teammate Logan Stankoven held his gloved hands above his head and said, “Oh my God!” “It was probably one of the nicest Michigans I’ve seen, honestly,” Canada captain Mason McTavish said. “He picked it up so quickly and at the end of the first period, the ice is not as good then. So this was something special to watch. I will definitely watch it again and again.” [brightcove videoID=6310855924112 playerID=JCdte3tMv height=360 width=640] McTavish scored twice for Canada (3-0-0) on Saturday, while Ridley Greig and Tyson Foerster each found the back of the net. Jack Thompson, Ronan Seeley and Stankoven each contributed a pair of assists. The Czech Republic (1-1-1) opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal early in the first period. Jaroslav Chmelar was sent to the box after running New York Rangers prospect Brennan Othman into the boards from behind and leaving the Canadian with a bloody nose. The play was reviewed and Chmelar was ejected with a game misconduct. His team was left to kill a five-minute penalty. Risavi gave the Czech some breathing room, putting a shot under the crossbar 5:10 into the game. The puck bounced off the net and play continued, but a video review moments later showed the puck had crossed the goal line. The way Canada rallied bodes well for the rest of the tournament, Othmann said. “It’s just a little bit of adversity. And that’s okay in these games,” he said. “I think that builds more character for the big games, the elimination games. And it just shows that we are resilient. It doesn’t matter who we play, we’ll keep going.” It was a busy night in net for Czech goaltender Tomas Suchanek, who stopped 52 of 57 shots. McTavish was the first to beat the netminder, leaving the tie 16:44 into the first frame, deflecting in Thompson’s big blast in traffic. Seconds earlier, Suchanek made a stunning stop to preserve his side’s lead. Stopped at the side of the net, Johnson took a quick shot offside, but Suchanek slid up just in time to make the save with his diving glove. “I was a bit lucky,” admitted the Czech goalkeeper. “The puck went into the slot and I saw he was going to cross it and I just took my glove off and he shot it into my glove. I was like “Oh my god, what just happened?” I saw the replay and it was a lot of fun. I just said to myself ‘Good job’ and carried on.” Canada coach Dave Cameron said he was “nervous” early in the game about how well Suchanek was playing. “This tournament, now that the games are getting better and the competition is getting tougher, you have to stick with it,” he said. (Suchanek) was very good and we stuck with it and found a way. At the other end of the ice, Dylan Garand made 22 saves to earn his second win of the tournament for the Canadians. Canada took a 3-1 lead with 4:48 left in the frame thanks to a power-play goal. Czech Gabriel Sturz was called for fouling and five seconds into the man advantage, Greig tipped in Seeley’s shot for his second goal of the tournament. Canada was 1-for-3 on the power play Saturday, while the Czech Republic went 0-for-2. Teenager Connor Bedard set up Canada’s fourth goal of the night, feeding a clean pass to McTavish, who was alone at the top of the slot. He got his arm in and put a shot through the keeper’s legs for his second goal of the game 11:05 into the second. Foerster sealed the score 7:39 into the third period, picking off a pass from Johnson in the middle of the slot, finishing and blasting a huge shot past Suchanek to give the Canadians a 5-1 advantage. Earlier on Saturday, the defending champion Americans (3-0-0) remained undefeated with a 7-0 win over Austria (0-3-0). Austrian goalkeeper Leon Sommer stopped 49 of the 56 shots he faced. “I like these games,” he said with a smile. “Lots of footage.” Saturday’s workload wasn’t Sommer’s biggest in world junior action – he faced 64 shots in an 11-2 loss to Canada before COVID-19 wiped out the inaugural 2022 tournament in December. “I guess I’ve got the tough guys,” the goalie said. “But I love them.” Saturday’s final game pits Germany (1-1-0) against winless Switzerland (0-2-0). Canada will wrap up play against Finland (2-0-0) on Monday. The qualifying round continues through Monday, with the quarterfinals set for Wednesday. The semifinals are scheduled for Friday and the medal matches will be held next Saturday. NOTES: McTavish leads the league with 10 points (six goals, four assists). … Canada has outscored its opponents 21-4 in the first three games of the tournament. … Both teams were coming off a day of rest after Canada defeated Slovakia 11-1 on Thursday, while the Czechs fell 4-3 in a shootout to Finland earlier in the day.
