Canada claimed a 2-1 win over Slovakia in a shootout Monday at the World Hockey Championship in Riga, Latvia.
The two teams needed eight rounds after only one shooter from each team managed to score out of the first five. In the end, Montreal Canadiens goalie Samuel Montembeault sealed the victory for Canada when he stopped Slovakia's Martin Chromiak (an L.A. Kings prospect) after Buffalo Sabres winger Jack Quinn had scored to give Canada the edge.
Canada needed a goal from Michael Carcone of the Arizona Coyotes — their fifth shooter — in order to extend the shootout to sudden death after Richard Panik had given Slovakia the lead on the fifth shot.
The low score was a bit surprising for such a penalty-filled affair. The teams combined for 59 minutes worth of infractions, including a five-minute major and 20-minute misconduct for Slovakia's Libor Hudacek.
In the end, only one power-play goal was scored all game: by Peter Cehlarik of Slovakia, which tied things up in the first period after St. Louis Blues forward Jake Neighbours had opened the scoring for Canada.
Montembeault finished with 23 saves, while Slovakia's Samuel Hlavaj was almost twice as busy, stopping 42.
Canada, which leads Group B with eight points (two regulation wins, one overtime win) in three games, next plays on Wednesday against Kazakhstan.
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