EDMONTON, Alberta — Dylan Cozens had a hat trick and three assists and defending champion Canada opened the world junior hockey championship with a 16-2 victory over short-handed Germany on Saturday night.
Dawson Mercer, Philip Tomasino, Alex Newhook and Peyton Krebs each scored twice, and Kaiden Guhle, Ryan Suzuki, Jakob Pelletier, Thomas Harley and Connor McMichael added goals for Canada in the Group A game.
John Peterka and Florian Elias scored for Germany. Missing nine players because of the coronavirus, Germany had only 14 skaters — nine forwards and five defensemen — for second straight game. Three players can return to the tournament Sunday and another five Tuesday, barring more positive tests.
The Canadians led 11-0 after two periods and scored on their first five shots in the third.
The United States faced Austria in the late game. The Americans dropped their Group B opener Friday night to Russia.
Earlier in Group B, Sweden beat the Czech Republic 7-1 for its 53rd straight preliminary-round victory.
Albin Sundsvik, Arvid Costmar, Emil Heieneman, Theodor Niederbach, Elmer Soderblom, Oscar Bjerselius and Noel Gunler scored for Sweden in the opener for both teams. Jan Mysak scored for the Czech Republic.
The top four teams in each pool will advance to the Jan. 2 quarterfinals.