Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brayden Yager might not have been able to score during the Hockey Canada U18 selection camp, but it didn’t take long for him to hit the twine in Canada’s lone Hlinka Gretzky Cup exhibition game.
All of 12 minutes and 11 seconds.
Yager scored Team Canada’s first goal in the opening period against Finland and the tournament hosts would go on to a 6-0 victory in Red Deer.
His marker came with 8:49 remaining in the opening frame and saw former Saskatoon Contacts teammate and current Prince George standout Riley Heidt draw an assist.
Denver Barkey of the OHL”s London Knights also scored in the first period, with Canada scoring twice in each frame.
Kalan Lind (Red Deer Rebels) and Mathieu Cataford (Halifax Mooseheads) scored in the second period, Zach Benson (Winnipeg Ice) and Tanner Howe (Regina Pats) had their markers in the third.
Carson Bjarnason (Brandon Wheat Kings) stopped 15 shots in 31 minutes of work, Scott Ratzlaff (Seattle Thunderbirds) had 10 saves the rest of the way to share the shutout.
Moose Jaw Warriors goaltender Jackson Unger is also on Canada's roster, but didn't see action in Friday's contest.
Canada opens the world summer under-18 hockey championship tournament proper on Sunday against Finland before taking on Slovakia on Tuesday and Sweden on Wednesday to wrap up the round robin.
