Canada's Guenther: Not going to 'Michigan' our way to the final
Dylan Guenther knows Canada needs to stop trying to score lacrosse-style goals after the team's disappointing World Junior Championship opener.
"It's a skilled play. We're not going to 'Michigan' our way to the final," the alternate captain said Tuesday, according to The Canadian Press' Joshua Clipperton.
"We're trying it a lot. I get it. But I think that's kind of how our game's going right now," Guenther continued. "We're trying to skill our way through it. We're trying to toe-drag, beat guys one-on-one. To win, you have to play the right way. Play together and play as a team. It starts with the simple side of the game-winning battles. Our skill ... there's no problem that way. It's the compete level, the one-on-one battle and stuff like that."
Czechia upset Canada 5-2 in the two squads' first preliminary-round game Monday night. During the first period, the projected top two picks in next year's NHL draft, Canadians Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, each unsuccessfully attempted "The Michigan" - a lacrosse-style move first pulled off by Wolverines forward Mike Legg in 1996.
"We kind of did it to ourselves; our discipline wasn't great," Canada head coach Dennis Williams told TSN. "A lot of guys played an individual game, so (that's) something we've got to address, and we've got a day to prep here."
Canadian defenseman Brandt Clarke - one of Canada's three NHL loanees alongside Guenther and team captain Shane Wright - also acknowledged his team was too focused on putting on a show early on.
"We have a lot of creative players, we have a lot of guys with high skill, but in the first 10 minutes of the game ... we were thinking like, 'Hey, let's get a cute one here. Let's make the crowd happy,'" the defenseman said. "But that's not how you win hockey games."
Guenther scored a lacrosse-style goal for the third of his four tallies during a WHL game in February.
Canada's next test comes Wednesday in a clash with Germany. The hosts were heavily favored coming into the tournament. Canada is looking to repeat as champion and win gold for the fourth time in six years.