Hockey Canada offered an apology for the departure of the nation’s junior squad players from the ice without the customary handshake following their World Championship match against the Czech team.
The Group B contest, held Saturday in Minneapolis (Minnesota), concluded with a Canadian victory by a score of 7:5. During warm-ups, the Canadian team members skated onto the Czech squad’s side of the rink, touching opponents with their sticks. Canada’s captain, Porter Martone, after netting a goal into the empty net at the 60th minute, skated past the Czech bench and patted one of the rivals on the rear, for which he received a two-minute penalty. After the lineup and the presentation of awards to the top players of the game, the Canadians left the ice without shaking hands.
“Following yesterday’s game, the Canadian junior team left the ice without saying goodbye to the Czech team. Hockey Canada fully assumes responsibility for this incident and apologizes to the Czech team, the Czech Hockey Federation, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for our lapse,” stated a letter published on Hockey Canada’s X social media page.
The World Junior Championship commenced on December 26th and will conclude on January 5th. The tournament is taking place in the USA. The IIHF Council suspended the national teams of Russia and Belarus from international competitions indefinitely in late February 2022 due to the situation in Ukraine.
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