Battle between Canada and Singapore Ends in First Tournament Draw – 02.12.2018

In the last head-to-head match between Canada and Singapore at the World Championship in Riga, the fans saw just three goals in a 2-1 win for the North Americans. So, another tough battle was expected today and the expectations proved right. Arena Sparta saw a tight match full of penalties and a total of eight goals, four on each side.

The start of the match was slightly delayed because both teams had the same color on the backs of their jerseys. So, after the Canadians changed into their red jerseys and the referees took the yellow ones, the game was ready to start. And it was a quick one as team Canada went into the lead in the second minute when Marc Landriaut found a way to get the ball in the net after the first Singaporean turnover. Six minutes later, Suria R showed us that his short name doesn’t mean fewer abilities and tied the game at 1-1. And after a quick counter-attack, Singapore went into the lead for the first time. Still in the first period, the fans could also see quite a rare situation in this sport. Francis Lavergne from Canada tripped one of his opponents and saw a red card!

But Singapore didn’t convert this five-minute power-play. On the contrary, Canada was more successful in their one-man advantage situations and Brandon Barber showed some of his skills he boasts in his YouTube videos. Juin Jie Ng’s two goals just before the half of the match sent the Singaporeans ahead one more time, giving them a two-goal lead. Then again, after a dangerous slash, Singapore played another five-minute power-play. Again without a goal, so it seems they really need to improve their special team.

The Canadaians moved better on the court and were rewarded for their activity with a two-man advantage, which they, however, didn’t convert into a goal. Shortly after Singapore missed a penalty shot Canada played a five-minute power-play and this time the fans finally saw. It was Viitakoski who made it 3-4 and the same player tied the game in yet another power-play with eight minutes left in the game. And since none of the teams managed to capitalize on their chances in the remaining time, the final score remained at 4-4, making it the first draw of this year’s World Championship.