Canada take victory at Para ice hockey international

“Going a goal down made us realise that we must always play with the utmost concentration, regardless of the adversary we face. The mental approach is a fundamental aspect, and to play a high-level tournament like this one in Torino was a very important test ahead of the World Championships."

Canada took a convincing 8-1 win over Norway at the Torino International Para Ice Hockey Tournament in Italy on Saturday (4 March), looking in great form ahead of the 2017 World Championships.

The Worlds silver medallists retained their title in the sixth edition of the event.

The Canadians took the lead after just 30 seconds in the first period with a goal from Tyler McGregor. But Norway fought back around two minutes later, as Morten Vaernes equalised.

Canada regrouped and continued their attack on the Norwegian defense, which was breached three more times in the opening stanza. Adam Dixon scored twice before McGregor added another as the clock ticked down.

As the scoreline moved beyond Norway’s reach, Canadian captain Greg Westlake netted two goals in the second period. Dominic Cozzolino and McGregor brought the score to 8-1 in the third.

Italy v South Korea, 2-1 (0-1, 1-0, 1-0)

Italy secured third place with a 2-1 win over the hosts of the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

But the Azzuri went behind in the first period after Seung Hwan Jung got his South Korean team on the board.

Italy pushed hard to equalise after the break and, after Gianluigi Rosa hit the post, Nils Larch advanced at close range to find the net.

The Italians took the lead and secured the win with a powerful and accurate shot from Florian Planker in the third period. For his efforts, Planker was nominated player of the game for the hosts.

"A good tournament" was the final word of Italian coach Massimo Da Rin. "We struggled early on because we haven’t played together recently, but then we found the rhythm.

“A good semi-final yesterday against Canada, despite the defeat, showed intensity and application which was good in today's match against Korea, so we managed to win despite a suboptimal approach.

“Going a goal down made us realise that we must always play with the utmost concentration, regardless of the adversary we face. The mental approach is a fundamental aspect, and to play a high-level tournament like this one in Torino was a very important test ahead of the World Championships."

The 2017 World Para Ice Hockey Championships A-Pool between 11-20 April will see the top five teams qualify for PyeongChang 2018, with the rest going on to the Qualification Tournament later in 2017.

World and Paralympic champions the USA, Worlds silver medallists Canada, Norway, Italy, Germany, South Korea and Sweden are expected to compete.