Canada battle past Germany, U.S. beat France
By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy MOSCOW (Reuters) - Canada were given their toughest test at the world championship before they overcame a spirited challenge from Germany on Thursday, winning their Group B clash 5-2. The game was tied at 2-2 going into the final period but goals from Taylor Hall, Boone Jenner and Cody Ceci helped the defending champions to their fourth straight win in the competition. Also in Group B, the United States scored three second-period goals in just over five minutes on the way to a 4-0 victory over France. "It was a real team effort out there," U.S. goaltender Mike Condon, who earned a 19-save shutout, told the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) website. "We tried to play our game and do the things we needed to get the win. That was important for us, and we are happy to come out with the win." Russia did not have the Washington Capitals trio of Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitri Orlov at their disposal but the Red Machine did not need them as they crushed Denmark 10-1. However, the Czech Republic still lead Group A after they thrashed Norway 7-0, with Lukas Kaspar scoring two goals, to maintain their unbeaten record. (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)
