Tavares scores in OT, Canada wins 7-6 over Austria

PRAGUE, Czechia –

Captain John Tavares scored 15 seconds into overtime and saved his teammates some embarrassment as Canada held on for a 7-6 win over Austria on Tuesday at the world hockey championship.

The defending world champions took a 6-1 lead into the third period before Austria exploded for five goals over the final 20 minutes of regulation.

Former Ottawa 67’s star Marco Rossi scored the tying goal with 49 seconds left and goaltender David Madlener on the bench for an extra attacker.

Connor Bedard scored his fifth goal of the tournament for Canada, which has eight points from three games (two regulation wins, one overtime win) to sit tied with Switzerland atop Group A.

Tavares, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Kaiden Guhle each had a goal and an assist while Dylan Cozens, Bowen Byram and Jared McCann also scored for Canada. Jordan Binnington struggled in goal, allowing five goals on nine shots in the third period and six on 21 shots overall.

Peter Schneider had two goals and an assist and Dominic Zwerger had a goal and two assists for Austria which has two regulation losses and an overtime loss so far in Czechia. Benjamin Nissner and Benjamin Baumgartner also scored, while Madlener made 42 saves.

Canada next faces Norway on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2024