HC Davos holds on to early lead in 2-1 win over Canada at Spengler Cup

DAVOS, Switzerland – Andrew Rowe and Leon Bristedt’s early goals were enough as HC Davos fended off Canada 2-1 on Tuesday at the Spengler Cup.

The Spengler Cup is an annual club hockey tournament among European teams — and a squad of Canadian professionals — hosted by HC Davos.

Rowe and Bristedt scored within the first 1:55 of the game to stake HC Davos (1-0-0) to its early lead.

Sandro Aeschlimann made 28 saves in net for the win.

Brett Connolly of Campbell River, B.C., replied for Canada (0-2-0) at the 17:16-mark of the second period.

Goalie Connor Hughes stopped 22 shots for Canada.

Neither team scored on the power play. Davos was 0-for-4 and Canada 0-for-2 with the man advantage.

“I thought as a team game, we played a lot better and a lot more connected, which is what I envisioned our team doing. It’s tough, we got two unlucky bounces to start the game,” said head coach Travis Green.

“Give our team credit, they stuck with their game. I really believe we were a better team tonight than we were last game against a pretty good team; that Davos team is fast.”

Canada, winless in two starts, will play in Thursday’s quarterfinals against an opponent still to be determined.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2022.