USA tops Canada outdoors

Photo: Twitter: @HC_WJC

Canada defenseman Kale Clague fights off a check from USA forward Kailer Yamamoto in the first ever outdoor game at the World Juniors.

Just under 45,000 fans took in the first ever outdoor game at the World Juniors on Friday afternoon in upstate New York — one that Team USA won 4-3 in shootout over Team Canada in a rematch of last year's gold medal game.

Cale Makar opened the scoring for Canada less than five minutes into the game at New Era Field, just outside of Buffalo. Captain Dillon Dube buried his first goal of the tournament later in the period to double the lead for the red and white.

Kieffer Bellows scored to put USA on the board late in the second period, but Boris Katchouk scored just over a minute later to restore Canada's two-goal lead.

A day after the Americans were upset by the heavy underdog Slovakia, they didn't let another game slip away.

Scott Perunovich and Brady Tkachuk both scored for USA early in the third, just 34 seconds apart. 

The game would remain 3-3 through the rest of regulation and overtime.

In the shootout, Bellows and Tkachuk scored the only goals, giving USA its fourth-straight win against Canada at the World Juniors.

Canada and USA are now both 2-1 through three games, but Canada sits two points ahead since regulation wins are worth more than wins in overtime or shootout.

The fourth and final round-robin game for the Canadians is on Saturday, when they face the winless Team Denmark.

The Americans round robin schedule wraps up when they play Team Finland on Sunday afternoon.

All teams will have an off day on Jan. 1, before the quarterfinals and the relegation games begin on Jan. 2.