Hickey, Bridges lead Canada to 7-0 win over Italy at para hockey worlds

GANGNEUNG, Korea, Republic Of – Liam Hickey and Billy Bridges each had two goals and two assists as Canada remained undefeated at the 2017 IPC World Para Hockey Championship with a 7-0 win over Italy on Thursday.

Canada has won its first two games at the tournament by a combined score of 16-0. The Canadians downed Norway 9-0 on Wednesday.

Greg Westlake added two goals for Canada, which also got a goal from Corbyn Smith.

Corbin Watson made two saves to pick up the shutout.

Santino Stillitano and Gabriele Araudo combined to make 27 saves for Italy.

“It’s been a good start to the tournament for the guys,” Hickey said. “We wanted a strong start and that’s what we’ve done so far. We have chemistry now as a team, that’s working really well, especially with my linemates, of course Billyand (Ben) Delaney have been great so far, and it’s good to play with them.”

Canada next meets Sweden on Friday.

This is the first world championship to take place since the International Paralympic Committee rebranded the sport from sledge hockey to para hockey in November.