HELSINKI - A day before the quarter-final at the world junior championship, Canada and Finland played the game within the game.
Namely, who exactly is the underdog?
As Team Canada head coach Dave Lowry sees it, the topic is not even up for debate. Canada, already losers to the United States and Sweden who needed a shootout to defeat Switzerland, head into the single-game elimination round with the third-worst record. And now, the Canadians are playing against a host country that has the third-best record.
“They would definitely be the favourites,” said Lowry. “It’s going to be a challenge.