SOCHI, Russia – Ashton Fry (Kemptville 73’s) and Joshua Barnes (Cornwall Colts) both scored once and added assists to help lift the Ottawa Capitals, representing the Canadian Junior Hockey League, Central Canada Hockey League and Hockey Canada to a 6-3 triumph over HC Jokerit of Helsinki, Finland Monday in Day 3 play at the Junior Club Sirius World Cup in Sochi, Russia.
The Capitals Liam Souliere (Nepean Raiders) got the start in net for the Canadian contingent and was tested early making a number of quality stops to keep the contest scoreless.
Buoyed by the play of their goalkeeper, the CCHL side countered with the day’s opening tally.
After breaking out of their own zone that eventually saw Fry dart down the left wing and burst through a pair of Jokerit defenders before sending over a crisp cross-ice pass to a waiting Ryland Mosley (Carleton Place Canadians) who was left with a tap-in midway through the first period.
The Finns were quick to counter with the equalizer as Veikko Loimaranta spun at the top of the right circle just as a Ottawa penalty had expired and wired a quick shot past Souliere to knot the affair at 1-1.
Picking up their initial man advantage of the contest, the Capitals regained the lead once more as they moved the puck around nicely with Liam Markhouser (Kanata Lasers) setting up his defensive partner Adrien Bisson (Ottawa Jr. A Senators) for a one-timer on the right face-off dot which he quickly blasted into the short side.
However, the Finns came back quickly once more to tie it at 2-2 with Roope Reini finishing off a three-on-two by snapping one high on Souliere from the high slot.
The back and forth affair saw Ottawa regain the lead early in the middle stanza with Fry converting as he corralled a blocked shot off the stick of Ben Dirven (Cornwall Colts) and whipped his attempt past the Finnish goaltender.
Jokerit captain Roope Hirvonen tied it once more nearly six minutes into the session as he converted during a power play.
15-year-old CCHL standout Barnes once again showed off his impressive skill set by firing a crisp feed over to a waiting David Poirier (Cornwall Colts) who wasted little time and firing one into the back of the net to give his side the eventual game-winner.
Ottawa then added some insurance with 7:18 remaining in regulation as Sam Allison (Carleton Place Canadians) forced a turnover deep in Jokerit territory then calmly fed a hard-charging Barnes who buried his chance from in close off the glove of Katajainen and in.
Alex Robert (Rockland Nationals) then wrapped the win with a late empty netter to help the Canadian contingent post their initial victory of the eight-team tournament.
The Capitals will conclude round robin play Wednesday at 8 a.m. ET as they take on Kunlun Red Star Heilongjiang of Harbin, China as they look to secure a berth in the semifinals.
Photo credit: JCWC Images