The only member of Team Canada that was not able to redeem himself from a 5-2 opening night loss to Czechia the follwoing night was Ben Gaudreau.
On Wednesday, Canada pounded Team Germany 11-2 for their first win at the World Juniors after the disappointing Boxing Day loss to Czechia. Gaudreau was pulled in the second period of the opener after allowing 5 goals on 17 shots in that contest and his partner Thomas Milic got the victory in goal for Canada versus Germany.
Gaudreau, who plays for the OHL's Sarnia Sting, did get a chance for redemption on Thursday night.
Gaudreau did not have a lot of work but was able to make 12 saves in a convincing 11-0 shutout win for Team Canada over Austria on Thursday night.
Gaudreau was solid in the first period making a solid blocker stop early in the opening frame as he only had to handle four first period shots as Canada built a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. The shots were few and far between, but Gaudreau was able to keep the puck out the rest of the way for the shutout victory.
The Corbeil product is the second North Bay area goalie to record a shutout at the World Juniors, equaling Colton Point's 20-save 6-0 shutout with Team Canada over Slovakia on December 27, 2017.
"One game should never define what Ben has accomplished," said Todd Robillard, Gaudreau's longtime goalie coach about Ben getting pulled in the opener.
Robillard, who also trained Colton Point, who currently plays in the ECHL for the Edmonton Oilers' affiliate team, the Fort Wayne Komets, is happy to see Gaudreau get the shutout even though it was expected against Austria.
"I'm proud of him for sure," said Robillard.
"It's a no-win situation because at the end of the day that's a team they should shut out and if you don't you are right back in the same scenario. He is a great kid and it is great to see him get this level of success."
Robert Gaudreau, Ben's dad, is in Halifax watching the games with his wife Charlotte. He knows following his son's career that nothing is guaranteed for the guy between the pipes; especially at a high-profile event like this.
"The position is a tough position you really don't know, you could go down there and watch your kid ride the bench the whole tournament but for them, it is a very mental game, he has lots of support in place and he had a lot of people reaching out to him before Thursday's game including Carter Hutton," Robert Gaudreau told BayToday Thursday afternoon from Halifax.
Robillard will be packing his bags to head to Halifax this weekend. Robillard and the Gaudreau family are hoping to see Ben get another chance to prove he can lead Canada to gold, much like he did at the IIHF U18 World Championships in Texas in the summer of 2021.
