There are a few things you should know about Julius Hudacek: He's 19 years old, stands six feet tall, weighs 171 pounds, and if it hadn't been for Kyle Turris, he might have single-handedly stolen a game from Canada at the world junior hockey championship on Thursday.
If it makes you feel any better, hardly anyone else had heard of the Slovakian backstop before he took to the ice in Pardubice, Czech Republic, in what would eventually be a 2-0 Canadian victory.
Logan Pyett, right, battles with Slovakia's David Skokan during Canada's 2-0 victory on Day 2 of the world junior championship in the Czech Republic.
(Petr David Josek/Associated Press)
It was the 20th win in a row for Canada, a string that goes back to the championship game loss in 2004. And it leaves the Canadians 2-0 in Pool A after an opening-day 3-0 victory over the host Czechs.
Steve Mason had a mostly quiet shutout in the Canadian goal.
But it was Hudacek who did his best to steal the show, turning aside 32 shots and smothering whatever chances came his way.
As his teammates scratched their heads, however, Turris, who plays for the University of Wisconsin Badgers, worked out how to tunnel under the battlements.
Canada opened the scoring early in the second period on their second two-man advantage of the game.
As point men Karl Alzner and Drew Doughty moved the puck sharply back and forth, Turris found a spot in front of Hudacek. Alzner fired one in and, using his strong lacrosse skills, Turris tipped it out of the air and into the goal.
Until that point, Slovakia had spent half the game in the box, but the Canadians had been unable to take advantage despite controlling the play.
The Slovaks, though, found ways to hang onto the game, contributing some chances of their own when they got the opportunity with the extra man.
Still, the philosophy seemed to be, if you can't stop the Canadians, tackle them.
And that was how Turris came up with his second goal, on a third-period power play.
Doughty started the play with a spin-a-rama in the neutral zone that would have made Hall of Famer Serge Savard proud. Leaving his check behind, Doughty stormed into the Slovakian zone down the left side and found Turris wide open at the other side of the crease.
That about ended the game, though Mason was forced to make his best save late in the contest on a Slovak power play.
If pressure and chances counted, a scoreless opening period belonged to Canada thanks to five power-play opportunities, including a 50-second two-man advantage.
Nothing to show, however. During the 5-on-3, John Tavares, still playing mostly with the man advantage, had a good chance on a backdoor play but missed the net, and then Logan Pyett's shot from the point seemed headed to the net, but it was deflected by Hudacek.
The Slovakian goalie, who made 32 saves after a 46-stop performance the day before versus Sweden, was his club's player of the game. Turris took the honours for the Canadian team.
Other action
Russia (2-0) stayed unbeaten after a close 5-4 game with Kazakhstan. Alexei Cherepanov, selected in the first round by the New York Rangers in the NHL entry draft in June, scored in his tournament debut after missing the team's first game due to illness.
Viktor Tikhonov, grandson of the legendary Russian national coach of the same name, scored for the second consecutive game.
Also, for the second straight game, the Russians trailed after the first period, down 2-0 to Kazakhstan before scoring two quick goals early in the second.
Florida Panthers prospect Michael Frolik scored a natural hat trick in the first period as the host Czechs rebounded from their opening loss to Canada with a 5-2 win over Denmark.
Finland earned its first win of the tournament, 4-3 over Switzerland. Jarkko Malinen's goal was the difference, while Riku Helenius, Tampa Bay Lightning property, made 25 saves for the winners.
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