Pittsburgh Penguins' defensive prospect Harrison Brunicke came through in a key moment of Canada's World Junior Championship opener against Czechia on Friday.
It was a chaotic night on the ice for Team Canada in their World Junior Championship tournament opener on Friday, even as they took home the 7-5 win over Czechia.
And, even if he didn't show up on the scoresheet, one Pittsburgh Penguins' top prospect played a key role in getting Canada to the finish line.
19-year-old defenseman Harrison Brunicke - chosen by his teammates as an alternate captain for Team Canada - did not show anything flashy on the offensive side of the puck in this game, as he is pretty well known for. However, he made some important defensive plays later on in the game - particularly, on a third-period penalty kill - that preserved the lead for Canada and gave them some breathing room at the end of the game.
Approaching the midway point of the third period, Team Canada captain Porter Martone took a holding penalty, and - at the time - Canada led 6-4. As part of the defensive pairing on Canada's top penalty-killing unit, Brunicke was counted on defensively in this game, and he pulled through on this kill.
In a span of approximately 45 seconds, Brunicke cleared the zone once and blocked four shots, including one off of his right hand. Canada ended up killing off the penalty, and - despite giving up a goal to Tomas Galvas and the Czechs a few minutes later - were ultimately put in a good position to win the game because of that kill.
World Juniors: Horcoff Helps Team USA Win Opener Over Germany
Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Will Horcoff helped Team USA beat Germany 6-3 on Friday night.
Brunicke was also on the ice for the empty-net situation, and he was a plus-3 in the game. He was on the ice for Czechia's first goal against, which was a tip-in by Tomas Poletin with three minutes left in the first period after being left open at the net-front.
All in all, however, it was a really solid defensive showing for Brunicke, who has played in nine NHL games for the Penguins this season and also nearly scored on a partial breakaway chance in the first period.
Canada next plays Latvia Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Penguins' Top Defensive Prospect Named To Team Canada For WJC, Joins Leadership Group
After forward Will Horcoff was <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/penguins-prospect-makes-team-usa-world-junior-team">named to Team USA's World Junior Championship (WJC) final roster</a> on Wednesday, another <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' prospect was given the same honors for his respective team.
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