Team North America picks up back-to-back wins over Team Europe in exhibition play
MONTREAL — Coach Todd McLellan felt Team North America lost sight of its game plan after a huge offensive outburst in the first period.
North America won a tight contest 7-4 against Team Europe on Sunday after scoring five goals in the first period in pre-tournament action leading into the World Cup of Hockey.
North America, made up of players 23 and under, was up 5-1 at the first intermission but a sloppy second and third period allowed the Europeans to claw their way back into the game.
“We were making plays, we were fast,” said McLellan of the first 20 minutes. “But the game tightened up and we didn’t do a good job of adjusting. The whole night turned into making nice plays. They forgot about the grit game and the defending.