2025 Junior A World Challenge begins Saturday in Trois-Rivières, Quebec
TROIS-RIVIÈRES, QC – Tate Collins of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Toronto Patriots provided the dramatics Wednesday night, scoring with less than three minutes remaining as Canada East opened pre-tournament play at the 2025 Junior A World Challenge with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Canada West.
The Patriots forward’s late-game heroics capped an intense battle between the two Canadian squads as they fine-tune their preparations ahead of this week’s international tournament at Colisée Vidéotron.
Collins, who is committed to NCAA Division I Union College, signed an Ontario Hockey League scholarship agreement with the Barrie Colts Nov. 14.
Canada East Head Coach Bruce Richardson expressed satisfaction with his team’s competitive level while acknowledging areas for growth ahead of Friday’s pre-tournament finale against Sweden.
“I really like the way we competed, and there were a lot of positives,” Richardson said. “There are a lot of things we still need to work on, but it was a good start and I know our guys love that feeling of winning. We will be able to show our players some video of things we can improve, but our guys came to play tonight. We were matching up against a team that is similar [to us], but we played with a lot of pace. I thought both goaltenders played very well tonight, and I like the way we defended, so we will learn from this and continue to improve for Friday.”
Both Canadian squads will face international competition Friday night in their final pre-tournament tests. Canada East travels to Longueuil to face Sweden at Colisée Jean-Béliveau, while Canada West heads to Montmagny to battle the United States at Aréna de Montmagny. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
The pre-tournament contests serve as crucial preparation for the six-team tournament that officially begins Saturday, Dec. 7, and runs through Dec. 13. Canada East and Canada West will look to peak at the right time as they pursue gold medal glory against international competition from Czechia, Finland, Sweden and the United States.
Ten OJHL players are on the Canada East roster.
https://www.ojhl.ca/10-ojhl-players-named-to-team-canada-east-roster-for-jr-a-world-challenge/
All tournament games will be available via livestream on HNLive.ca, with the gold medal game also available on TSN+, giving fans across the country the opportunity to follow Canada’s best Junior A talent as they represent the maple leaf on the international stage.
GAME SUMMARY
Canada East 2, Canada West 1
First Period: CW – Deacon (St. Albert, AB/Devon, AJHL) 2:57
Second Period: CE – Hendry (Milton, ON/Summerside, MHL) 8:51
Third Period: CE – Collins (Newmarket, ON/Toronto, OJHL) 17:01 (approx.)
Shots on Goal: Canada West 32, Canada East 29
Next Games (Friday, Dec. 6):
- Sweden vs. Canada East – 7 p.m. ET (Colisée Jean-Béliveau, Longueuil, QC)
- United States vs. Canada West – 7 p.m. ET (Aréna de Montmagny, Montmagny, QC)
PHOTO: Hockey Canada Images
