McGregor, Cozzolino pace Canadian men in 11-0 rout of Germany to open Para hockey worlds

Tyler McGregor scored four goals and Dominic Cozzolino of Mississauga, Ont., had two goals and three assists as Canada's National Para hockey team opened defence of its gold medal with an 11-0 win over Germany at the World Para Hockey Championship on Saturday at the LECOM Harbor Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

McGregor, who hails from Forest, Ont. (near London), became just the third player in National Para hockey team history to reach 150 career goals.

James Dunn added a goal and four assists for Canada, while Adam Dixon, Micah Kovacevich, Rob Armstrong and Anton Jacobs Webb added singles.

Dixon, who added an assist in his 252nd career game, passed Billy Bridges for the most games played with Canada's National Para hockey team. He was presented with a silver stick after his record-breaking feat.

Netminder Corbin Watson only had to make three saves to register the shutout. Canada outshot Germany 32-3.

"Germany played hard and structured, and it forced us to pull our identity out and stick to it. I think our depth ultimately started to overtake their efforts as the game went on. We got contributions all through the lineup, and I think that is a great way to start the tournament," said Canadian head coach Russ Herrington.

Canada will play South Korea on Sunday.

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Sixteen Canadians are on the roster that beat the Americans 2-1 for the gold medal last year in Calgary, their first title on home ice and first after falling to the U.S. in three straight finals.

"Entering the world championship as the defending champions is not something we take lightly," said head coach Russ Herrington.

"We know that