Canada tops U.S. team in opener

MONTREAL — Martin St. Louis had a goal and an assist Tuesday night to lead Canada to a 2-1 victory over the United States in the World Cup of Hockey opener for both teams.

The game featured stellar play by Canada goalie Martin Brodeur and U.S. counterpart Robert Esche.

It took little time for the teams to show signs of the heated rivalry that has peaked since Canada defeated the United States in the gold-medal game of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Canada’s 38-year-old captain, Mario Lemieux, went after Steve Konowalchuk when the American forward ran into Brodeur..

Joe Sakic also scored for Canada, which controlled the game at both ends of the ice for the first 25 minutes before the United States took back the momentum.

Bill Guerin scored for the United States, which topped Canada 5-2 in the final of the inaugural World Cup in 1996 in the same building.

“They came out hungrier then we were, way more intense,” U.S. coach Ron Wilson said. “Fortunately Robert Esche was on top of things … we needed our goaltender to keep us in there.”

Canada will play its second game of the round-robin portion of the eight-team tournament tonight against Slovakia in Montreal. The United States will play Russia on Thursday night in St. Paul, Minn.

Canada led 2-1 at 16:03 of the second period when Konowalchuk came in hard and bumped Brodeur in the crease.

Lemieux, not known for fighting, especially because of his fragile back, charged in and tussled with Konowalchuk until linemate Jarome Iginla took over. Defenseman Scott Niedermayer ended up fighting American center Jeff Halpern.

There were big hits on both sides that led to chants and noise from the mostly red-and-white clad capacity crowd of 21,273, which included Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Canada came out with a new look — gold colored jerseys with a red maple leaf. They were replica uniforms of those worn by the 1920 Winnipeg Falcons, the first Olympic hockey gold medalists.

Canada, which held a 24-6 shots on goal advantage early in the second period, finished with a 32-24 edge in shots.

Sweden 5, Germany 2

At Stockholm, Sweden, Mats Sundin had a goal and two assists to lead Sweden past Germany in the opener for both teams.

Sundin’s goal was a gem, as he whipped a powerful backhander from the right circle past goalie Olaf Kolzig 1:59 into the second period to give Sweden a 2-1 lead.

Modano injured

Mike Modano has joined the growing list of injured U.S. hockey players

Modano went down with a “lower-body injury” during the United States’ 2-1 loss to Canada.

Before the tournament even started, the United States lost defensemen Derian Hatcher, Mathieu Schneider, Jordan Leopold and Brian Rafalski, along with center Jeremy Roenick.

“You don’t replace a Mike Modano,” New Jersey Devils center Scott Gomez said. “There’s guys waiting in the wings, but (Modano) could be the best U.S. player ever. There will be guys ready to step up, and hopefully Mike will be all right.

“If you look around the locker room, we’ve dealt with injuries already. Once you’re in the tournament, it doesn’t matter.”

Canada defenseman Ed Jovanovski was also injured in the game.