After a strong start to their game against Canada, the United States lost their captain for the rest of their biggest 2017 World Junior Championships game to date.
2017 World Juniors: Team USA captain ejected for high hit on Canada defender
Luke Kunin hit the showers after the interference call.
Photo by Jeffrey T. Barnes/Getty Images
U.S. captain Luke Kunin went to finish a check behind the Canada net early in the second period, but landed it a bit too high for the referee’s liking. Any hit to the head in the World Juniors warrants an automatic ejection and a five-minute power play to the victimized team.
Kunin was tossed for the hit, which didn’t appear to make contact with Canada defenseman Philippe Myers’ head. Kunin stopped to look at the replay on the video board before disappearing down the tunnel for good.
It was the fourth penalty for Team USA before the halfway point of their game on Saturday. Charlie McCoy got dinged for tripping moments after Kunin’s ejection, giving Canada a 5-on-3 opportunity that they scored on.
Canada has the top power play in the tournament so far.
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