Water Polo Canada – Auckland, New Zealand, April 5, 2018 – The Canadian Men were able to bounce back against New Zealand, after two tough games at the 2018 FINA Inter-Continental Cup. Canada looked sharp on offense as eight different players scored for the Canucks helping them record their first win at this tournament (20-9).

The Canadians picked up their momentum in the second quarter. Already ahead 5-2, they added four unanswered goals to extend their lead to 9-2. The Kiwis took advantage of the power play to stay in the game, but Gaelan Patterson netted two quick goals to help Canada regain their lead at 11-3. Both teams scored one before the end of the first half (12-4).

It was pretty much the same story in the third quarter, Nicolas Constantin-Bicari and Devon Thumwood each scored one for Canada. With a 10-goal lead (14-4), Canada didn’t look back for the rest of the game and capitalized on their scoring chances.

Canada’s Captain, Constantin-Bicari led the way once again, scoring seven goals in the game to help Canada earn a 20-9 win. Thumwood also had an excellent performance with four goals. Patterson recorded a hat trick, and Sean Spooner added two goals to his overall total. Jérémie Côté, Aria Soleimani, Scott Robinson and Reuel D’Souza each added a goal to the scoresheet.

“It was important for us to take this game seriously. After our two losses, we had to build on something and perform well offensively. For the remainder of the tournament, our objective changes a little bit since we’ve lost against Kazakhstan, but this is part of the process, and we are looking to finish in fifth place. We will need to prepare since we have another important game against Argentina on Saturday.” commented Nicolas Constantin-Bicari, captain of the men’s national team.

The Canadian men have the day off tomorrow, and they will be back in action against Argentina Saturday, April 7 at 9 am local time/ 5:00 pm ET (April 6).

 

For schedule and results, please visit: https://www.finaauckland2018.com/

-30-

For more information, please contact :

Mylène Turcotte-Fitzgerald, Water Polo Canada Communications, (819) 639-6414, mfitzgerald@waterpolo.ca