TORONTO – Canada and Sweden kicked off a short but hectic exhibition schedule leading up to the World U20 Championship at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto tonight, the home side prevailing by a 4-2 score. Cody Hodgson had a goal and two assists. John Tavares, Jordan Eberle, and Jamie Benn also scored for the Canadians before 11,905 raucous fans at the ACC.

The game was a re-match of last year’s gold-medal game which saw Canada win 3-2 in overtime, Canada’s fourth straight gold medal. Given that the two countries are in opposite groups in the Preliminary Round of the 2009 World U20 Championship, this might be the only chance fans also get to see the top two ranked players for the 2009 Entry Draft face off against each other.

Canada’s John Tavares and Sweden’s Victor Hedman are expected to be the clear favourites at the draft in Montreal next June. On this night, it was Tavares who got the better of Hedman. Tavares scored the game’s first goal early in the first period and made several great plays over the course of the evening. Hedman was held in check until scoring the game’s final goal in the final minute of the third period when the game was out of reach. He was hit by a solid check from Canada’s Dana Tyrell on the first shift to set the tone for the evening.

Tavares’s first-period goal came on the power play and gave Canada a 1-0 lead, a lead it nursed until midway through the second when Hodgson made it 2-0. Oscar Möller, loaned to the Swedes by the Los Angeles Kings, scored in the final minute of the second to cut the lead in half, but Canada got an early goal in the third from Boychuk and another midway through from Benn to make it 4-1 before Hedman made it 4-2 at 19:37 of the final period.

ANDREW PODNIEKS

Note: Here is a complete list of pre-tournament, pre-Christmas games as countries prepare to travel to Ottawa for the 2009 World U20 Championship, starting Boxing Day:

Canada:
Friday, Dec. 19: vs. Sweden, Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
Sunday, Dec. 21: vs. Finland, Mississauga, Ont. (Hershey Centre)
Tuesday, Dec. 23: vs. Slovakia, Hamilton (Copps Coliseum)

Czech Republic:
Sunday, Dec. 21: vs. Slovakia, Kitchener, Ont. (Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex)
Tuesday, Dec. 23: vs. Sweden, Brampton, Ont. (PowerAde Centre)

Finland:
Sunday, Dec. 21: vs. Canada, Mississauga, Ont. (Hershey Centre)
Tuesday, Dec. 23: vs. Kazakhstan, Barrie, Ont. (Barrie Molson Centre)

Germany:
Monday, Dec. 22: vs. Latvia, Brockville, Ont. (Brockville Memorial Centre)

Kazakhstan:
Sunday, Dec. 21: vs. Russia, Oshawa, Ont. (General Motors Centre)
Tuesday, Dec. 23: vs. Finland, Barrie, Ont. (Barrie Molson Centre)

Latvia:
Sunday, Dec. 21: vs. United States, Kingston, Ont. (K-Rock Centre)
Monday, Dec. 22: vs. Germany, Brockville, Ont. (Brockville Memorial Centre)

Russia:
Sunday, Dec. 21: vs. Kazakhstan, Oshawa, Ont. (General Motors Centre)
Tuesday, Dec. 23: vs. United States, Kingston, Ont. (K-Rock Centre)

Slovakia:
Sunday, Dec. 21: vs. Czech Republic, Kitchener, Ont. (Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex)
Tuesday, Dec. 23: vs. Canada, Hamilton (Copps Coliseum)

Sweden:
Friday, Dec. 19: vs. Canada, Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
Tuesday, Dec. 23: vs. Czech Republic, Brampton, Ont. (PowerAde Centre)

United States:
Sunday, Dec. 21: vs. Latvia, Kingston, Ont. (K-Rock Centre)
Tuesday, Dec. 23: vs. Russia, Kingston, Ont. (K-Rock Centre)