Curtis Joseph doesn't need to sell himself to Glen Sather as a world-class goalie.
Joseph, who plays for the Sather-managed Edmonton Oilers, made 24 saves in relief of Martin Brodeur to lead Team Canada to a 3-1 victory over the United States on Monday night in a World Cup of Hockey exhibition game."When you come in like that you want to get a couple of shots early," said Joseph, who is competing with Brodeur and Boston's Bill Ranford for the starting spot. "I was fortunate to get a couple of shots from the outside, which helped me get into a bit of a rhythm."
Joseph stopped every shot he faced and stole doorstep chances from Brett Hull, Pat LaFontaine and Shawn McEachern late in the game.
Mark Messier, Rod Brind'Amour and Brendan Shanahan scored for Canada, whose biggest, fastest skaters squeaked out the victory with a few choice hits and some nice finishes around the net.
The teams, who will open the tournament Aug. 31 in Philadelphia, will meet again tonight in San Jose. The United States will face Russia in another exhibition game Friday night in Detroit.