Canada made it to the quarterfinals of the World Hockey Championship, which seemed very unlikely after a shocking start with 0-3.
The Canadians had to wait until Tuesday’s late matches to see if they had entered the pre-race round, but they received the help they needed when Germany beat Latvia 2: 1 overall. This result led to Canada finishing fourth in Group B with 10 points.
Earlier on Tuesday, Canada fell to the 2019 Finnish champion in their 11: 2 penalty shootout. Canada missed a chance to win the quarterfinals with a victory, but the extra time lost kept Canada’s expectations.
“We have a very young team. I think we are the youngest in the tournament, but it is a great opportunity for children to come here, ”said Canadian coach Gerard Galant after the match. “I think a lot of players come here for the first time, and they say, ‘The players here are better than we think,’ and they work very hard.”
“It has been a great tournament, we have a difficult start, but lately we have been playing good hockey. I hope we have the opportunity to play crossover and continue to do what we do, but the last four games that we have really played will do the same.
In Group B, the United States took first place with 18 points, followed by Finland (17) and Germany (12).
Kazakhstan also had 10 points, but Canada had a break between the two teams. Latvia ranked sixth with nine points.
Watch | In the previous round, Canada loses to Finland:
In the final match of the Men’s World Hockey Championship round game “Round Robin” for Finland, Arttu Ruotsalainen won and equalized in free throws. 0:58
–In the quarterfinals, Canada will face Russia, which won Group A with 17 points. Switzerland (15 points), the Czech Republic (13) and Slovakia (12) also entered Group A. And the consistently strong Sweden was eliminated after finishing in fifth place with 10 points.
The quarter-finals are scheduled for Thursday.
Active front line
After the start of the tournament 0-3 with losses to Latvia, the USA and Germany, Canada threatened to miss the qualification for the first time in the World Championship or Olympic Games.
But Canada found its groove in a 4: 2 victory over Norway when Calgary Flames striker Andrew Mangjapan joined the team to form an effective top line with captain Adam Henrik and Ottawa Senator striker Conor Brown.
Canada followed a decisive victory with 4-2 and 7-1 over Kazakhstan, which was unbeaten to give them a chance to move forward in Tuesday’s game with Finland.
In Tuesday’s match, Max Comtoa and Brandon Perry scored for Canada, and Arto Rutsalainen scored twice for Finland, including four minutes in a row.
Ruotsalainen was one of three players to beat Canadian goalkeeper Darsiys Komber in free throws. Canada scored two shots on Finnish goalkeeper Jussi Olkenor.
“I think we played well today and there were long periods when we took the game to them,” Henrike said. “[Finland is] Good team, they responded well at the beginning of the second half, but I think we’ve stayed with our game. “
In the previous round, Brown’s top scorer with 10 points (two goals and eight assists) was a draw in seven matches. Henrik finished third with nine points (four goals and five assists), while Manjiabani scored four goals and made four assists in just four matches.
Other results on Tuesday:
- Switzerland 6 United Kingdom 3
- Czech Republic 7 Slovakia 3
- United States 4 Italy 2
- Russia 6 Belarus 0
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