The Canadian men’s hockey team will have the opportunity to defend their title won at last year’s World Championship, as they reached the final by easily beating Czechia 6-1 in the semi-finals on Saturday at Tampere.
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It is again against the Finns, the hosts of the competition, that Claude Julien’s men will play the final part of this tournament. This will be the third consecutive final between the two countries, which have shared the honors so far.
Canada gave the first goal to the Czechs, but they showed all their power afterwards. The turning point of this meeting took place in the middle of the second engagement. Adam Lowry, Kent Johnson and Mathew Barzal all hit the target in 3:19 to make the Canadians lead 4-1.
David Pastrnak and David Krejci, who were the two best Czech strikers in Finland, were capable of both good and bad. Their two consecutive penalties allowed the opponent to score twice on the power play.
The representatives of the maple leaf put a lot of pressure on the Czechs in front of their net and Lowry scored with a quick pivot past Karel Vejmelka. Barzal, on the other hand, fired an unstoppable shot up top as the Arizona Coyotes goalie’s view was obstructed.
Dylan Cozens had leveled the score late in the first period by recovering his own throw return. He added a second success in the third period, after the goal of the young Cole Sillinger.
Krejci was the Czech Republic’s only goalscorer. Canadian defender Zach Whitecloud was then visiting the penalty bench for a stick in the face of David Pastrnak.
The Czechs will face the Americans for the bronze medal. This match on Sunday will precede the final at Nokia Arena in Tampere.
