Canada, U.S. face off in Hlinka Gretzky Cup semis on TSN
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A spot in the gold-medal game is on the line tonight as Canada takes on the United States in the semifinals at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Watch Canada vs. United States in the semifinals LIVE at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT on TSN3/5 and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Canada went a perfect 2-0 in the preliminary round, while the U.S. went 2-1.
Canada wrapped up the preliminary round on Wednesday against Sweden in their toughest matchup so far. Gavin McKenna was the hero in the third period, scoring the game-winning goal while goaltender Jack Ivankovic stopped 23 shots in a 2-1 victory.
Through the first three games, Cole Reschny leads all Canadian players with six points, followed by McKenna, Émile Guité and Matthew Schaefer with five apiece.
The Americans wrapped up their preliminary round with a dominant 12-3 win over Germany. Alexander Donovan had a five-point night with one goal and four assists while Mason Moe, Sam Spehar and Nicolas Sykora had three points each.
The two teams met in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup semifinal last year in Slovakia, with Canada coming back to win 7-2. Canada would go on to win its second straight gold medal at the tournament.
Sweden will face Czechia, who went 3-0 in preliminary-round play, in the other semifinal.
Watch the semifinal between Sweden and Czechia LIVE at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT on TSN5 and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
While Sweden dropped that close game against Canada on Wednesday, they will be bringing the top three scorers in the tournament into this matchup, led by Viktor Klingsell with 10 points, followed by Ivar Stenberg and Milton Gastrin with nine.
Sweden is tied with Canada for the most goals scored through three games with 17. Czechia has scored 13 goals so far and has allowed just five goals against.
In his two games in net, Ondrej Stebetak has stopped 47 of 49 shots, including 30 saves against the United States in Czechia’s 2-1 win to open the tournament.
Centre Adam Benak has paced Czechia offensively, leading the team in goals (three), assists (five) and points (eight). He skated in last year’s tournament as a 16-year-old, recording 10 points in five games.
The 17-year-old broke Magnus Pääjärvi’s record for career points in the tournament (15) after he had a hat trick and two assists in a 7-3 win over Germany on Tuesday. He notched an assist on Wednesday against Finland to bring his total to 18.
Pääjärvi, who played for Sweden, set the record after skating in the 2008 and 2009 tournaments.
In the fifth-place game, Slovakia will take on Germany. The Slovaks finished 0-1-1-1 while the Germans were 0-1-2-0.
Watch Slovakia vs. Germany LIVE at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT on TSN5 and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Slovakia and Germany were the bottom two teams in last year’s tournament, placing eighth and seventh respectively.