Unbeaten Canada beats Finland at U18 men's world hockey championship

ALLEN - Ben Kindel and Xavier Villeneuve each had a goal and assist as Canada won its third consecutive game at the Under-18 men's world hockey championship on Sunday with a 5-1 decision over Finland at the Texas Event Center.

Cole Reschny, Braeden Cootes and Brady Martin also scored for Canada, which led 1-0 after the first period and 4-0 heading into the third. Lev Katzin chipped in with two assists.

Jere Somervuori scored for Finland, which slipped to two wins, a loss and an overtime loss.

Canadian netminder Jack Ivankovic was named player of the game after making 39 saves. Finland outshot Canada 40-20.

“We had a tremendous effort in net tonight from Jack A good goalie who is playing well can give you a lot of confidence that may lead to some mistakes. Tonight, we made mistakes, and our goalie bailed us out," said Canadian coach Cory Stillman. "Fortunately, we capitalized on our chances early.

"I’ve said it right from the beginning of this tournament, this team can score goals, but it’s our play away from the puck that we have to get a lot better at.”

Unbeaten Canada will wrap up Group A action with a game against winless Norway on Monday.

Canada, with wins over Slovakia (9-2), Latvia (7-1) and Finland, will finish first in Group A with a win or tie against Norway. The quarterfinals get underway Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2025.