(Espoo) Ryder Ritchie and Tij Iginla each had a goal and an assist and Canada defeated Sweden 5-4 on Saturday in the semi-finals of the World Under-18 Hockey Championship.
Posted at 3:47 p.m.
In Sunday’s final, Canada will face the United States, who crushed Slovakia 7-2 in the other semifinal.
Canada will aim for a first title since 2021.
Liam Greentree, Gavin McKenna and Henry Mews scored Canada’s other goals. George Carter made 31 saves as Sweden had a 35-26 advantage in shots on goal.
The Canadiens took control, scoring four goals in the first period, courtesy of Greentree, McKenna, Iginla and Ritchie.
They then resisted the Swedes’ attempt to recover. Canada notably had to take a penalty with 4:47 left in regulation, and when the gap was only one goal.
“We had an incredible start and we didn’t want to look back in the second period,” said Canada head coach Gardiner MacDougall. George made some big saves again, and our shorthanded units were excellent.
“They say sometimes that a good scare is better than a bad defeat, so we take the victory by one goal and our attention is now on the match on Sunday. We experienced new situations in the third period, but I found that our group was remarkable on the bench. Some guys had key appearances in the game, we had to find a way to stay ahead. »
Porter Malone added two assists, bringing his total to 22 points. He thus shattered a Canadian record which belonged to Connor Bedard.
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