Team Canada is moving onto the semi-finals on a winning note, defeating the Team USA 3-2 on New Year’s Eve in Edmonton.
Canada led 3-0 going into the third period and hung for the one-goal victory. Mark Stone, Brett Connolly, and Jaden Schwartz all scored for Canada. Scott Wedgewood made 30 saves in net for the win.
Jonathan Huberdeau once again setup Stone to open the scoring. Huberdeau finished the game with an assist, won a faceoff, had four shots and an even rating.
The Saint John Sea Dogs captain now sits seventh in tournament scoring with a goal and seven assists for eight points. His seven assists are a tournament high.
Nathan Beaulieu had no points and one shot in the game. Late in the third period, Beaulieu was struck in the face by a puck, resulting in this. He left the game for a short time but later returned.
According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Beaulieu and fellow defenseman Scott Harrington, who left the game and did not return, should be good to go for the semi-final on Tuesday in Calgary. Canada will play to winner of Monday’s Russia – Czech Republic quarter-final contest.
USA
It’s off to the relegation round for the United States after a terrible showing in the round-robin portion of the tournament. The US plays Latvia on Tuesday and Switzerland on Wednesday.
On Saturday, the US showed some heart in the second half of the game but couldn’t complete their third period comeback. Sea Dogs forward Charlie Coyle and Team USA captain Jason Zucker scored in the loss. Goaltender Jack Campbell made 32 saves.
Coyle, who has been battling the flu, didn’t play a whole lot in the first half of the game but saw his ice time increase as the US started to gain some momentum. He finished the game with a goal, went 50% in the faceoff circle, had two shots on goal and an even rating. He sits in a tie for the team scoring lead with five points (four goals and an assist)
SLOVAKIA
Tomas Jurco and Slovakia are moving onto the medal round after a stunning 6-4 comeback win over Switzerland on Saturday afternoon in Calgary. The Swiss, who were having a pretty solid showing at this year’s tournament, entered the third period up 3-2. But the Slovaks scored four goals in the final frame to win 6-4 and stay in medal contention.
Jurco had a huge game, assisting on four of Slovakia’s six goals. Three of his assists came in the third period. He helped setup both the game-tying goal and game-winning goal. The Sea Dogs forward now has a goal and five assists for a team high six assists.
“We knew we had strong team,” said Jurco to the Globe and Mail. “We haven’t gone to the quarter-finals the last couple of years and we don’t know if the next generation is going to make it, so we tried really hard and we were very happy we did it.”
“This is a big thing for our small country,” Jurco added to the Calgary Sun. “A lot of families are cheering and supporting us.
“We are a really strong team. We scored four goals so that shows our big heart.”
Slovakia takes on Finland on Monday in the quarter-finals. The winner of that game will play Sweden in the other semi-final.
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