Canada advances to WU18 semi-final
Thursday April 23, 2015
ZUG, Switzerland – Mitchell Stephens (Saginaw Spirit) led the charge with two goals and an assist in Canada’s 5-3 quarter-final victory over Sweden at the World Under-18 Hockey Championships on Thursday.
Stephens, Jansen Harkins (Prince George Cougars) and Deven Sideroff (Kamloops Blazers) scored first period goals as Canada led 3-1 after one period.
Sweden’s Joel Eriksson scored shorthanded early in the second to narrow Canada’s lead to one, but Stephens emerged with his second of the game at 17:23 with assists to Graham Knott (Niagara IceDogs) and Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds).
Sweden controlled the play in the third, outshooting Canada 12-7 as goaltender Zach Sawchenko (Moose Jaw Warriors) continued his strong tournament with some key saves to preserve the lead.
Sweden’s Carl Grundstrom narrowed Canada’s lead to 4-3 with 5:26 left in the third period, but Knott would answer 22 seconds later to reinstate the two goal cushion with assists going to Stephens and Jérémy Roy (Sherbrooke Phoenix).
The 5-3 win improves Canada’s record to 5-0 in the tournament as they advance to a semi-final matchup against the United States on Saturday at 9:00am ET. The game can be seen live on TSN.
Canada finished atop Group B with a perfect 4-0 record in the preliminary round, including wins over Latvia (11-6), Switzerland (4-1), the Czech Republic (3-2) and Finland (3-2). The U.S. was the second-place finisher in Group A with a 3-1 record, and beat the Czechs 7-2 in its quarter-final.
Semifinal schedule (April 25)
Canada vs. United States 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT
Finland vs. Switzerland 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT
The semifinal winners will meet Sunday in the gold medal game at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, live on TSN, while the bronze medal game will be played at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT, live on TSN2.
Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team has won three gold medals at the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship, in 2003, 2008 and 2013, along with one silver (2005) and two bronze (2012, 2014).
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca, or follow along through social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, www.twitter.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_men.