Canada finishes preliminary round undefeated, top of group with win over Finland at world juniors
Mason McTavish scores, notches pair of assists to increase tournament scoring lead
Ridly Greig was a little banged up after helping Canada to a big win at the world junior hockey championship on Monday.
Not only did the Ottawa Senators' prospect score and contribute an assist in the 6-3 victory over Finland, he blocked some big shots when the Canadians ran into third-period penalty trouble.
"Whatever it takes to win, whatever it takes to do anything for the boys or kind of get some momentum, I'm going to do it," Greig said. "Whether it's stand in front of a slap shot, I'm going to do it."
Special teams were the difference maker on Monday, with the Canadians going 2-for-2 on the power play while Finland was 1-for-5.
The result was important for Canada, which finished the preliminary round atop Group A and will face Group B's Switzerland (1-3-0) in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Switzerland clinched its spot in the quarter-finals earlier on Monday with a 3-2 win over Austria (0-0-4).
Finland was disappointed with Monday's result, said head coach Antti Pennanen.
"It was OK but it wasn't enough. And we were angry after the game, that's for sure," he said.
The Finns got their second stretch of five-on-three hockey with less than five minutes left on the clock when William Dufour joined Ethan Del Mastro in the penalty box.
Finland pulled goalie Leevi Merilainen just as Del Mastro's penalty expired and with the extra man Roby Jarventie put a puck in off the glove of Canadian goalie Dylan Garand to make it 5-3.
Dufour sealed the score at 6-3 with an empty-net strike 18:13 into the third.
The Finns had a prime opportunity to eat into Canada's lead with a minute-long two-man advantage midway through the final period.
I thought our penalty kill was elite today ... and that's a great sign for a team that's trying to win something.— Canada captain Mason McTavish
Donovan Sebrango was sent to the box for high-sticking and less than a minute later, teammate Will Cuylee was tossed from the game for a knee-on-knee hit.
Canada weathered being down two men, then chewed through the four remaining minutes of the major penalty without conceding a goal.
WATCH | Bedard, McTavish lead Canada past Finland:
"I thought our penalty kill was elite today, so many guys blocking shots. And that's a great sign for a team that's trying to win something," said Canada's captain Mason McTavish, who had a goal and two assists in the win.
"Finland, they're a great team. I think they were 3-0 coming into this, their power play is ridiculous. So the fact that our PK stood up there with one of the best power plays in the tournament is huge for us."
Garand turns aside 22 shots
Connor Bedard scored and contributed an assist for Canada (4-0-0), while Dufour, Brennan Othmann and Tyson Foerester also found the back of the net. Olen Zellweger tallied three assists.
Joakim Kemell scored and contributed an assist for Finland (3-1-0) and Samuel Helenius rounded out the scoring.
Canada's Garand made 22 saves and Merilainen stopped 31 of 36 shots for the Finns.
A big goal early in the third whittled the Finns' deficit to 5-2.
Toronto Maple Leafs' prospect Topi Niemela fired a shot from the point and Kemell tipped it in from the slot for his third goal of the tournament.
Canada called for a coach's challenge, arguing that the puck had gone off the netting before falling back to the ice ahead of the goal.
"The guys on the ice are generally the ones who can tell you what's going on," said head coach Dave Cameron. "My players were 100 per cent sure it went in [to the net]. So you trust your players."
After an extended video review, officials determined the goal was good. The Canadians did not receive a delay-of-game penalty because officials said the review was "inconclusive."
The Canadians dominated the middle frame, outshooting the Finns 20-5 and taking a 5-1 lead.
McTavish converts on power play
McTavish gave his country its second power-play goal of the game 16:17 into the period after Finland's Rubin Rafkin was called for interference.
WATCH | Johnson scores highlight-reel goal:
Zellweger sent the Anaheim Ducks' prospect a pass from inside the blue-line and McTavish uncorked a one-timer that flew over Merilainen's shoulder stick side.
Thirty-one seconds into the second, Canada went up 4-1 after the Finnish goalie bobbled a shot by Joshua Roy.
Greig slid in on one knee to put the rebound in the back of the net with his third goal of the tournament.
Canada went into the first intermission up 3-1 after a late Finland goal.
A knot of players battled for the puck behind the Canadian net and Finland's Kalle Vasisanen came up with it. He sent a pass to Helenius at the high hash marks and the L.A. Kings' prospect got a shot up and over Garland's shoulder with 57 seconds left in the period.
Bedard put away his third goal of the tournament in memorable fashion 17:19 into the first.
Canada was penned in its own zone for an extended period, but the 17-year-old phenom showed no signs of exhaustion when he collected a cross-ice pass from McTavish at the blue line and sped into the faceoff circle.
He then ripped a blistering shot past Merilainen, pinging the puck off the inside of the crossbar to make it 3-0.
A power-play strike boosted Canada's lead to 2-0 midway through the opening frame after Helenius was called for slashing.
Fast start for Finns
Greig's shot ricocheted off Merilainen's pad but Foerester was in position to poke the rebound in from the top of the crease as he slid past the net.
Finland got off to a strong start, outshooting the host nation 4-0 across the first five minutes of the game.
It was Canada that opened the scoring, though, 6:21 into the first.
Defenceman Zellweger fired a long bomb from inside the blue line and Othmann batted it in past Merilainen.
The play was reviewed for a potential high stick but the goal — Othmann's second of the tournament — was determined to be good after officials reviewed the video.
The preliminary round wrapped Monday night with Group B's Sweden (3-1-0) registering a 4-2 victory over Germany (2-2-0).
Sweden will battle Latvia (1-2-1) in the quarter-finals on Wednesday while Germany will face Finland.
The reigning champion Americans (4-0-0) also went undefeated in round-robin action and will play Czechia (1-2-1), the country commonly known as the Czech Republic, in the quarter-finals.
The semifinals are scheduled for Friday and the medal games will go Saturday.
