Friday, August 19, 2022. 6:43 PM
(Update : Friday, August 19, 2022. 8:41 PM)
EDMONTON – Who will stop Junior Team Canada? Candidates are beginning to dwindle and the chances of such a scenario occurring increasingly unlikely.
The Czech Republic tried hard on Friday, with an effort that will one day allow it to rethink the fate that has been reserved for it without regret. She offered much more commendable opposition than her failed round robin date, but the result was the same.
With a 5-2 victory, Canada advanced to the final of a tournament in which it has so far encountered little cause for concern. The host team have now scored 39 goals in six games and conceded just 12.
She will dispute the gold medal with the winner of the other semi-final which will oppose Sweden to Finland. The match will be played on RDS from 8 p.m.
Goalkeeper Dylan Garand, the only remaining player from the 2021 edition who had to settle for silver after a final loss to USA, will get the chance to add the right color to his collection.
“I remember how excited we were for our semi-final [contre les Russes], remembered the one who was Devon Levi’s deputy at the time. We beat them convincingly and it gave us an adrenaline rush that we couldn’t sustain until the next day when gold was at stake. I would say that’s what I learned. We have to try to control our emotions better this time. »
“We are enthusiastic about the idea of taking up this challenge, but we realize at the same time that it will be quite a battle,” anticipated head coach Dave Cameron.
This new hook on its to-do list, Team Canada owes it to Kent Johnson and the line he forms with Logan Stankoven and Tyson Foerster. The fifth pick in the 2021 draft has been dominant, blacking the scoresheet three times.
Johnson scored the first goal of the game midway through the first period when he collected a return throw from Foerster, who had just been frustrated by a dive from goalkeeper Tomas Suchanek. It was going to be one of his four shots on target in the period.
“It felt good to see one come in today,” admitted the man of the match, who has dominated ECJ with 35 shots on goal since the start of the competition.
The hope of the Columbus Blue Jackets then became the main accomplice of the goals of Stankoven and Mason McTavish, each time on the power play, in the second period. With his eighth goal of the tournament, McTavish became the twelfth player in ECJ history to reach 15 points in a tournament.
“The passes he manages to make, it’s just incredible, marveled Stankoven, who won 21 of his 23 face-offs, about his left winger. On my goal, he drew two guys towards him before finding me without looking too much at the entrance to the area. It’s crazy what he can do. »
“It’s the patience he has with the puck, the confidence, described Nathan Gaucher. When he has it, you know what he’s going to do with it. He has the skills of an NHL player and it showed today. »
Facing a four-goal deficit in the third period, the Czechs made things interesting by scoring two goals, those of Jan Mysak and David Jiricek, in the space of 1:50. A goal from Joshua Roy, however, tempered their enthusiasm and more or less confirmed the outcome of the match.
“It’s very important to win bronze tomorrow, encouraged Jan Mysak. In my country, any medal means success. We want a medal, that’s all. »
Relegated to the third line along with Gaucher and Will Cuylle, Connor Bedard was the other Canadian scorer. It was his fourth of the competition. Defender Olen Zellweger finished the game with three assists.
Garand made 31 saves. Suchanek, who had been smoldering with a 52-save performance in Game 1 against Canada, was replaced by Pavel Cajan after the second period.
“He’s been consistent and solid from the start,” Stankoven said of his Kamloops Blazers teammate. I played with him for three years, I know what kind of wood he warms up. He is always ready to answer the call and I know he has saved the best for tomorrow. »
Canada were without Ridly Greig, who was unavailable through injury. Cameron confirmed after the game that the Ottawa Senators prospect will not be able to make the final.