Tampere Ice Hockey World Championship – semi-final: Canada – Latvia, May 27, 2023. Canadian ice hockey players celebrate a goal scored by Adam Fantilli.
Tampere (Finland) – Canadian ice hockey players beat Latvia 4:2 in the World Championship semi-finals in Tampere and will be aiming for their 28th title. Coach André Tourigny's team lost twice, but in the end they celebrated their fourth consecutive promotion to the final. They last triumphed the year before last in Riga. The Americans, who defeated the Czech team, who have won all eight games so far, will challenge the Germans, who managed to surprise the Swiss who played brilliantly in the group.
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Canada's winning goal was scored by 18-year-old forward Adam Fantilli at 48:56, and 43 seconds before the end, Scott Laughton confirmed the win in an empty net on the power play.
The Canadians will compete for gold on Sunday at 19:20 CEST against the winner of the duel between the United States of America and Germany, which will start at 17:20 CEST. The Latvians, whose highest so far was 7th place in 1997, 2004 and 2009, will fight for a historic medal with the loser from 14:20 CEST.
Canadian defender Justin Barron got the first chance in the 2nd minute , who did not surpass Arturs Šilovs from the position between the rings. The Latvian goalkeeper also dealt with Jack Quinn's attempt and Scott Laughton's shot from the turn.
At 8:18 a.m., the Latvians were rejoicing in the lead, and even after the move from Riga, the Nokia Arena, thanks to the large number of fans, had an almost home environment again. After Kristaps Zile's shot from the blue line from the first stop, Rihards Bukarts did not beat Samuel Montembeault, but Dans Ločmelis already succeeded from the second.
Midway through the opening half, captain Tyler Toffoli had the opportunity to equalize, hitting the right post with a backhand shot. Before the first break, Miks Indrašis could have increased the lead, whose first attempt was deflected by the Canadian goalkeeper and the second narrowly missed the goal.
At the beginning of the second half, the Canadians offered the Latvians the first power play of the game with a bad substitution, and after an illegal interception by Pierre-Olivier Joseph, they had to defend themselves for 58 seconds in three against five. The Latvians defended themselves from a Rihards Bukarts penalty and in the middle of the game, Deniss Smirnovs missed from a good position from the left circle. In the 32nd minute, when Rodrigo Abols was sent off, the right stick helped Šilovs after Fantilli's shot.
After a series of eliminations, the situation did not change. Canada equalized in the 36th minute. After a pass from Peyton Krebs, Sammy Blais hit a bouncing puck from the right circle exactly into the opposite upper corner of the goal.
In 66 seconds, the Latvians took the lead again. Rudolfs Bukarts broke free through MacKenzie Weegar and beat Montembeault with a shot to the catcher. Before the second break, the Latvian goalkeeper dealt with Toffoli's blow after pressure from Canada.
After 45 seconds of the final part, Jack Quinn erased the loss, sending the puck over Šilovs' mask and into the goal from a negative angle. Canada saw a turnaround in the 49th minute, when Fantilli tricked defender Ralfs Freibergs between the circles and sent his team into the lead 3:2.
Less than three minutes before the end, the Latvians' hopes of an equalizer were reduced by the sent-off Oskars Batna . In the power play, Michael Carcone had the chance to secure the Canadian win. It was only possible on a power play by Laughton, who scored an empty net from his own defensive zone.
The unbeaten Americans will be challenged by the Germans in the semi-finals
The Americans, who have been third four times since 2013, confirmed their strength in the quarterfinals against the Czech hockey players and remained the only undefeated team at the championship. Not counting the gold from 1960, when the results of the Olympic tournament in Squaw Valley were included in the World Cup, the USA has been waiting for the most valuable medal from the World Cup since 1933.
The team feels they have a great opportunity to end that wait. “We are confident, we believe in ourselves as much as possible. But we also know how difficult it is to win this tournament. How difficult it is to win any of the medals. Whoever is playing against us is a World Championship semi-finalist. We have to focus on our game. Just like we've focused mainly on ourselves in the eight games so far,” US captain Nick Bonino told the International Hockey Federation website.
The Germans have been waiting for the precious metal from the World Cup since 1953, when they reached silver. After knocking out the favored Swiss, they are certain to finish the worst fourth, as they managed to do two years ago in Riga. However, they believe that they can boldly think about premiership gold as well. “Why can't we win two more games? Everything is possible,” says striker Nico Sturm.
The German team is growing match by match. He entered the tournament with three defeats, after which he did not have a single point. Subsequently, however, the Germans won five times in a row. “We play hard and try to make it difficult for the opponent. Every player – even if it's an offensive player – defends well, blocks shots and does everything for the team. We've already played one tough game here against the USA, we know they skate a lot. We will be ready,” forward Dominik Kahun said. The Americans won the group 3:2.
The USA – Germany match will start at 17:20.
World Hockey Championship in Tampere – semi-finals:
Canada – Latvia 4:2 (0:1, 1:1, 3:0)
Goals and recordings: 36. Blais (Krebs, Middleton), 41. J. Quinn (Crouse, Laughton), 49. Fantilli (Lucic, Barron), 60. Laughton – 9. Ločmelis (Rihards Bukarts, Zile), 37. Balcers. Referees: Kaukokari (Fin.), MacFarlane – Briganti, Davis (all USA). Exclusion: 6:6. No use. Viewers: 8669.
Lineups:
Canada: Montembeault – Weegar, Middleton, Barron, Hunt, Myers, Joseph – Fantilli, Glass, Lucic – J .Quinn, Laughton, Crouse – Blais, Krebs, Neighbors – Toffoli, McBain, Carcone. Coach: Tourigny.
Latvia: Šilovs – Balinskis, Zile, Rubins, Jaks, Čukste, Freibergs, Cibulskis – Daugavinš, Abols, Balcers – M. Dzierkals, Batna, Roberts Bukarts – Indrašis, Ločmelis, Rihards Bukarts – Krastenbergs, Smirnovs, Andersons – Keninš. Coach: Vitolinš.
