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For the third straight year, Canada will be looking to take home Gold at the IIHF World Hockey Championship when they take on Sweden. Both the Gold and Bronze medal games will be on Sunday May 21, and the times are given below.
But first, let’s take a look back at the quarterfinal and semifinal games that led to this point.
Quarterfinals
Game 1: Finland 2, United States 0
After finishing first in Group A, Johnny Gaudreau and the USA were unable to solve Finnish goaltender Harri Sateri as he made 26 saves for the shutout. A second period goal from Mikko Rantanen, and a third period goal from Joonas Kemppainen were all that the Finns needed for victory.
Game 2: Russia 3, Czech Republic 0
The Russians jumped up 2-0 in the first period despite being outshot 13-8 and then shut down the Czechs the rest of the way, limiting them to only 14 more shots. Andrei Vasilevski got the shutout for Russia. Dmitri Orlov got the Russians on the board midway through the first before Nikita Kucherov added another minutes later. Artemi Panarin sealed the deal in the third with a goal with six minutes to go.
Game 3: Canada 2, Germany 1
In what was a closer game than many expected, Canada had to contend with an inspired German team spurred on by their hometown crowd. They also had to deal with a red-hot Phillip Grubauer who made 48 saves in the loss. Mark Scheifiele got Canada on the board late in the first, and Jeff Skinner made it 2-0 late in the second. Germany got some hope with a shorthanded goal late but couldn’t muster the tying goal as Canada advanced.
Game 4: Sweden 3, Switzerland 1
After a strong round robin, the Swiss lost a tight game to Sweden in the quarterfinals. Nicklas Backstrom gave Sweden an early lead, but Gaetan Haas replied for Switzerland. William Nylander gave Sweden a 2-1 lead late in the second, and Alex Edler got the insurance goal early in the third.
Semifinals
Game 1: Canada 4, Russia 2
After falling behind 2-0 in the second period, Canada stunned the Russians with four goals in the third period on route to victory. Yevgeni Kuznetsov and Nikita Gusev scored for Russia. Canada started the comeback 17 seconds into the third with Mark Scheifele redirecting a puck in the slot past Vasilevski. Nathan MacKinnon would tie the game with 4:53 to go before Ryan O’Reilly would give Canada the lead with 3:02 to go. Sean Couturier would seal it with an empty netter to cement Canada’s spot in the gold medal game.
Game 2: Sweden 4, Finland 1
Sweden outplayed Finland for most of their semifinal matchup, outshooting them 41-23 in the process. Sweden got an early lead from Alex Edler less than two minutes in, but Finland tied it minutes later. John Klingberg and William Nylander had second period PP goals and Joakim Nordstrom sealed it in the third. Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves in the win.
Bronze Medal Game
Russia vs Finland (8:15am MT)
Russia has won a medal in eight of the last ten tournaments (4 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze) and will be looking to medal for the fourth straight year. Finland has five medals in the last ten tournaments (1 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze), and won silver last year.
Russia will be led by leading tournament scorer Artemi Panarin while Finland counters with Sebastian Aho. The edge in this game looks to go to Russia but Finland is capable of pulling out the victory.
Gold Medal Game
Canada vs Sweden (12:45pm MT)
Canada will be looking for its third straight gold medal when they take on Sweden who last won Gold in 2013. This is a rematch of the 2014 Olympic Gold Medal Game in which Canada bested Sweden 3-0.
Canada and Sweden both have five medals in the last ten tournaments (Canada: 3 Gold, 2 Silver 0 Bronze; Sweden: 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze). Both are guaranteed a medal on Sunday.
Since arriving for the tournament, Henrik Lundqvist has posted a 1.50 GAA and .930 SV% in four games. He gives Sweden a sizable edge in net.
Sweden’s roster is headlined by players such as Nicklas Backstrom, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Victor Hedman, and Gabriel Landeskog.
Canada’s roster also has their fair share of stars in Wayne Simmonds, Mark Scheifele, Claude Giroux, and Marc-Eduoard Vlasic.
We’ll post a full game recap after tomorrow’s games as well as a brief look back at the tournament! Should be a great day of hockey.