"They played us really hard all game and didn't give us a whole lot," Kuemper told reporters. "They were really responsible defensively. You have to give them credit; they played a strong game and were hard on pucks."
Kuemper did not allow a goal until 1:50 of the third period when a point shot by Latvia's Kristians Rubins trickled past him.
"I just picked it up a little bit late," Kuemper told reporters. "(Rubins) shot it and I didn't have good eyes on it. I saw it last second, just got a piece of it and it snuck through."
Kuemper has played in four of Canada's first six games and has stopped 46 of 54 shots. He owns a 2.65 goals-against average.
Canada (3-1-1-1) has secured a spot in the quarterfinals, which begin Thursday.
Meanwhile, Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and his Team Sweden mates also have secured a spot in the quarterfinals. Sweden, which was idle Monday, will put its undefeated record (5-1-0-0) on the line in its preliminary-round finale vs. Russia on Tuesday.
Ekman-Larsson has notched one goal and two assists in six games for Sweden, and leads the team in ice time (144:59) and ice time/per game (24:09). He also ranks second with 23 shots on goal, trailing only forward Rickard Rakell (25).
