Jets at the Worlds | Quarterfinals
Scheifele scores 1G, 1A as Canada beats Germany; Trouba, Copp & Team USA eliminated by Finland
by The Canadian Press / WinnipegJets.com
The Winnipeg Jets have seven players participating in the 2017 IIHF World Hockey Championship, held in Paris, France and Cologne, Germany. Check back throughout the tournament for daily updates, highlights and more as Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey and Eric Comrie of Canada, Nikolaj Ehlers of Denmark, and Jacob Trouba, Andrew Copp and Connor Hellebuyck of the U.S. go for gold.
CANADA 2 vs. GERMANY 1
COLOGNE, Germany - Mark Scheifele and Jeff Skinner scored to lead Canada to a 2-1 win over Germany in quarter-final action Thursday at the world hockey championship.
Scheifele opened the scoring on Canada's first power play of the game and Skinner scored in the second period as Canada overcame a fired-up German team and a deafening sold-out crowd at Lanxess Arena in Cologne.
Canada will face Russia in Cologne in Saturday's semifinals.
Both teams traded chances in a high-tempo first period as the Germans, who beat Latvia in a shootout Tuesday to qualify for the medal round for a second straight year, weren't afraid to play a physical game against Canada.
Scheifele finally put the two-time defending champions on the board with 2:49 to play in the opening frame when he roofed a Ryan O'Reilly pass from behind the net over sprawling German netminder Philipp Grubauer.
In the second period, Canada outshot Germany 20-0 before Dennis Seidenberg directed a puck on Calvin Pickard in the dying seconds. Skinner scored his fourth goal of the tournament to give Canada some insurance, converting a rebound off a shot from Mike Matheson with 1:59 to play in the second.
After their comeback win on Tuesday, the Germans came out with renewed vigour in the third, determined not to leave the tournament without a fight. They generated two power plays, then Yannic Seidenberg got the Germans on the board on a short-handed breakaway with 6:39 left in regulation time.
Unlike Tuesday's game against Latvia, the Germans were not able to get the late equalizer as Canada survived a score from the co-hosts.
Final shots in the game were 50-20 in favour of Canada.
Finland will take on Sweden in the other semifinal Saturday after a 2-0 upset over the United States, which finished first in Group A in the preliminary round.
The Swedes advanced with a 3-1 win over Switzerland.
-- The Canadian Press
DIG DEEPER
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FINLAND 2 vs. USA 0
COLOGNE, Germany -- Finland defeated the United States 2-0 Thursday in the quarterfinals to knock Jeff Blashill's young roster out of the ice hockey world championship.
Mikko Rantanen and Joonas Kemppainen scored for Finland to end the Americans' six-game winning run as the Finns advanced to Saturday's semifinals.
Russia beat the Czech Republic 3-0 in their quarterfinal, thanks to goals from Dmitri Orlov, Nikita Kucherov and Artemi Panarin. Switzerland was to face Sweden later Thursday in Paris, while two-time champion Canada was taking on co-host Germany in Cologne.
Strong defence and a shutout from Harri Sateri on his fourth start helped Finland surprise the U.S., which had beaten Russia to finish top of its group. The Americans outshot Finland by 26 to 20.
"We didn't give up any goals so we feel we performed our game plan pretty well," defenceman Juuso Hietanen said. "We didn't give them any easy chances and we scored an important goal on the power play. Our defence was pretty good all night."
The Finns had the best chance early on when goaltender Jimmy Howard denied Juhamatti Aaltonen on a breakaway.
Anders Lee was penalized for tripping at the start of the second period and Rantanen scored on the power play at the third attempt after Howard twice saved.
Howard, who finished with 18 saves compared to Sateri's 26, produced another good block to deny Valtteri Filppula, but he was beaten by Kemppainen midway through the final period. Kemppainen swept the puck home after great interplay with Aaltonen.
"They did a good job defensively, clogging us up in the zone and made it tough on us all night long," Howard said.
Kevin Hayes, who was penalized for playing without a helmet at the start of the period, was then penalized again for slashing. Hopes of equalizing took another hit when Jack Eichel was sent to the box for high-sticking with less than two minutes remaining.
In Paris, Sergei Plotnikov set up Orlov and Kucherov swept in the Russians' second on a power play shortly afterward in the first period.
Overall, despite bossing possession, the Czechs were closed down well by the Russians, restricting their ability to get into good shooting positions. Russia wasn't dominating but it did look comfortable. Czech frustration was summed up when forward David Pastrnak's stick broke in half on a slap shot.
"We played quite well in the beginning of the game, in the first period, but we weren't scoring," Czech coach Josef Jandac said. "When Russia scored they controlled the game for the next two periods."
Panarin, the tournament's scoring leader, wrapped it up off Kucherov's cross-ice pass in the third. It was his fourth goal of the tournament and 14th point overall.
"It was a tough game. We didn't start very well and the Czechs could have scored," Russia coach Oleg Znarok said. "The ice isn't very good here. We can say it's very bad so it was difficult to play well."
Russia next returns to Cologne, where both semifinals take place.
-- The Associated Press
DIG DEEPER