World Junior Championship roundup: Canada earns top spot in Group A
McTavish has three points in win against Finland; Switzerland edges Austria on late power-play goal
© JASON FRANSON/AP
Day 7 games
Canada 6, Finland 3 --Mason McTavish (Anaheim Ducks) had a goal and two assists to help Canada finish first in Group A.
Ridly Greig (Ottawa Senators) and Connor Bedard, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, each had a goal and an assist, and Olen Zellweger (Ducks) had three assists for Canada (4-0-0-0), which will play Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Dylan Garand (New York Rangers) made 22 saves.
"We started a little bit nervous," Canada coach Dave Cameron said. "They're a good team, they come at us. We scored, so we got the momentum and got some emotion out of that. I thought we were good through that, and I thought we were doing real good until the penalties took over in the third period. ... But we did a real good job, and I know all the guys in the room are excited with all the goals they got, but the coaching staff is excited about all the blocked shots. That's a sign of a team that's on a mission."
Joakim Kemell (Nashville Predators) had a goal and an assist, and Leevi Merilainen (Senators) made 31 saves for Finland (2-1-0-1), which finished second in the group and will play Germany in the quarterfinals.
"We had a good start to the game. The first five minutes was pretty good and managed the puck and managed the game, but they get the first goal and second and third, and we didn't manage that," Finland coach Antti Pennanen said. "Our mindset changed a little bit, and we hesitate and of course, we played a good team, a well-coached team. It was OK, but wasn't enough, and we were angry after the game, that's for sure."
Brennan Othmann (Rangers) scored on the first shot of the game to give Canada a 1-0 lead. He deflected in a shot from Zellweger at 6:21 of the first period.
Tyson Foerster (Philadelphia Flyers) made it 2-0 when he scored on a rebound during a power play at 12:14. Bedard then made it 3-0 when he beat Merilainen glove side with a shot from the right circle on a rush at 17:19 of the first.
Samuel Helenius (Los Angeles Kings) pulled Finland to within 3-1 at 19:03 of the first.
Greig scored 31 seconds into the second period to extend the lead to 4-1, putting in a loose puck in the slot after it deflected off Merilainen's glove.
"We've asked guys to turn their skill set over to the team, and [Greig has] done that," Cameron said. "He plays in all situations, power play, penalty kill, blocks shots when we're down two guys. He's committing himself. So full marks to him, and it's a real reason he's going to play in the National Hockey League for a long time."
McTavish scored a power-play goal at 16:17 to make it 5-1. He leads the tournament with seven goals and 13 points.
Kemell scored on a deflection to make it 5-2 at 3:07 of the third period.
Canada defenseman Donovan Sebrango (Detroit Red Wings) was then called for high-sticking at 5:16 before forward William Cuylle (Rangers) was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for kneeing at 6:15, giving Finland a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:01.
However, Finland, which entered the game 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) on the power play in the tournament, generated just one shot on the extended man-advantage.
"When we took that penalty, I skated over and said to Sebrango, 'No way they're going to score, we got this' and sure enough, our PK did an outstanding job," Othmann said.
"I think the biggest thing is we fight through that adversity. It doesn't matter if we get a five-minute penalty or we're down 1-0 early. Either way, we stick to the game plan, we stick with it. We have some highly skilled forwards, highly skilled defensemen, and we got a great goalie in net."
Although Roby Jarventie (Senators) scored a power-play goal later in the period to cut it to 5-3 at 16:23, William Dufour (New York Islanders) shot into an empty net at 18:13 for the 6-3 final.
Sweden 4, Germany 2 -- Daniel Ljungman (Dallas Stars) scored two goals to help Sweden finish second in Group B.
Emil Andrae (Philadelphia Flyers) and Jonathan Lekkerimaki (Vancouver Canucks) each had two assists, and Calle Clang (Anaheim Ducks) made 21 saves for Sweden (3-0-0-1), which will play Latvia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
"I think we started the game good. I liked how we looked in the first," Sweden coach Tomas Monten said. "You're a little bit afraid playing a back-to-back, especially because we played a tough game and we were close and didn't get anything (in a 3-2 loss to the United States on Sunday), but I liked our start and we kept going. In the second, we were a little sloppy, and we played tight in the third period."
Bennet Rossmy and Luca Munzenberger scored for Germany (2-0-0-2), which finished third in the group and will play Finland in the quarterfinals. Nikita Quapp (Carolina Hurricanes) allowed three goals on 25 shots before being replaced in the third period by Niklas Lunemann, who made four saves.
"We had the start we wanted but couldn't continue to play our game and kind of stopped a little bit," Germany coach Tobias Abstreiter said. "I think the intensity, our battle level, became less, and this was the moment Sweden took over. In games like this, it's very important to play at the highest level and be consistent, and our consistency was a problem in the first half. Sweden took over and they deserved to win."
Rossmy gave Germany a 1-0 lead 4:00 into the first period, scoring off the left pad of Clang on a shot from the right circle.
Oskar Olausson (Colorado Avalanche) tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 5:52.
Ljungman gave Sweden a 2-1 lead at 12:29 when he batted in a shot from the high slot. Oskar Magnusson then extended the lead to 3-1 from low in the left circle at 13:56.
"It's really good to get a win after a loss," Magnusson said. "Obviously, it's hard to go down 1-0, but we kept fighting and picked up the pace great. We need to keep going now."
Ljungman scored his second of the game from the left circle on a power play to make it 4-1 at 5:46 of the third period.
Munzenberger scored on a shot that deflected in off Andrae at 19:52 for the 4-2 final.
Sweden, which lost 3-2 to the United States on Sunday, was without defenseman Simon Edvinsson (Detroit Red Wings) for undisclosed reasons. Edvinsson has two points (one goal, one assist) and has averaged 22:27 of ice time in three games in the tournament.
Switzerland 3, Austria 2 -- Attilio Biasca scored the game-winning goal at 15:53 of the third period to push Switzerland into the quarterfinals.
Biasca also had an assist, and Joshua Fahrni and Jonas Taibel each scored for Switzerland (1-0-0-3), which finished fourth in Group B and will play Canada on Wednesday. Noah Patenaude made 20 saves.
"We felt that we were the better team in the O-zone," Fahrni said. "We talked about that during the intermission. We just had to stay calm and wait for our chances. In the end, we won, and that's the only thing that counts.
"Their goalie played well, but we kept telling each other to shoot the puck."
Leon Wallner and Ian Scherzer scored for Austria (0-0-0-4), which finished last in Group B. Sebastian Wraneschitz made 36 saves.
The game was tied 2-2 when Austria defenseman Lorenz Lindner was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding at 15:04 of the third period.
During the ensuing power play, Dario Allenspach passed the puck down low to Fabian Ritzmann, who took a shot from the left side. Although Wraneschitz made the initial save, Biasca scored on the rebound.
"To get that five-minute major when you are right there in the game was tough to swallow," Austria coach Philipp Pinter. "They had a good PP, but the disappointment is big. I feel bad for the kids. They deserved better today. I'm very proud of our group."
Wallner put Austria ahead 1-0 at 8:08 of the first period when he poked a loose puck under Patenaude.
Fahrni tied it with a power-play goal at 17:31.
Taibel gave Switzerland a 2-1 lead at 14:17 of the second period, scoring on the rebound of a shot by Ritzmann.
Scherzer tied it 2-2 with 25 seconds remaining in the period when he redirected a shot from the right point by David Reinbacher between Patenaude's skates.
NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman, LNH.com staff writer Guillaume Lepage and NHL.com independent correspondent Derek Van Diest contributed to this report
