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With the group stage, placement games and semi-finals out of the way there are just two games and four teams left, both getting underway at 17:00 CET, 11:00 EDT. In Břeclav, it´s Czechia and Canada - one will get gold and the other silver. In Trenčín, it´s Finland and the USA, where the winner will take bronze.
Czechia vs Canada (final)
Břeclav, 17:00 CET, 11:00 EDT
These two teams met last Saturday in a pre-tournament game with Canada winning 5-0. Since then, each won two out of three games in their respective group stages and finished first. In yesterday’s semi-finals, Czechia beat Finland 8-2 and Canada beat the USA 7-2. In four tourament games each, Canada has outscored its opponents 30-15 and Czechia 23-10. Canada is led offensively by captain Berkly Catton and Ryder Ritchie with nine points each – the tournament co-leaders. The Czechs have got eight points from Adam Benák and seven from Adam Titlbach. Jakub Milota and Carter George have each started three of their teams four games and are the expected goalies in the final.
These two teams have met in this tournament’s final on eight previous occasions, with Canada winning all of them. The most recent final encounter was in 2017, which Canada won 4-1. Canada has won the Hlinka Gretzky Cup 23 times, most recently last year in Red Deer. Czechia has won it once, beating the USA in the final in Břeclav in 2016.
Finland vs USA (bronze-medal game)
Trenčín, 17:00 CET, 11:00 EDT
These two teams each won two of three group-stage games and made the semi-finals thanks in part to victories that were somewhat unexpected – Finland opened with a 9-6 win over Canada while the USA trounced Sweden 6-1. The semi-finals were a bit of a let-down as each team lost convincingly, so now both will try to rebound and get up for another big game today. The Finns won the bronze medal last year, while the Americans’ last medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup was a silver in 2016.
Tuomas Suoniemi and Emil Hemming have been a dangerous offensive duo for Finland this tournament, especially on the power play. They have eight points each, as does Trevor Connelly of the USA. Caleb Heil and Peterri Rimpinen have played most of their respective teams’ minutes in goal this tournament and should be the two starters for the bronze-medal game.