Gorgeous goal from teenaged sensation Fantilli books Canada's ticket to gold medal game

Team Canada is headed for gold at the 2023 IIHF World Hockey Championship.

It didn’t come easy, but Canada was able to punch their ticket to the gold medal game after a 4-2 win over Latvia this morning.

Canada twice trailed in this game, as Dans Locmelis first put Latvia up 1-0 8:18 into the first period, while a Rudolfs Balcers goal late in the second put the underdog squad up 2-1 headed into the third period.

However, Canada was able to claw their way out of both deficits, thanks to a second-period goal from Sammy Blais of the St. Louis Blues and a goal 45 seconds into the third period from 21-year-old Buffalo Sabres winger Jack Quinn.

With the score knotted at two near the midway point of the third period, Milan Lucic fed 18-year-old junior star Adam Fantilli, who made a remarkable move to score his first of the tournament and give Canada the 3-2 lead.

Fantilli’s goal would turn out to be the game-winner, as Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton was able to add an empty netter.

ADAM FANTILLI GIVES CANADA THE LEAD! #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/RZDZEAXMWc

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 27, 2023

“It was pretty special,” Fantilli said afterward. “I grew up watching [Lucic] my entire life. He gave me that pass, and it ended up going in. That was a pretty surreal feeling.”

Fantilli had 65 points (30-35-65) in 36 games in his freshman season at the University of Michigan, and is expected to be picked second overall at the NHL Draft next month.

“It means everything,” Fantilli said when asked what a gold medal would mean to him. “You come here, and you want to represent your country the best you can. The best way to do that is by winning a gold medal, so hopefully, we can do that and leave here with some hardware.”

While Fantilli was the hero in this one, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault continued his excellent tournament between the pipes, kicking aside 20 of the 22 shots he faced. In six games, the 26-year-old owns a stellar 1.32 goals against average, along with a .943 save percentage. Vancouver Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs made 32 saves on 35 shots for the Latvians.

Canada will now sit back and wait for USA and Germany to battle it out to determine who they will play in the gold medal game, which will take place Sunday at 1:20 pm ET/10:20 am PT.

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