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Bring on the Czechs: Canada off to World Juniors quarter-final

Rob Williams
Rob Williams
|
Dec 31 2023, 9:02 pm
Bring on the Czechs: Canada off to World Juniors quarter-final
IIHF

It wasn’t pretty, but Canada got the job done at the World Juniors in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Sunday. Canada defeated Germany 6-3 in the final game of the round robin.

Jordan Dumais scored the game-winner for Canada midway through the third period in what was largely a frustrating affair for the Canadians.

Germany gave Canada a good scare, taking an early first-period lead and keeping the score tied heading into the third period.

But Canada’s talent shined through in the end.

Macklin Celebrini, the North Vancouver native and expected first-overall pick at the 2024 NHL Draft, scored twice for Team Canada. The 17-year-old was named Canada’s player of the game. Owen Beck, Brayden Yager, and Easton Cowan scored the other goals for the Canadians.

Canada had plenty of penalty trouble in the game, totalling 33 PIMs. Conor Geekie took a five-minute major and a game misconduct for an illegal check to the head just 11 seconds into the game.

Germany’s Julian Lutz scored on the ensuing power play. In fact, all of Germany’s goals (Roman Kechter and Julius Sumpf scored the others) came with a Canadian player sitting in the penalty box.

The win for Canada secures second place in Group A, behind the hosts from Sweden. Canada plays Czechia in the quarter-final on Tuesday at 8:30 am ET/5:30 am PT. Germany, meanwhile, will face potential relegation against Norway.

The other World Juniors quarter-final matchups are Sweden vs Switzerland, USA vs Latvia, and Slovakia vs Finland.

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