All four quarter-final matches of the World Ice Hockey Championship were played today.
Earlier today, Canada defeated Slovakia 6-3, while Switzerland beat Germany 3-1.
And in the final minutes, the other two quarter-final games came to a close, with two players in particular being watched, a forward and a Montreal Canadiens prospect, in Cole Caufield with the USA and Oliver Kapanen with Finland.
In Caufield’s case, well, his tournament came to an end today, as the USA were eliminated by the Czech Republic, who won 1-0 in a very close duel.
Pavel Zacha scored the only goal of the match.
Pavel Zacha gets the crowd going on the PP! Czechia takes the lead.π¨πΏπ₯ #MensWorlds #USACZE @czehockey pic.twitter.com/qjrStNvntd
– IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 23, 2024
The Czech Republic’s victory over the USA brought euphoria to the arena, given that the tournament takes place in Prague, Czech Republic.
The Czech players were therefore able to celebrate at home, in front of their fans.
Semi-finals bound for Czechia! π¨πΏπ₯ #MensWorlds #USACZE @czehockey pic.twitter.com/7Hf17wQKkH
– IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 23, 2024
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For the USA, it’s a tough defeat, as they return home empty-handed for a third World Championship in a row.
The USA have not won a medal in the last three tournaments, having lost the bronze medal match in the two previous editions.
Last year, they lost to Latvia in the bronze medal match.
Returning to Caufield, he finished the tournament with eight points (four goals and four assists) from eight games.
All in all, a solid harvest for the Habs maverick, who got off to a poor start to the tournament.
There are now four countries in contention for the gold medal, who will battle it out in the semi-finals this Saturday.
Here are the two clashes.
With Sweden’s victory, here’s the picture of the semi-finals at the WHC:
π¨π¦ Canada v. Switzerland π¨π
πΈπͺ Sweden v. Czech Republic π¨πΏMatches broadcast Saturday on RDS! πΊ pic.twitter.com/JpDmRD5VBK
– RDS (@RDSca) May 23, 2024
Frankly, I think Switzerland could surprise Canada with their lineup featuring Roman Josi, Kevin Fiala, Nico Hischier, Nino Niederreiter and Jonas Siegenthaler, among others.
Stay tuned.
In a gust
– Wow.
In case you want to feel old, Habs legend Tomas Plekanec is now coaching the son of Habs legend Jaroslav Spacek on Team Czechia π¨πΏ pic.twitter.com/HfQvqX4oUd
– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) May 23, 2024
– He was sensational in this Czech victory, turning away all 36 shots he faced.
ποΈ Hear from the Czech hero Lukas Dostal after his shutout performance against USA.π¨πΏ #MensWorlds #USACZE @czehockey pic.twitter.com/ynJVQocK2d
– IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 23, 2024
– In the final quarter-final of the tournament, Sweden won 2-1 in overtime against Finland.
π€―WHAT A RIDE! Sweden defeats their rivals to move on to the semifinals!
Game Recap β¬οΈ
πhttps://t.co/22HfVsC1eP#SWEFIN#MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/JlKgecmSGd– IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 23, 2024
– Joel Eriksson Ek gave the Swedes the win.
π¨JOEL ERIKSSON EK WITH THE TIP IN! SWEDEN WINS IN OT! #SWEFIN #MensWorlds @Trekronorse pic.twitter.com/XCs8rZRx8p
– IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 23, 2024
– Well-deserved. The Montreal Canadiens prospect had quite a tournament with six goals in eight games.
Oliver Kapanen selected as one of the best Finnish players of the tournament. #Habs #GoHabsGo
– Patrik Bexell (@Zeb_Habs) May 23, 2024