Canada Shuts Out USA 4-0 to Reach Semifinals; Finland Also Advances

Dylan Holloway doubled the advantage in the 30th minute, beating the American goaltender to make it 2-0. The United States struggled to generate offense throughout the contest, managing only a handful of quality chances against Canadian netminder Jet Greaves, who recorded a shutout.

The Americans faced an early setback when defenseman Ryan Lindgren received a match penalty in the 7th minute for a high check to the head of Canada's Evan Bouchard. The infraction forced the U.S. to play shorthanded for a significant portion of the game.

Canada put the result beyond doubt with two empty-net goals in the final period. Connor Brown scored in the 59th minute, and Sidney Crosby added his first goal of the tournament in the 60th minute to seal the 4-0 victory. Crosby, a Pittsburgh Penguins star, had been held off the scoresheet during the group stage.

Finland Ends Quarterfinal Drought

The period scores were 1-0, 1-0, and 2-0. Canada went undefeated through the group stage and carried that momentum into the knockout round. The team's semifinal match is scheduled for Saturday.

In the other early quarterfinal in Zurich, Finland defeated Czechia 4-1 to reach the semifinals for the first time since winning the world championship title in 2022. The Finns had been eliminated in the quarterfinals in each of the three previous tournaments.

Sakari Manninen, who plays for Genève-Servette, opened the scoring for Finland in the 8th minute. NHL forward Anton Lundell doubled the lead in the 15th minute, and Konsta Helenius made it 3-0 in the 22nd minute.

Czechia, a seven-time world champion, pulled one goal back on a 5-on-3 power play when Filip Hronek scored in the 31st minute. However, Lenni Hämeenaho restored Finland's three-goal cushion in the final period, scoring through the legs of goaltender Josef Korenar to make it 4-1.

Remaining Quarterfinals

The period scores in Zurich were 2-0, 1-1, and 1-0. Finland controlled the tempo from the opening faceoff and never allowed Czechia to mount a sustained comeback.

Two more quarterfinal matches were scheduled for Thursday evening. Switzerland was set to face Sweden in Zurich at 20:15, with the game broadcast live on ORF Sport +. Latvia and Norway were scheduled to play in Fribourg to determine the last semifinalist.

The semifinal pairings will be finalized after the completion of the remaining quarterfinal contests. Canada awaits the winner of one of the evening matchups.