The United States defeated the Czech Republic 3-0 on Thursday, securing their eighth straight victory and setting up a semifinal game against Germany at the Ice Hockey World Championship. Head coach David Quinn praised the team’s selflessness and commitment to the game plan. Matt Coronato opened the scoring in the first period with a shot from the left circle that deflected off a Czech defenseman’s skate and into the net. Nick Perbix doubled the advantage in the second period with a shot into the roof of the net, before Cutter Gauthier completed the scoring in the third with his seventh goal of the tournament.
The quarterfinal was a rematch of last year’s bronze-medal game, which the Czechs won 8-4. Meanwhile, Canada beat defending champion Finland 4-1 in another quarterfinal in Tampere. Jack Quinn, Samuel Blais, and Michael Carcone scored for Canada before Finland pulled goaltender Emil Larmi for an extra attacker, leading to Teemu Hartikainen’s consolation goal with 3:08 left. Only 50 seconds later, Canada captain Tyler Toffoli scored an empty-netter, securing their spot in the semifinals against Latvia.
In the Latvian capital of Riga, Germany upset Switzerland 3-1 to reach the semifinals. Jonas Siegenthaler answered Germany’s opening goal by Maximilian Kastner, but John Peterka and Nico Sturm netted for the Germans. Meanwhile, co-host Latvia upset Sweden 3-1 with goals from Dans Locmelis, Mick Indrasis, and Janis Jaks. The Latvians beat Sweden for only the second time at the world championship and gave themselves a first chance to play for a medal. Timothy Liljegren scored the only goal for Sweden.
The semifinals will take place on Saturday, with the United States facing Germany and Canada taking on Latvia at Nokia Arena. The winners will advance to the gold medal game on Sunday, while the losers will play for the bronze medal. The Ice Hockey World Championship has been held annually since 1920, with the Soviet Union/Russia holding the most titles at 27. The United States has won the championship twice, in 1933 and 1960, while Canada has won the most recent championship in 2019.
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