Canada concluded their preliminary round at the world hockey championship in Fribourg, Switzerland, with a 3-2 victory over Czechia, securing the top spot in their pool. As the top seed in Pool B, Canada will face off against the United States in the knockout stage, who secured a playoff spot by defeating Austria 4-1 and finishing fourth in Pool A. This sets up a highly anticipated rematch of the gold-medal game from the recent Milano-Cortina Olympics, where the U.S. emerged victorious in overtime.
Sidney Crosby and Macklin Celebrini scored the first two goals for Canada, with John Tavares netting the game-winner in the third period after battling back from a 2-0 deficit. The quarterfinal matchups scheduled for Thursday include Sweden versus Switzerland, Finland versus Czechia, and Latvia versus Norway.
Meanwhile, the United States secured their playoff berth with goals from Connor Clifton, Ryan Ufko, Paul Cotter, and Matthew Tkachuk against Austria, with Will Borgen providing two assists and Devin Cooley making 25 saves. In another game, Sweden advanced by defeating Slovakia 4-2, with top prospect Ivar Stenberg scoring the winning goal.
Latvia also progressed to the quarterfinals by defeating Hungary 8-1, securing third place in Group A. Germany was eliminated after dropping to fifth place. Norway, already in the last eight for the first time since 2012, secured their spot with a 4-3 overtime victory against Denmark in Group B action in Fribourg.