photo: Matt Zambonin/IIHF
Canada skated to a solid 3-1 win over Slovenia this afternoon in Fribourg in a tame game that moved along quickly and was played mostly in the Slovenia half of the ice. Emmitt Finnie had a goal and assist for the Canadians, and he did so with less than six minutes of ice time. He was named Canada's Best Player as well.
"My role here is a little different from what I'm used to, but everyone here is a great player," Finnie enthused. "Whether I'm playing or not it's not going to deteriorate my confidence. I'm just trying to work as hard as I can and make an impact when I'm out there."
"It's not easy for him, and maybe he's not always taking a regular shift when he's in, but he's really enjoying being around the group and he's learning a lot, being a sponge," John Tavares added. "I'm thrilled for him to get on the board and be named Best Player of the game."
The win keeps Canada in top place of the Group B standings without a loss so far through five games, their only blemish being an OT decision against Norway.
Slovenia is back at it tomorrow in a vital game against Denmark, the result of which might go a long way to determine which team is relegated. Slovenia has three points in the standings, good for sixth place, and although the Danes are winless in four games, a W tomorrow would be a massive boost for their ambitions to stay in the top level.
"For them, it's do or die a little bit," said Slovenia coach Edo Terglav. "They need points. I feel like they have a lot of frustration in their game, and they're looking for something to happen tomorrow. They've had a day off, so we have to be ready for them to be strong, especially that first ten minutes or so. For us, our tournament starts now. The last two games is where we need points."
Canada has a day off before playing Slovakia on Sunday in a battle of undefeated teams.
"I think our game was more connected today than yesterday," Tavares said, in reference to yesterday's wild, 6-5 overtime win versus Norway. "It would have been nice to put the puck in the net a little more today, but we possessed it a lot. We were in control pretty much the whole game, but we can always find ways to be better."
The Canadians had a wide margin in shots, 32-14, in a game that featured only two minor penalties, one to each team.
"We talked about this at the beginning of the tournament, that we have to play well without the puck, how we're going to play in our end," Terglav said. "We're growing every game, and when you play the top teams, you have to have a complete game defensively. We were disciplined and took away a lot of their scoring chances. We battled. That's our identity, so I'm happy with that today."
The opening period was a tame 20 minutes. Canada dominated to the tune of a 12-2 shots advantage, but Zan Us was not called upon to make any sensational saves in the Slovenia goal. That being said, the Canadians opened the scoring at 11:07 on a nice play from Finnie, the Detroit Red Wings rookie playing his second game here (Dawson Mercer made way as the healthy scratch).
Finnie threaded a pass through sticks and legs to Denton Mateychuk at the point, and he quickly realized he could walk in for a good shot. Mateychuk spotted an opening under Us’s glove, and hit his mark perfectly for a 1-0 Canada lead.
The second was equally passive, but Canada added to its lead all the same. Us made a great save off a Mark Scheifele shot from the slot early on, and Slovenia came right back with their best chance, a 2-on-1 in which Jan Drozg got off a nice shot, only to be stopped by Jet Greaves, who was making his third start.
Morgan Rielly made an unwise pinch at the Slovenia line, and that allowed captain Robert Sabolic the chance to head up ice, but he shot wide with his good opportunity. Canada mode it 2-0 at 13:14 on a lucky play. Darnell Nurse took a big-league slapper from the point, only to see half his stick fly in the air. But the puck skittered gently forward, where Dylan Cozens turned and fired under Us’s glove before the goalie could react.
Finnie got his goal early in the third period by going to the net and tipping in a Rielly point shot at 6:41, his first career goal with Team Canada.
Rozle Bohinc spoiled Greaves's shutout at 18:55 when his long shot found the five-hole as the goalie went to the ice.
"My role here is a little different from what I'm used to, but everyone here is a great player," Finnie enthused. "Whether I'm playing or not it's not going to deteriorate my confidence. I'm just trying to work as hard as I can and make an impact when I'm out there."
"It's not easy for him, and maybe he's not always taking a regular shift when he's in, but he's really enjoying being around the group and he's learning a lot, being a sponge," John Tavares added. "I'm thrilled for him to get on the board and be named Best Player of the game."
The win keeps Canada in top place of the Group B standings without a loss so far through five games, their only blemish being an OT decision against Norway.
Slovenia is back at it tomorrow in a vital game against Denmark, the result of which might go a long way to determine which team is relegated. Slovenia has three points in the standings, good for sixth place, and although the Danes are winless in four games, a W tomorrow would be a massive boost for their ambitions to stay in the top level.
"For them, it's do or die a little bit," said Slovenia coach Edo Terglav. "They need points. I feel like they have a lot of frustration in their game, and they're looking for something to happen tomorrow. They've had a day off, so we have to be ready for them to be strong, especially that first ten minutes or so. For us, our tournament starts now. The last two games is where we need points."
Canada has a day off before playing Slovakia on Sunday in a battle of undefeated teams.
"I think our game was more connected today than yesterday," Tavares said, in reference to yesterday's wild, 6-5 overtime win versus Norway. "It would have been nice to put the puck in the net a little more today, but we possessed it a lot. We were in control pretty much the whole game, but we can always find ways to be better."
The Canadians had a wide margin in shots, 32-14, in a game that featured only two minor penalties, one to each team.
"We talked about this at the beginning of the tournament, that we have to play well without the puck, how we're going to play in our end," Terglav said. "We're growing every game, and when you play the top teams, you have to have a complete game defensively. We were disciplined and took away a lot of their scoring chances. We battled. That's our identity, so I'm happy with that today."
The opening period was a tame 20 minutes. Canada dominated to the tune of a 12-2 shots advantage, but Zan Us was not called upon to make any sensational saves in the Slovenia goal. That being said, the Canadians opened the scoring at 11:07 on a nice play from Finnie, the Detroit Red Wings rookie playing his second game here (Dawson Mercer made way as the healthy scratch).
Finnie threaded a pass through sticks and legs to Denton Mateychuk at the point, and he quickly realized he could walk in for a good shot. Mateychuk spotted an opening under Us’s glove, and hit his mark perfectly for a 1-0 Canada lead.
The second was equally passive, but Canada added to its lead all the same. Us made a great save off a Mark Scheifele shot from the slot early on, and Slovenia came right back with their best chance, a 2-on-1 in which Jan Drozg got off a nice shot, only to be stopped by Jet Greaves, who was making his third start.
Morgan Rielly made an unwise pinch at the Slovenia line, and that allowed captain Robert Sabolic the chance to head up ice, but he shot wide with his good opportunity. Canada mode it 2-0 at 13:14 on a lucky play. Darnell Nurse took a big-league slapper from the point, only to see half his stick fly in the air. But the puck skittered gently forward, where Dylan Cozens turned and fired under Us’s glove before the goalie could react.
Finnie got his goal early in the third period by going to the net and tipping in a Rielly point shot at 6:41, his first career goal with Team Canada.
Rozle Bohinc spoiled Greaves's shutout at 18:55 when his long shot found the five-hole as the goalie went to the ice.
Canada vs Slovenia - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
OF