photo: Matt Zambonin/IIHF
Canada scored in each period and held on to defeat the United States 4-0 to advance to the semi-finals. Goalie Jet Greaves was nothing short of sensational, and Devin Cooley not far behind in the American goal, but Greaves was two shots (and two empty netters) better.
Greaves stopped all 34 shots for his first career shutout with Team Canada.
"I didn't realize the calmness and the poise, and his ability to read the play," John Tavares said of Greaves. "He makes the saves, but it's not always conventional, but that's because we had two or three breakdowns. But he was calm and tonight came up with the big save when we needed it. He was the best player on the ice tonight, for sure."
Last year's gold medalists now go home, while Canada will play a semi-finals game on Saturday against an opponent to be determined later tonight once all quarter-finals games are done and the teams re-seeded.
"I liked our start tonight more than what we've been doing through the course of the tournament," Tavares offered. "It was a much more consistent 60 minutes. We had some chances, especially in the second period, and could have made it 3-0 or 4-0, but their goalie played well. They had a good push for a bit in the third period, but Jet was great."
The Canadians came out flying, getting the puck deep and creating excellent puck movement, but they couldn’t beat Cooley, who was rock solid in goal for the Americans. At one point, shots favoured Canada, 7-0, which was an accurate reflection of play to that time.
Canada got the first big break of the game, but it came at a steep price. Evan Bouchard brought the puck in over the line but was hit hard in the head by Ryan Lindgren. Lindgren got a major and game misconduct, but Bouchard was clearly woozy and did not return.
The Americans, however, weathered the storm beautifully, giving up only two good chances. Both were great shots from in close, first by Ryan O’Reilly and then by Tavares, but Cooley was again right there.
The U.S. then got their first power play, and their best chance came off the stick of Oliver Moore, who moved in close and pegged a shot to the top corner. Reaves, however, matched Cooley with a great glove grab of his own.
Canada finally got a goal late in the period on another power play. It looked like the advantage was going all for naught, but then Macklin Celebrini got the puck at the blue line and moved in uncontested. He snapped a perfect shot past the glove of Cooley at 18:31 for a 1-0 Canada lead.
"It was tough to see "Booch" in that spot," Tavares said of the head hit on Bouchard. "We didn't like the hit, but we created some looks on the power play, even if we didn't take the lead. But we got another power play and got the lead with that."
Canada started the second as they had the first, controlling the play, maintaining possession, and spending long stretches in the U.S. zone. But, they couldn’t get that second goal, and the Americans knew, even if they were overwhelmed, they were still just one shot away from tying the game.
That changed midway through when Dylan Holloway skated up ice on an odd-man rush. His first shot was blocked by Ryan Ufko in front, but Holloway put the rebound away at 9:48 to make it 2-0.
The Americans had their chances in the second half of the period, and Greaves was sensational. He kicked out the left pad to rob Isaac Howard, and later robbed Ryan Leonard with that same leg. Canada had the puck a lot more, but the U.S. had their fair share of excellent chances.
In the third, Canada had a tentative start and the Americans had their best flurry, but Greaves would not be beat. Midway through, Canada started skating a bit more and getting the puck deep, and when Cooley came to the bench with three minutes remaining, Canada added two more goals.
Connor Brown had an empty netter at 18:01, and Crosby added another at 18:41, his first goal of the tournament.
Greaves stopped all 34 shots for his first career shutout with Team Canada.
"I didn't realize the calmness and the poise, and his ability to read the play," John Tavares said of Greaves. "He makes the saves, but it's not always conventional, but that's because we had two or three breakdowns. But he was calm and tonight came up with the big save when we needed it. He was the best player on the ice tonight, for sure."
Last year's gold medalists now go home, while Canada will play a semi-finals game on Saturday against an opponent to be determined later tonight once all quarter-finals games are done and the teams re-seeded.
"I liked our start tonight more than what we've been doing through the course of the tournament," Tavares offered. "It was a much more consistent 60 minutes. We had some chances, especially in the second period, and could have made it 3-0 or 4-0, but their goalie played well. They had a good push for a bit in the third period, but Jet was great."
The Canadians came out flying, getting the puck deep and creating excellent puck movement, but they couldn’t beat Cooley, who was rock solid in goal for the Americans. At one point, shots favoured Canada, 7-0, which was an accurate reflection of play to that time.
Canada got the first big break of the game, but it came at a steep price. Evan Bouchard brought the puck in over the line but was hit hard in the head by Ryan Lindgren. Lindgren got a major and game misconduct, but Bouchard was clearly woozy and did not return.
The Americans, however, weathered the storm beautifully, giving up only two good chances. Both were great shots from in close, first by Ryan O’Reilly and then by Tavares, but Cooley was again right there.
The U.S. then got their first power play, and their best chance came off the stick of Oliver Moore, who moved in close and pegged a shot to the top corner. Reaves, however, matched Cooley with a great glove grab of his own.
Canada finally got a goal late in the period on another power play. It looked like the advantage was going all for naught, but then Macklin Celebrini got the puck at the blue line and moved in uncontested. He snapped a perfect shot past the glove of Cooley at 18:31 for a 1-0 Canada lead.
"It was tough to see "Booch" in that spot," Tavares said of the head hit on Bouchard. "We didn't like the hit, but we created some looks on the power play, even if we didn't take the lead. But we got another power play and got the lead with that."
Canada started the second as they had the first, controlling the play, maintaining possession, and spending long stretches in the U.S. zone. But, they couldn’t get that second goal, and the Americans knew, even if they were overwhelmed, they were still just one shot away from tying the game.
That changed midway through when Dylan Holloway skated up ice on an odd-man rush. His first shot was blocked by Ryan Ufko in front, but Holloway put the rebound away at 9:48 to make it 2-0.
The Americans had their chances in the second half of the period, and Greaves was sensational. He kicked out the left pad to rob Isaac Howard, and later robbed Ryan Leonard with that same leg. Canada had the puck a lot more, but the U.S. had their fair share of excellent chances.
In the third, Canada had a tentative start and the Americans had their best flurry, but Greaves would not be beat. Midway through, Canada started skating a bit more and getting the puck deep, and when Cooley came to the bench with three minutes remaining, Canada added two more goals.
Connor Brown had an empty netter at 18:01, and Crosby added another at 18:41, his first goal of the tournament.
QF2 - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
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