Nick Paul scored two goals and collected an assist as Canada defeated Slovakia 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Men’s World Hockey Championship on Thursday.
Jared McCann, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Dylan Guenther and Brandon Tanev also scored for the defending tournament champions. Jordan Binnington made 18 saves in front of the Canadian goal.
“It was really important for us to get off to a good start. There is always a lot of pressure in the quarter-finals, and it is a particular pressure, because a defeat means the end of the course. Our start to the match eased that pressure a little, and they [les buts de McCann et Dubois] were two important goals. They [Les Slovaques] fought back, but we maintained our pace,” said Canadian team head coach André Tourigny.
“The atmosphere within the team is quite good, but we still have two games to play, and we know the semi-final will be difficult. We want to make sure we play [pour la médaille d’or] “, he added.
Peter Cehlárik, Miloš Kelemen and Marek Hrivík struck back for Slovakia, who made the end of the match interesting by scoring two late goals. Paul, however, sealed the outcome of the match by completing the score into an empty net.
Samuel Hlavaj was heavily used in front of the Slovak net, with 37 saves.
“From the start, the guys were winning their battles, and we were able to carry the puck into opposing territory and apply pressure on it [la Slovaquie], Paul noted. We generated a lot of shots and tried to take control quickly, because we knew they [les Slovaques] make a good team. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I thought we gave a great performance for 60 minutes. »
Furthermore, Switzerland defeated Germany 3-1 in another quarter-final match on Thursday. The other two quarter-final duels will pit the United States against the Czech Republic, and Sweden against Finland.