Canada – including Warriors defenceman Daemon Hunt and forward Brayden Tracey – scored five unanswered goals through the second and third periods on their way to a 6-2 victory to close out the round robin and finish in first place in their pool.
As a result, they’ll take on Latvia later this afternoon in the tournament quarter-final.
Things were less than ideal in the early going for Canada, as the Czechs scored goals 1:32 apart to take a 2-0 lead before the game was six minutes old.
But hockey is a 60 minute game, and Canada just kept on moving forward.
Alex Newhook of the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies got Canada on the board at the midway point of the first and it was clear sailing from there – Dylan Holloway (AJHL Okotoks Oilers), Philip Tomasino (OHL Niagara IceDogs), Nathan Legare (QMJHL Baie-Comeau Drakkar), Jamie Rees (OHL Sarnia Sting) and Peyton Krebs (Kootenay Ice) all added single markers through the remainder of the contest.
Tracey finished the game with five shots and an even plus-minus, while Hunt had one shot and was plus-one.
Nolan Maier turned aside 23 shots in goal for Canada, Lukas Parik faced 58 for the Czech Republic.
The winner of the quarter-final contest Thursday takes on the winner of Czech Republic and Sweden in the semifinal Saturday.
Click here for a full rundown of the tournament, including photos, replays and game recaps.
