The quest for gold has come to an end for Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Connor Schmidt and Canada Red at the World U17 Hockey Challenge.
Canada Red dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Canada White in the quarter-final at the six-team tournament in Charlottetown, P.E.I. on Thursday night and will face Finland in the fifth-place game Friday afternoon.
As the score would indicate, the quarter-final was a close game from start to finish.
Mateo Norbert (QMJHL Blainville-Boisbrand) scored the lone goal of the first period to give Canada White the early lead, but Canada Red’s Brady Martin (OHL Sault Ste. Marie) and Chase Harrington (WHL Prince George) scored in the second to give their team the 2-1 lead.
That would be the last good news for Canada Red on the night, though, as Lev Katzin (USHL Green Bay) tied the game 4:44 into the third and Emile Guite (QMJHL Chicoutimi) scored the game-winner 3:45 into overtime.
William Lacelle (Quebec U18 AAA Lac St, Louis) stopped 27 shots for Canada Red, Jack Ivankovic (OHL Mississauga) stopped 31 shots in the winning effort.
Schmidt was held off the scoresheet and has a single assist in the tournament, that coming in Canada Red’s 4-3 overtime win over the United States in their final round-robin game Tuesday.
Canada White will now face Sweden in their semifinal, while Czechia took a 2-0 win over Finland on Thursday and will take on the United States in the other semifinal.
The gold and bronze medal games are set for Saturday afternoon.
Schmidt played 10 games for the Warriors prior to leaving for Worlds and has a single goal on his ledger thus far.
The Warriors are back in action on Friday night when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre
