Team Canada’s final game in the preliminary round of the World Junior Hockey Championship will be crucial to determine their quarterfinal encounters and head coach Dennis Williams will be counting on goaltender Thomas Milic to take on Sweden.
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Milic won the game against Germany by stopping 14 of 16 shots he faced after being perfect on 10 relief shots against the Czech Republic in a 5-2 loss.
“I’m super excited! Milic exclaimed at a press conference, according to the TSN network. I have family here, my parents. I’m really excited to have the chance to make them proud, just like the rest of the country.”
“He was solid in the net,” Williams said. He’s had two good days of practice and we as coaches feel comfortable giving him this opportunity to lead our team on the ice.”
One day at a time
Benjamin Gaudreau also started the game against Austria with an 11-0 win, but the five goals he conceded to the Czechs certainly left the coaches amazed.
But don’t think that vote of confidence in Milic will carry through to the playoffs. Williams and his assistants will adjust after Saturday’s game before deciding what to do next.
“I think it’s still a daily discussion,” Williams said. The same applies to attackers and defenders. We will approach the game [vendredi]hopefully feel good about ours [plan de match], knowing that we will have good opponents. And then we will meet with the coaches and make decisions.
The war
Sweden remain the only undefeated team in this tournament, although the Czechs managed to push them to the limit in extra time. So the challenge for the Ahornblatt squad is real, especially as Sweden goalkeeper Carl Lindbom has conceded just two goals in three games so far.
If several goalkeepers refuse to compare, Milic is always happy to participate in this exercise. “He’s had a great tournament so far. I will go to war against him and the best will win,” said the masked Canadian.
If he wants to win this fight, Milic will need to keep an eye on a few players from the Sweden side, starting with defender Ludvig Jansson, his team’s top scorer with two goals and five points in three games.