Canada faced more adversity than expected with Kazakhstan but remained undefeated at the Ice Hockey World Championships by winning 6-3 in Helsinki, Finland on Thursday.
After four games, the Maple Leaf are still at the top of Group A with 12 points and a +14 difference. Switzerland is the only other country to score as many points as Canada, but remains runners-up by two goals.
The Kazakhs took a 1-0 lead early in the first half and even got back in the driver’s seat later when Arkadi Shestakov beat Logan Thompson 2-1, putting them ahead of Canada at a World Cup.
Dylan Cozens was the spark plug for the Maple Leaf representatives by scoring a hat trick late in the third period. It was also he who scored the insurance goal eight minutes earlier.
The Canadians lost defender Ryan Graves midway through the third period. The New Jersey Devils player blocked a shot and collapsed on the ice in pain. However, the game was not interrupted, which allowed the Kazakhs their third goal. Graves took a few minutes before returning to the bench and he didn’t return to the game after that.
Drake Batherson, Adam Lowry and Damon Severson were the other scorers for Canada. Thompson finished the game with 16 saves from 19 shots. The next duel of Claude Julien’s team will be the most important of these preliminary rounds as they face each other Swiss, Saturday.
Sean Farrell stands out
At the Nokia Arena, the United States eliminated Great Britain 3-0 thanks to two points from Montreal Canadiens talent Sean Farrell.
The 20-year-old left winger was an accomplice in both goals in the third period by Kieffer Bellows. Ben Meyers also scored for the Americans.
In goal, the United States benefited from the arrival of goaltender Jeremy Swayman, eliminated from the playoffs with the Boston Bruins. He made 17 saves for the shutout.
Things aren’t going very well for the Brits who haven’t scored in the last two games. They find themselves in the bottom of Group B after four meetings with just one point.
In other games, the Czech Republic failed to beat Latvia 5-1, thanks to two points from David Pastrnak and David Krejci, former Bruins team-mates who are reunited on the international stage. Germany defeated Denmark 1-0. Marc Michaelis was the game’s only goalscorer while Philipp Grubauer had an 18 shutout.