Dylan Garand made 31 saves, Kent Johnson had one goal and two assists and Canada beat the Czech Republic 5-2 on Friday to advance. World Children’s Hockey Championship game.
Canada will face Finland – who won 1-0 over Sweden in the second semi-final – for the title on Saturday night.
“It is exciting to be at this point, but the hardest work lies ahead,” said Garand.
“We have to do the right things here, rest properly, recover and be ready to go.”
Ryan O’Rourke (28) of Canada and Oliver Kapanen (27) of Finland battle for the title during the first stage of the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in Edmonton on Monday, May 15. 8 year 2022.
CANADIAN PRESS / Jason Franson
For Finland, Kasper Puutio scored in a power game in the second period and Juha Jatkola made 23 saves. Jesper Wallstedt saves 27 shots for Sweden.
READ MORE: Finland beat Sweden 1-0 to secure a spot in the junior world gold medal match
Logan Stankoven added a goal and an assist to help Canada make it 6-0. Connor Bedard, Mason McTavish and Joshua Roy also scored.
Stankoven partnered with Garand for three seasons with the Kamloops Blazers in the Western Hockey League.
“He was steady and solid all the way,” Stankoven said.
“He’s very focused and ready for every game.”
READ MORE: Canada wins 5-2 against Czechia, will play for world gold hockey team in Edmonton
Jan Mysak and David Jiricek scored for the Czech Republic. Tomas Suchanek made 22 saves in the first two innings, and Pavel Cajan saved eight shots in the third.
“They’re a good team and they’re not really far from their game,” Stankoven said.
The Czech Republic beat the United States 4-2 in the quarterfinals Wednesday night.
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