Not only did the Ottawa Senators prospect score and contribute an assist in a 6-3 win over Finland, he blocked some big shots when the Canadiens were in third-period penalty trouble. “Whatever it takes to win, whatever it takes to do anything for the boys or get some momentum going, I’ll do it,” Greig said. “Whether I face a slap, I’m going to do it.” Special teams made the difference Monday, with the Canadians going 2-for-2 on the power play while Finland was 1-for-5. The Finns got their second straight in five-on-three hockey with less than five minutes remaining when William Dafur stepped in on Ethan del Mastro in the penalty kill. Finland pulled goalkeeper Leevi Merilainen just as del Mastro’s penalty expired and with extra man Roby Jarventie gloved past Canadian goalkeeper Dylan Garand to make it 5-3. Dufour sealed the score at 6-3 with a layup 18:13 into the third. The Finns had a great chance to take Canada’s lead with a slim two-man advantage midway through the final period. Donovan Sebrango was sent to the box for a high tackle and less than a minute later, teammate Will Quilly was sent off for a knee-to-knee strike. Canada went down to two men and then chewed up the remaining four minutes of the penalty kill without conceding a goal. “I thought our penalty kill was elite today, so many guys blocking shots. And that’s a great sign for a team that’s trying to win something,” said Canada captain Mason McTavish, who had a goal and two assists in the win. “Finland, they are a great team. I think they went 3-0, their power play is ridiculous. So the fact that our PK stood there with one of the best power plays in the tournament is huge for us.” Connor Bendar scored and assisted for Canada (4-0-0), while Dafour, Brennan Othman and Tyson Foerester also found the net. Olen Zellweger had three assists. Joakim Kemell scored and had an assist for Finland (3-1-0) and Samuel Helenius rounded out the scoring. Canadian Garand made 22 saves and Merilainen stopped 31 of 36 shots for the Finns. The result was important for Canada, who finished the qualifying round atop Group A. They will face Group B Switzerland (1-3-0) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Switzerland clinched their place in the quarter-finals earlier on Monday with a 3-2 win over Austria (0-0-4). Finland was disappointed with Monday’s result, coach Andi Penanen said. “It was okay, but it wasn’t enough. And we were angry after the game, that’s for sure,” he said. A big goal early in the third cut the Finns’ deficit to 5-2. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Topi Niemela took a shot from the point and Kemell cleared it out of the post for his third goal of the tournament. Canada called for a coach’s challenge, arguing that the puck had left the net before falling back onto the ice before the goal. “The guys on the ice are generally the ones who can tell you what’s going on,” head coach Dave Cameron said. “My players were 100% sure it went (into the net). So you trust your players.” After an extensive video review, officials determined the goal was good. The Canadians were not given a delay of game penalty because officials said the review was “inconclusive.” The Canadians dominated the middle frame, outscoring the Finns 20-5 to take a 5-1 lead. McTavish gave his country their second power-play goal of the game 16:17 into the period after Finland’s Rubin Rafkin was called for interference. Zellweger sent the Anaheim Ducks’ contenders a pass through the blue line, and McTavish uncorked a one-timer that flew over the side of Merrilainen’s shoulder stick. Thirty-one seconds into the second, Canada went up 4-1 when the Finnish goalie turned in a Joshua Roy shot. Greig slid down on one knee to put the rebound into the back of the net for his third goal of the tournament. Canada went into the first intermission up 3-1 on a late Finland goal. A knot of players fought for the net behind the Canadian net and Finland’s Kalle Vasisanen figured it out. He sent a pass to Helenius at the high hash marks and the LA Kings prospect took a shot that went over Garland’s shoulder with 57 seconds left in the period. Bedard let in his third goal of the tournament in memorable fashion 17:19 into the first. Canada was trapped in its own zone for a long period of time, but the 17-year-old phenom showed no signs of exhaustion when he collected a cross-ice pass from McTavish at the blue line and raced to the faceoff circle. He then ripped a terrific shot past Merilainen, hitting the puck off the inside of the crossbar to make it 3-0. A power-play hit extended Canada’s lead to 2-0 midway through the first frame after Helenius was called for slashing. Greig’s shot deflected off Merilainen’s pad, but Foerester was able to push the rebound from the top of the crease as it slid wide of the net. Finland started strongly, outscoring the host country 4-0 in the first five minutes of the match. It was Canada that opened the scoring, however, 6:21 into the first. Defenseman Zellweger launched a long bomb from inside the blue line, and Othman tapped it past Merrilainen. The play was reviewed for a possible high stick, but the goal – Othmann’s second of the tournament – was ruled good after officials reviewed the video. Finland will also play in the quarter-finals, but must await the outcome of Monday’s delayed match between Group B’s Sweden (2-0-1) and Germany (2-0-1) to find out their opponent. The winner of that game will take on Latvia (1-2-1) in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The loser will face Finland. Defending champions the Americans (4-0-0) also went undefeated in the return game and will play the Czech Republic (1-2-1), the country commonly known as the Czech Republic, in the quarterfinals. The semifinals are scheduled for Friday and the medal matches will take place on Saturday. NOTES: McTavish leads the league in scoring with 13 points (seven goals, six assists). … Canada outscored its opponents 27-7 in the preliminary round. … The 2022 tournament is being held in August after the original event was canceled on December 29 after just four days as rising cases of COVID-19 among players and referees forced games to be called off.
