Ice Hockey World Championship
The two top favorites also won their third game on Monday for the Ice Hockey World Championships in Finland. Host and Olympic champion Finland defeated USA 4-1 in Tampere in a wild game full of indiscipline. Defending champions Canada defeated Slovakia 5–1 in Helsinki. Latvia secured their first win with a 3–2 win over Norway, while Germany defeated France 3–2.
Mikel Granlund (18th) led the Finns to the delight of 11,500 spectators at the Nokia Arena. Valtteri Filipula (25′) and Sakari Maninen (26′) scored with powerplay goals within 54 seconds to extend the lead 3-0. Mikko Lehtonen (31′) made it 4-0, Alex Galchenyuk (59′) scored for the US team in the finish.
Latvia made an early decision in the middle third. Goals from Nikolaj Jeljeevs in Double Advantage (28th) and Roberts Bucharts (34th) moved them to 3:1. After Max Krogdahl’s goal in the 48th minute, the Norwegian pushed for a draw, but was unable to beat goalkeeper Elvis Merjlikins.
Dubois leveled Canada with brace win
In Helsinki, Pierre-Luc Dubois was the match winner for Canada. The Winnipeg Jets striker paved the way for the record world champion’s next breakthrough with a brace (27’/pp, 38′) to take a 3–1 lead. Cole Silinger (42nd) and Morgan Geeky (52nd) took the lead in the final.
After a success against promoted France, Germany still prepare for the quarter-finals. Daniel Fischbuch (3rd), Alexander Ehl (18th) and Leo Födrel (46th) secured the second victory for the Germans. NHL strikers Alexandre Texier (15th) and Hugo Gallet (32nd) scored for France. The team of the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) is worried about their star striker Tim Stutzl. The attacker from the Ottawa Senators had to come out of the snow injured in the first third after examining his knee.