Canada, Germany to play for gold at 2023 men’s World Hockey Championship

Canada and Germany will play for gold at the 2023 World Hockey Championship on Sunday after tight victories on semifinal Saturday.

Canada has advanced to the title game for the seventh time over the past eight years. They last won in 2021 against Finland, but lost in 2019 and 2022, also to Finland.

Germany, meanwhile, has never won gold and has never advanced to the tournament’s championship game. They have won silver before, but that was in 1930 when they didn’t have a playoff format. They trailed 2-0 early against USA, who entered the game with a perfect 8-0 record.

Puck drop is set for 1:20 PM ET on Sunday, May 28.

The first period was rather close between Canada and Latvia, with Canada outshooting their opponents 9-7. But the Latvians scored first, with Boston Bruins prospect Dans Locmelis beating Samuel Montembeault to give Latvia a surprising 1-0 advantage early.

That score lasted until 35:32, when Peyton Krebs sent a bouncing puck toward Samuel Blais, who converted to make it 1-1. But just over a minute later, Rudolfs Balcers forced a turnover and his shot went under Montembeault’s left arm and in to restore the one-goal advantage.

The Canadians needed a quick goal in the third to take back the momentum, and it worked. At 40:45, Jack Quinn took Lawson Crouse’s feed behind the goal line and shot the puck off of Arturs Silovs’ mask and in, somehow getting the puck in. Then, with Canada taking full control of the momentum, Adam Fantilli finally scored his first goal of the tournament on a beautiful play to make it 3-2, giving Canada its only lead. It lasted until the very end, ending Latvia’s dream run to the championship game.

The Americans got off to a great start in the late afternoon game, scoring twice before the four-minute mark. Alex Tuch and Rocco Grimaldi had a pair of points each on their respective goals to give their team some early life.

But a pair of goals in the final half of the opening frame changed everything. First, Frederik Tiffels tipped in Daniel Fischbuch’s shot in front of Casey DeSmith to make it 2-1 at 12:22. Less than four minutes later, Maksymilian Szuber’s shot went just under the crossbar and in past DeSmith’s right arm to make it 2-2.

That lead lasted until 8:47 in the second. Michael Eyssimont got denied twice by German keeper Mathias Niederberger, but Eyssimont got a third, and effective, whack at it to make it 3-2. It looked like the score was going to stay, but Marcel Noebels scored with just over a minute to go in regulation to force overtime.

In the extra frame, which mirrored the previous meeting between the two teams in this tournament this year, Tiffels scored late to win the game, giving Germany their first lead of the game – and at the most important time.

Latvia and USA will play for bronze earlier in the day, with puck drop set for 8:20 AM ET. Latvia has never played for a medal in their history, while Germany will chase their fourth after last taking bronze in 1934.

Canada avoids upset in win over Latvia

Dans Locmelis (BOS) scored Latvia’s important first goal against Sweden and he did the same again today. His relentlessness, despite playing limited minutes most games, has rewarded him dearly over the past couple of days. At 19, he’s quite young, but it’s showing through in his energy and attacking nature that has allowed him to thrive.
It’s rare for goaltenders to earn MVP honors, but Artus Silovs (VAN) has done everything possible to put himself into the conversation. He allowed a goal in the second period but still made 15 saves in the second alone to keep the Latvians in it. Canucks fans have to be absolutely thrilled with how good he’s been.
Sammy Blais (STL) has been clutch, scoring in the quarterfinal and then tying the game up to give Canada some life on Saturday. He’s been a sparkplug on a third line that includes Jake Neighbours (STL) and Peyton Krebs (BUF), with Krebs setting Blais up for the 1-1 goal. It was a bouncing puck, but it didn’t bother Blais.
After being a shot-generation machine but with nothing to show for, Adam Fantilli finally scored his first goal of the tournament. And it was a big one, pulling off a big deke to score the third goal to make it 3-2. If you’re going to score your first, you might as well make it mean something.
Samuel Montembeault (MTL) continues to strengthen his case for the tournament’s top goaltender honors. He made 20 saves, which wasn’t a ton, but he had to make some difficult ones and bounced back from every goal against.

Germany beats USA to advance to first final

Rocco Grimaldi, the only player on USA without an NHL affiliation, has tied Czechia’s Dominik Kubalik for the scoring lead after setting up Alex Tuch’s opener and then scoring on a slapper his own. The extra ice has suited Grimaldi quite well, using it to his advantage to get creative and make smart plays. He’s in MVP contention, which is something very few likely expected.
Grimaldi would have taken top spot if it wasn’t for Mathias Niederberger. The German keeper made a couple of huge saves in the second period, including one where he got his skate on the puck at the last possible second to prevent it from crossing the line. Given the competition, Niederberger had to be fantastic. And he was.
Alex Tuch (BUF) had a couple of quiet games but scored the opener and then set up Grimaldi for his goal. Talk about a good 3:56 of action for the Sabres forward, continuing a trend that saw current Buffalo players stand out.
Speaking of Buffalo, JJ Peterka (BUF). He helped set up the 2-2 goal the Germans, getting the puck to Nico Sturm (SJS) before Maksymilian Szuber scored at 16:03. Peterka had a few other good looks and was one of the fastest skaters on the ice. Just another excellent, hard-working effort by Peterka.