Milan Lucic, left, and Adam Fantilli, right of Canada fight for a puck with Daniel Vozenilek of Czechia during the group B match at the ice hockey world championship in Riga, Latvia, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Roman Koksarov
RIGA, Latvia – Tyler Myers scored the winning goal just over four minutes into the third period as Canada ended preliminary-round play at the men’s world hockey championship Tuesday with a 3-1 win over Czechia.
Peyton Krebs and Lawson Crouse, into an empty net, also scored for Canada. Scott Laughton had two assists, while Samuel Montembeault faced just 17 shots.
Martin Kaut replied for Czechia, which got 41 saves from Karel Vejmelka.
Canada finished second in Group B with 15 points (four regulation wins, one overtime win, one overtime loss, one regulation loss), two more than the third-place Czechs.
Switzerland, which played its final preliminary-round game later against co-host Latvia, had already clinched top spot in the group with 18 points from six regulation victories.
Canada will face defending champion and co-host Finland, which was locked into third in Group A heading into Tuesday’s games, in the quarterfinals.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2023.
