Canada beats Sweden 4-1 in Ivan Hlinka semis, will face Czechs in final
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Serron Noel scored the winning goal with just under 12 minutes left in regulation as Canada defeated Sweden 4-1 in semifinal action Friday at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup under-18 hockey tournament.
Canada will face the Czech Republic in Saturday’s final. The co-host Czechs beat Russia 2-1 in Friday’s other semifinal.
Akil Thomas, Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Aidan Dudas also scored for Canada, while Olivier Rodrigue turned in a solid performance with 24 saves.
After Thomas opened the scoring in the second period, Sweden’s Lukas Wernblom scored on a power play with three seconds left in the period to tie the game 1-1.