Team Canada has won Group A at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton, Alberta. The tournament which is for the world’s best hockey players under the age of 18, saw Canada get by Sweden 4-3 in a very entertaining hockey game at Rogers Place on Wednesday.
The Canadian team was led offensively by captain Alexis Lafreniere of Saint-Eustache, Quebec and Josh Williams of Langley, British Columbia. Lafreniere and Williams each had one goal and one assist for two points. The other Canadian players who scored were Matthew Robertson of Sherwood Park, Alberta and Bowen Byram of Cranbrook, British Columbia.
After Sweden and Canada played the first period with the score tied at one, Canada took a 2-1 lead in the second period on a goal by Lafreniere. In the third period, Sweden tied the game twice (at 2-2 and 3-3) before Byram scored on the power play from Lafreniere and Kirby Dach of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta with 2:26 left in the third period.
In Group B, Russia trounced the United States 8-3 to finish first in their group. Russia will now play Sweden in one semifinal and the United States will play Canada in the other semifinal. The semifinals will take place on Friday and the final will be on Saturday.
