Macklin Celebrini fueled an early power play and a suffocating defense as the Canadians shut out the defending champions in Switzerland to clinch a semifinal berth.
Canada is through to the semifinals at the World Hockey Championship after a 4-0 shutout over Team United States in Fribourg, Switzerland.
It didn’t start quietly as many would have expected. About six minutes into the first period, United States defenseman Ryan Lindgren stepped up on Evan Bouchard as he tried to exit the zone through the blue line. High contact caught him up around the head area, and Bouchard went down immediately. He needed help off, and the call after the review was a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
Canada doesn’t score right away on the extended power play. That part was a bit messy, actually. Macklin Celebrini eventually opens the scoring later in the first on a subsequent man advantage. On a quick finish in tight. 1-0, and from there the game starts leaning one direction.
In the second period, Dylan Holloway made it 2-0. The United States had some push after that, a few shifts where they looked like they might get back into it, but Canada’s structure held pretty steady.
Connor Brown added the empty-netter, and Sidney Crosby tacked on another right after to seal the deal to knock off the defending champions.
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