Goalie makes 29 saves, defenseman adds assist to help Canadians remain unbeaten, tied atop group standings at IIHF World Championship
It was a gut-check game for Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Championship.
Facing a very under-the-radar Finland, the Canadians needed to dig deep in order to remain unbeaten in group play and stay atop the standings with Switzerland.
St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington helped Canada do just that with 29 saves, as Canada rallied twice to down the Finns, 5-3, at Prague Arena in Prague, Czechia on Saturday.
Canada (4-1-0-0, 14 points), the defending champions, fell behind 2-0 in the first and 3-2 in the second before rallying to score the final three goals, including two in the third period.
Blues defenseman Colton Parayko, who was a plus-3 and played a team-high 22:49, assisted on a goal by Owen Power (Buffalo Sabres) with 2:48 remaining in the second period that tied the game 3-3.
Brandon Hagel (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Dawson Mercer (New Jersey Devils) would score third-period goals to seal Canada's win and keep them tied atop Group A with Switzerland. Mercer's empty-netter with 21 seconds remaining sealed the game.
Binnington, who was backed up by Blues teammate Joel Hofer, allowed two goals on 16 shots in the opening period and nearly shut the door the rest of the way stopping 15 of the final 16 shots over the final two periods in a game Canada was outshot for the first time in the tournament, 32-22, including 9-4 in the third period.
Canada and Switzerland will play on Sunday at 1:20 p.m. (CT) in Prague to decide the top two seeds for the quarterfinal matchups in Group A.
