On May 23, 2024, Canada secured a spot in the semifinals of the ice hockey world championship by defeating Slovakia 6-3. The defending champions got off to a strong start with McCann and Dubois scoring within a 90-second span early in the first period. However, Slovakia managed to score one goal through Peter Cehlarik before Brandon Hagel’s deflection into his own net helped the Canadian team take a lead of 2-1.
As the game progressed, Canada extended their lead to 5-1 with goals from Paul, Guenther, and Tanev. Slovakia fought hard with goals from Milos Kelemen and Marek Hrivik but it wasn’t enough to catch up to Canada’s lead. Paul sealed the victory for Canada with his second goal into an empty net as he was named the star of the game.
In Ostrava, Switzerland emerged victorious by defeating Germany 3-1. Christoph Bertschy was the hero for Switzerland, scoring two goals while Nico Hischier added another goal to secure the win for the Swiss team. The remaining quarterfinal matches saw the United States facing off against Czech Republic in Prague while Sweden played against Finland in Ostrava. The ice hockey world championship continues to be a thrilling competition with top teams battling it out for the ultimate prize.
