Canada Makes Comeback in Final for Record 28th World Title in Men’s Ice Hockey

With a 5-2 victory against Germany, Canada justified the expectations awarded to them by the bookmakers with betting bonuses on the Internet and secured the men’s gold medal at the 2023 IIHF World Hockey Championship.

At the biggest ice hockey planetary event this year, hosted by Latvia, “The Maple Leafs” celebrate Sammy Blais, the author of two goals. For Canada, Lawson Crouse, Tyler Toffoli, the captain, and Scott Laughton all scored, while Peyton Krebs had two assists. Germany scored two goals – JJ Peterka and Daniel Fischbuch – after they advances to the gold-medal match for the first time since the World Champs playoff format was implemented in 1992. Two assists came from Moritz Seider. German goalie Mathias Niederberger stopped 23 shots, compared to Canadian goalie Samuel Montembeault’s 21 stops.

After losing to Finland in overtime in the gold-medal game of the previous event, Canada won gold for the second time in three years. It’s Canada’s 28th victory in the competition, the most of any nation. Since the competition began in 1931, Canada has won eight bronze medals and 16 silver medals.

Germany Squanders Lead Twice

At 7:44 in the first period, Peterka gave Germany the lead with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle during a breakaway that beat Montembeault. After finishing off a pass from center Krebs on a two-on-one opportunity, Blais scored three minutes later to tie the score at one.

On a one-timer from the slot that slipped into the net 13:47 into the second period, Fischbuch gave Germany the advantage once more. With 2:32 left in the second period, Crouse of Canada answered by deflecting a pass from Krebs while on the power play.

Then, 4:51 into the third period, Blais scored his second goal of the contest with a backhand off a rebound to give Canada the lead. With eight minutes left, Toffoli scored a safety goal, scoring with a wrist shot on a two-on-one to make it 4-2 in Canada’s favor. With two minutes remaining, Laughton scored into an empty net to put the game beyond reach.

Latvian Goalie Named Tournament MVP Following His Nation’s Historic Bronze

MacKenzie Weegar was chosen for the media all-star team and was awarded the tournament’s best defenseman after the gold-medal game. Following the semifinals, Crouse, Montembeault, and Weegar were also voted Team Canada’s top three players.

In a competition when Latvia earned a medal for the first time by defeating the USA 4-3 in overtime in the third-place game, the nation also produced goaltender Artūrs Šilovs for the first time as the IIHF World Championship MVP. The 22-year-old played for the Latvians for all except the opening 4:56 of the competition and coached them to seven victories in their final eight games, leading to the nation’s first-ever bronze medal. He was also selected by the IIHF Directorate as the Top Goaltender and the goalie for the Media All-Star Team.

Šilovs is the fifth goaltender to receive the title of World Championship MVP since it was originally given out in 1999, joining Dennis Endras (Germany 2010), Viktor Fasth (Sweden 2011), Pekka Rinne (Finland 2014), and Juho Olkinuora (Finland 2022).