Finland 5, Slovakia 2 —Joakim Kemell (Nashville Predators) and Oliver Kapanen (Montreal Canadiens) each had a goal and an assist for Finland in a Group B game at Avenir Centre.
Sami Paivarinta (2023 draft eligible), Jani Nyman (Seattle Kraken) and Brad Lambert (Winnipeg Jets) scored, and Jani Lampinen (2023 draft eligible) made 22 saves for Finland (1-0-1-0), which rebounded from a 3-2 overtime loss to Switzerland on Monday.
“Today we had a fresh start,” Finland coach Tomi Lamsa said. “And I’m satisfied with how we played, the kind of energy we had. Tactically I think we did good decisions. And of course, in the second period we had three goals. That was a big, big 20 minutes for us.”
Peter Repcik (2023 draft eligible) scored two power-play goals for Slovakia (0-0-0-1). Patrik Andrisik (2023 draft eligible) allowed four goals on 15 shots before being replaced in the second period by Matej Marinov (2023 draft eligible), who made seven saves.
Paivarinta made it 1-0 at 8:54 of the first period with a shot from the right face-off dot.
Repcik scored on the rebound of a shot by Dalibor Dvorsky (2023 draft eligible) to tie it 1-1 at 19:49.
Kemell gave Finland a 2-1 lead at 3:34 of the second period before Kapanen made it 3-1 on a wraparound at 7:45.
Nyman extended the lead to 4-1 with a power-play goal at 13:56.
Repcik’s second goal cut it to 4-2 at 3:22 of the third period, but Lambert scored on an end-to-end rush at 5:01 for the 5-2 final.
Slovakia next plays the United States on Wednesday (4 p.m. ET). Finland plays Latvia on Thursday (11 a.m. ET).
“I think we are really good players, and I think we can make a surprise,” Repcik said of playing the United States.
Sweden 1, Germany 0 —Carl Lindbom (Vegas Golden Knights) made 28 saves for his second consecutive shutout in a Group A game at Scotiabank Centre.
Lindbom made 13 saves in an 11-0 win against Austria on Monday.
Adam Engstrom (Montreal Canadiens) scored for Sweden (2-0-0-0), which went 0-for-4 on the power play.
“We didn’t play good,” Sweden forward Isak Rosen (Buffalo Sabres) said. “We’re not doing anything wrong really, but we don’t use our skill enough. We don’t go hard to the net to score goals. We could score some more goals, but (we’re) not getting there, so that’s got to be better. But a win is a win.”
Nikita Quapp (Carolina Hurricanes) made 43 saves for Germany (0-0-0-1).
“I think we played a good game,” Germany coach Tobias Abstreiter said. “I think it was the best first game that we played the last couple of years, and against a good hockey nation. We had a chance to win the game.”
Engstrom scored at 19:38 of the first period. Filip Bystedt (San Jose Sharks) won an offensive-zone face-off back to Engstrom, who shot the rolling puck through traffic past Quapp.
Fabian Lysell (Boston Bruins) had a chance to extend Sweden’s lead, but he was stopped on a penalty shot at 11:23 of the second period.
Lindbom made 13 saves in the third period to preserve the win.
Germany next plays Canada on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. ET). Sweden plays Czechia on Thursday (1:30 p.m. ET).
Switzerland 3, Latvia 2 (SO) — Liekit Reichle (2023 draft eligible) scored in the seventh round of the shootout for Switzerland, which rallied in a Group B game at Avenir Centre.
Louis Robin (2023 draft eligible) and Rodwin Dionicio (2023 draft eligible) scored for Switzerland (0-2-0-0). Kevin Pasche (2023 draft eligible) made 16 saves.
Darels Dukurs (2023 draft eligible) and Dans Locmelis (Boston Bruins) scored for Latvia (0-0-1-1). Patriks Berzins (2023 draft eligible) made 27 saves.
Dionicio tied it 2-2 with 1:56 remaining in the third period on a point shot through traffic with Pasche pulled for an extra attacker.
Robin put Switzerland ahead 1-0 at 8:20 of the first period, scoring on the rebound of a shot by Brian Zanetti (Philadelphia Flyers).
Locmelis tied it 1-1 at 13:03 when he scored off his own rebound, and Dukurs gave Latvia a 2-1 lead at 17:50 of the second period on a rebound on the power play.
Latvia next plays Finland on Thursday (11 a.m. ET), when Switzerland will play the United States (4 p.m. ET).
Czechia 9, Austria 0 —Jiri Kulich (Buffalo Sabres) had a hat trick for Czechia in a Group A game at Scotiabank Centre.
Gabriel Szturc (2023 draft eligible) scored twice, David Spacek (Minnesota Wild) had a goal and an assist, Matyas Sapovaliv (Vegas Golden Knights) had four assists, Stanislav Svozil (Columbus Blue Jackets) had three assists, and Tomas Suchanek (2023 draft eligible) made eight saves and had two assists for Czechia (2-0-0-0), which defeated Canada 5-2 on Monday.
“We won and got three points, which is great, but we have to stay grounded and be ready for our next game,” Svozil said. “We played the same way the whole game, which is important. We knew Austria isn’t Canada, but they’re still a good team and we had to be ready, and we were.”
Michael Sicher (2023 draft eligible) made 38 saves for Austria (0-0-0-2), which lost 11-0 to Sweden on Monday.
“We always say in the locker room you’ve got to focus on the positive things, but obviously if you lose games 11-0, 9-0 it’s hard to just focus on the good stuff,” Austria forward Vinzenz Rohrer (Montreal Canadiens) said. “For sure our third period is something we can hang on. … The emotions went up, the guys were blocking shots. So I think that’s one of the things that we got to keep up.”
Jakub Brabenec (Vegas Golden Knights) made it 1-0 at 3:50 of the first period with a power-play goal.
Kulich extended the lead to 2-0 at 16:26 when he scored from the right face-off circle after receiving a seam pass from the left point by Svozil.
Petr Hauser (New Jersey Devils) jammed in a loose puck in the crease to make it 3-0 at 18:39.
Szturc made it 4-0 at 1:05 of the second period, and Ales Cech (2023 draft eligible) pushed it to 5-0 at 2:56 with a point shot that squeezed between Sicher’s pads.
Kulich scored on a power play to make it 6-0 at 8:16. Szturc then made it 7-0 at 10:02 when he finished a give-and-go with Jaroslav Chmelar (New York Rangers).
Kulich completed the hat trick on a breakaway eight seconds into the third period to make it 8-0, and Spacek scored at 14:13 for the 9-0 final.
Czechia next plays Sweden on Thursday (1:30 p.m. ET), when Austria will play Canada (6:30 p.m. ET).
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
