Canada's U18's Advance to Gold Medal Game

BRECLAV, Czech Republic – Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team will play for the gold medal at the 2012 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament after defeating the Czech Republic 5-2 in Friday’s semifinal in Breclav. Canada will face Finland, who defeated Sweden 5-4 in overtime in the other semifinal, in the gold medal game on Saturday in Piestany, Slovakia (9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT).

On Friday, Canada got a goal and three assists from captain Sam Reinhart (West Vancouver, B.C./Kootenay, WHL), two goals from Bo Horvat (Rodney, Ont./London, OHL) and three assists from Nathan MacKinnon (Cole Harbour, N.S./Halifax, QMJHL) to beat the Czechs for the 14th time in 18 all-time summer under-18 meetings. Nic Petan (Delta, B.C./Portland, WHL) and Max Domi (Toronto, Ont./London, OHL) also scored for the Canadians.

Canada finished first in Group B in preliminary round play with a 3-0 record, including wins over Switzerland (4-1), Sweden (7-5) and Slovakia (3-2). Finland finished atop Group A with a 2-1 record. Saturday’s game will mark the fifth all-time summer under-18 meeting between Canada and Finland; Canada holds a 3-0-1 advantage in the first four match-ups.

Canada has won the summer under-18 tournament four consecutive years and seven of the last eight. Its roster is made up of 13 forwards, seven defencemen and two goaltenders, and features nine players from the Western Hockey League, seven from the Ontario Hockey League and six from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

There is no TV or radio coverage of the 2012 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament, but fans can follow all of the action with live updates at www.hockeycanada.ca. Hockey Canada’s official website is also the place to find game summaries, stories and other features.

GAME SUMMARY