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Canada will face Finland, while the United States will take on hosts Czechia at the IIHF World Champion semi-finals. Here's a quick look at the match ups.
Canada versus Finland
Canada cruised by Finland with an easy 5-0 decision in round robin play. The play however, was at times closer than the score as Finland managed 24 shots against Canada. It was an above average mark for Canada, showing the Finns had some success getting pucks to the net. They'll need more if they hope to knock off Canada, and in particular, they'll need a standout performance in net from Sanni Ahola.
“I thought Finland was good in the game they played us, but I expect a much better team," said Canadian head coach Troy Ryan. "The one thing you can expect is that historically they’ve always improved in an event, and they find ways to be dangerous. It’s definitely a team we’ve never taken for granted in my time, they’ve given us headaches on a number of occasions and they’re not to be taken for granted. We have to make sure we’re having a good game to be successful against them."
Canada's top line of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, and Jennifer Gardiner has been spectacular, and they're getting contributions from Daryl Watts on their second line, but Canada needs more from the rest of their lineup when it comes time to play for a medal, and getting that going in the semi-finals is a good start. It will be interesting to see if Canada goes with Ann-Renee Desbiens or Kristen Campbell in the semi-finals. It will likely be a sign of who will have Canada's crease when there's a medal on the line.
USA versus Czechia
USA probably doesn't want to face Czechia after their offensive outburst against Switzerland. USA beat Czechia 4-0 in the round robin, but it was not Czechia's best performance to date.
USA will hone in on Kristyna Kaltounkova who is leading Czechia in scoring in her first tournament as a member of the Czech national team. Czechia's also getting contributions from Natalie Mlynkova, Tereza Vanisova, and Katerina Mrazova.
As for Czechia, they'll need to avoid being drawn in by players like Abbey Murphy who will look to get under their skin. Czechia is the most penalized team in the tournament. Similarly, USA will want to avoid the box as Czechia's power play is operating at 38.46% and has scored five goals, more than any other team in the tournament, including USA or Canada.
This is USA's game to win, or lose. Czechia had perhaps their worst game of the tournament against USA in the round robin, but they've been trendy upward ever since.
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