Zayne Parekh had a goal and an assist to set a new record for points by a Canadian defenceman at a world junior hockey championship as the country salvaged a bronze medal with a 6-3 victory over Finland on Monday.
Canada ended up in the bronze medal match following a crushing 6-4 semifinal loss to Czechia on Sunday — the third-straight year Czechia has eliminated Canada.
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Canada, which has won a record 20 gold medals after last topping the field at the 2023 event in Halifax, claimed bronze for just the sixth time. The powerhouse hadn’t played in the third-place game since 2014 and last won it in 2012.
Canada’s first meeting with Finland at the tournament ended with the Canadians winning 7-4, and Monday’s game was marked by a rush of early goals.
Just 70 seconds into the game, Sam O’Reilly scored, with Michael Hage and Gavin McKenna picking up assists, before Finland’s Arttu Valila tied it up on the team’s first shot of the game.
Braeden Cootes gave Canada the lead again, before a holding penalty by Parekh gave Finland a power play, ending in Julius Miettinen evening the score.
Parekh then scored his fifth goal of the tournament, ending first period with a Canadian lead of 3-2.
In the second period, Porter Martone took the tournament lead with his sixth goal. Parekh added an assist to give him 13 career points, the most by a Canadian defenceman at the world juniors.
Parekh, who’s played 11 times for the NHL’s Calgary Flames this season, finished with 13 points in six contests. Bryan McCabe (1995) and Alex Pietrangelo (2008) previously held the record for points by a Canadian blueliner at a men’s under-20 tournament with 12.
A slashing penalty and Canadian power play saw O’Reilly get his second goal of the game on a deflection before Finland’s Heikki Ruohonen beat goalie Carter George to get Finland’s third goal. The period ended with a score of 5-3.
In the third period, Canada had a chance on a Finland power play but a shorthanded breakaway but Jett Luchanko was stopped by the glove of Finnish goalie Petteri Rimpinen.
McKenna then scored for Canada, with Hage earning the assist, to make it 6-3 on the scoreboard until the end of the game.
Canada will host the 2027 tournament in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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