The Canadian team approached the semi-final match against the Swiss team as a favorite. The Canadians made it into the playoffs from first place, winning all their group stage matches, and confidently defeated Slovakia (6:3) in the first round of knockout games.

In addition, the Maple Leaves have already defeated Switzerland at this World Cup. True, there was a nuance – Andre Tourigny’s team beat the Europeans in the group thanks to Kevin Fiala’s big fine for a knee strike. Before this episode, Switzerland dominated the court.

And in the semifinals, the European team did everything to take revenge on the North American team for their disappointing defeat. And Fiala was the most active player in the Swiss lineup.

A disastrous start has cost Canada dearly

Immediately after the opening face-off, the impression was that the Canadians did not consider Switzerland as a worthy opponent. For the North Americans, such a dismissive attitude became a fatal mistake: Tourigny’s team was not ready for the onslaught of the Europeans and completely failed the beginning of the meeting.

The Maple Leaves received two deletions in a row, one of which was converted by Switzerland. In the 16th minute, Romain Loeffel made a cross pass for a throw, and Kevin Fiala sent a powerful flick into the top corner of the goal.

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The Canadians did not wake up even after Fiala’s puck. Just a few shifts later, the Swiss again gained the majority and an excellent opportunity to increase their lead in the score. This time, the special team of Patrick Fischer’s team spent only 19 seconds to realize their numerical advantage.

At the same time, Switzerland acted according to the notes from the previous extra play: Roman Yosi, after a pass from Fiala, charged from the blue line, and Nino Niederreiter successfully played on the rebound – 2:0.

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At this World Championship, Swiss hockey players have never lost a match if they won in the first period. It seemed that the Europeans would continue this tradition when, at the start of the second period, the Canadians received another penalty. However, this time Switzerland failed to realize its numerical advantage. The Canadians, having survived in the minority, seized the initiative and began to threaten Leonardo Genoni’s goal more often.

As a result, Switzerland received two deletions in a row, one of which ended in a missed goal for the European team. In the 35th minute, Brandon Tanev won the fight on the penny and pushed the puck into the goal with meat – 1:2.

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Switzerland had to hold out for 20 minutes to create the main sensation of the World Cup in the Czech Republic. But the Canadians were not going to just give their opponent a ticket to the final. The North American hockey players noticeably increased their momentum and in the 58th minute, Canadian captain John Tavares equalized the score with a pass from Connor Bedard.

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The game went into overtime. At the same time, the Canadians were already in a similar situation when, in a group stage match, they conceded five goals from Austria in the third period, and then won in extra time. North American hockey players were preparing to be crowned the drama kings of the 2024 World Championship, but received a stupid removal for violating the number of players. However, Switzerland was unable to convert the majority in the 4v3 format.

Already in equal strengths, the Canadians had the initiative and were close to a goal, but Genoni stood on his head and helped his compatriots reach the series of post-match shots, where Switzerland turned out to be stronger, sensationally winning.

Fischer’s team will now face the Czech Republic in the final, and Canada will play Sweden in the bronze medal match.