Team Canada reaches the final of Ivan Hlinka Memorial Trophy as Sam Reinhart shines
Canadian junior team, which had reached the Semi-finals stage of the tournament with perfect record of three wins out of three matches, has now reached the finals of the tournament and just one win away from retaining the trophy that they have been winning
for last five years.
Canada’s captain, Sam Reinhart, who is brother of Max Reinhart, another professional ice hockey player, showed his talent and what he is capable of, by guiding his team perfectly and leading from the front.
The 17-year-old player, which plays in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for Kootenay Ice as a Centre, scored a goal and three assists and played the main role in his team’s 5-2 win against the Czech Republic side that was coming after finishing second in
the group A.
Canada had topped the group B after wins against Sweden, Switzerland and Slovakia and they will face Finland in the finals, which had a close win against Sweden in the other semi-finals.
Team Canada’s head coach, Todd Gill was very happy at the performance of his team, especially his captain as he praised the forward, who was top scorer in his team’s win. Gill hailed his leadership abilities, his presentation and his approach as he said,
"He's been our ultimate leader. He just knows how to present himself. He's on the point on our power play, he kills penalties, he's scored some big goals five-on-five. And he's a leader in the dressing room. He's well respected."
Gill, who coaches Kingston Frontenacs in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) talked about the chippy game that they played, something that Canadian specialise in and love to do. He also told about his instructions to his players as he added,
"We like chippy. We're Canadians, we want to play a chippy game if the refs allow it, but over here you never know. I told my guys to finish checks, keep sticks down ... and we stayed out of the box for the most part."
If they are able to win finals by beating Finland, it will be Canadian straight sixth title at this tournament. Meanwhile, on the other side, Bronze medal game will be played between Sweden and Czech Republic.
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