Canada grinds out a win over Swiss, advance to semis

It would have been the biggest upset of the tournament to date had Switzerland beaten Canada in the quarterfinal round in Malmö. In the end it didn't happen, but the Swiss didn't go away. 

"We knew they're a system team and well disciplined," said defenceman Griffin Reinhart, who recorded 2 points in his second game of the tournament. "We couldn't get frustrated out there."

In a tight-checking, defensive affair, Canada scored a goal in each of the first two periods, but then conceded one in the final second of the middle frame to make for a nervous second intermission among the sea of Canadian fans. Two third period goals gave them some breathing room. 

In a first period where the shots were only 6-4 Canada, they opened the scoring late when Scott Laughton drove to the net with the puck, and Griffin Reinhart put it in from the ensuing scramble.

Canada tried to extend their lead in the second period, but goaltender Melvin Nyffeler came up big a few times, with his best effort not even an official save, but a poke-check on Sam Reinhart.

A minute later, though Anthony Mantha was sprung in all alone and tripped from behind, resulting in a penalty shot to the last person in the Canadian lineup that the Swiss would have chosen.

"I tried to figure out in my head what I was going to do," Mantha said about his approach to the shot. "Then the goalie moved his pad first and I knew that I could deke him."

But if the Canadians felt comfortable about their two-goal cushion, that changed at the end of the period. The Swiss got control from a faceoff in the Canadian zone and Mirco Muller's shot was deflected by Nico Dunner's elevated stick and into the net with exactly one second showing on the clock. After a video review, it was determined that Dunner's stick was below the height of the crossbar, so the teams went to their dressing rooms again separated by only a goal.

Cue Griffin Reinhart and Curtis Lazar.

With the teams playing four-on-four with just over four minutes gone in the third period, Reinhart led a rush from the back end and tried to beat Nyffeler five-hole. The Swiss keeper appeared to have the puck covered, but Lazar dug his stick into his pads and knocked the puck free, then circled the net and put it before the goalie could get across. 

Nyfeller was furious and protested to the referee that he had it covered.

"I don't know, maybe he had a case, but I'll take it," Lazar said with a smirk on his face, after once again providing his team with a huge third-period goal. "Growing up, your coaches all tell you to play hard to the whistle. I didn't hear a whistle so I banged the puck free and I managed to put it in."

The Swiss tried to get back into it, outshooting Canada 9-5 in the third period, but were unable to beat Zachary Fucale, who is now the darling of the Canadian fans, earning constant chants of "Fu-ca-le! Fu-ca-le!" after almost every save. 

If any doubt about the outcome remained, Derrick Pouliot removed it when he fired a perfect shot inside the post with 6:11 on the clock.

The loss ends the tournament for Switzerland, while Canada advances to play Finland in the semifinals on Saturday. 

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