Kevin Clark (Winnipeg, Man./SC Rapperswil-Jona, NLA) scored two more goals and added an assist, Zach Fucale (Rosemère, Que./Orlando, ECHL) posted a 19-save shutout and Canada’s National Men’s Team moved into the championship game at the Spengler Cup for the fifth year in a row with a 6-0 semifinal win over TPS Turku on Monday.
One win away from their 16th tournament title, the Canadians will face either HC Ocelari Trinec or HC Ambri-Piotta in the final on Tuesday (6 a.m. ET/3 a.m. PT).
Paul Postma (Red Deer, Alta./HC Lugano, NLA), Chris DiDomenico (Woodbridge, Ont./SCL Tigers, NLA) and Éric Faille (Lachine, Que./EHC Kloten, NLB) chipped in a goal and an assist apiece for the Canadians, who took the lead within the first five minutes and never looked back.
Clark continued his goal-scoring spree early, gathering in a Dustin Jeffrey (Sarnia, Ont./Lausanne HC, NLA) rebound at the side of the net and beating Turku goaltender Rasmus Tirronen for a power-play goal at 4:40.
Postma added a second Canadian goal before the end of the opening frame, blasting home a slap shot from the point.
Canada carried the play in the second period, outshooting the Finnish side 15-9, and DiDomenico went top shelf on the short side for another power-play goal and a 3-0 lead at 13:33.
Fucale made the best of his 19 saves in the second, stretching back to deny Hannu Kuru after a turnover behind the Canadian net.
The floodgates opened in the third period; Faille was first at 2:53, tapping in a pretty feed from DiDomenico, who looked like he was going to circle the net before slipping a pass in front for Faille.
Kris Versteeg (Lethbridge, Alta./HK Nitra, SVK) made it 5-0 at 4:47 off a pass from Clark, and Clark redirected in a set-up from Jeffrey with 2:32 left to provide the final margin of victory for the Canadians.
Clark leads the tournament with six goals and seven points in three games, three points more than any other player.
Quotes:
“Tonight was another great stepping stone for our team as we work towards winning another Spengler Cup championship. I thought all four lines played hard, played together and played with a purpose. We are excited to move on to the final, which we know will be another great game against a strong opponent.
“We appreciate all of the support we have received from Canadians watching here in Davos as well as back home, and we look forward to making them proud on Tuesday with another solid performance.”
- Head coach Craig MacTavish (London, Ont.) on today’s semifinal win and Canadian support
“Turku came out hard and challenged us early in the game, but after we scored the first goal I thought our team settled in and started to gain some momentum. Zach [Fucale] was great in net and was a very calming presence for our group. We are excited to carry this momentum into tomorrow’s Spengler Cup final, and work to produce a different end result than last year.”
- Captain Maxime Noreau (Montréal, Que./ZSC Lions, NLA) discusses today’s win and looks ahead to tomorrow’s championship
