NEWSLETTER
The quarterfinals of the World Championships got rolling on Thursday morning with a few Blackhawks in action — and one noticeably scratched. Here are a few updates.
Canada Beats Slovakia 6-3
Connor Bedard was listed as the 13th forward on Canada’s line sheet before their quarterfinal game against Slovakia, but started the game. He took four shifts in the first period and was plus-one as Canada took a 2-1 lead to the room.
Bedard picked up a gorgeous assist (see below) on a Nick Paul goal, Canada’s third, early in the second period. He was buzzing, physically engaged and playing with the speed and creativity we’ve come to appreciate as Blackhawks fans. He was up to over seven minutes of ice time thru two periods and was plus-two.
Connor Bedard’s assist for 🇨🇦#Blackhawks
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) May 23, 2024
pic.twitter.com/ApfLDVRsvV
Late in the third period, Bedard played thru some heavy contact to set up a good scoring attempt and then got whacked a few times after the whistle. Soon after that, he got called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that gave Slovakia a two-man advantage, which they scored on to cut the lead to 5-3. Canada added an empty net goal late. Bedard put three shots on net with his assist in 12:00 of ice time in the 6-3 victory.
Switzerland Beats Germany 3-1
Philipp Kurashev was a scratch for the Swiss.
Lukas Reichel was listed at LW1 for Germany. He took seven shifts and was even in a first period that saw the Swiss take a 2-0 lead. Reichel doubled his shifts and ice time (10:35) thru two periods and was even but still hadn’t registered a shot on goal. Reichel ended his tournament skating 19:32 with a minus-one in the loss.
Czechia Beats USA 1-0
Petr Mrazek did not start in goal for Czechia.
Neither of the Blackhawks’ defensemen — Seth Jones and Alex Vlasic — were on the ice for the only goal in the game, which was scored by Pavel Zacha. Jones skated 22:13 with one shot on net. Vlasic skated 12:58 without a shot.
With the United States and Germany going home, the Blackhawks will only have Bedard, Kurashev and Mrazek in the semifinals. Mrazek hasn’t been starting and Kurashev was a scratch, however.
