Score Early, Score Often

The last time that Team Canada and KalPa Kuopio met at a Spengler Cup was in 2018. KalPa scored a victory that day, and it was a pretty big win as they captured the Spengler Cup in a shootout in the final. KalPa was looking to repeat that performance today in the Spengler Cup quarterfinal game between these two despite going 0-2 in round-robin play. Canada, meanwhile, looked to erase that memory with a strong game as they entered the contest as the second-place team from the Cattini Group with a 1-1 record. The medal round began today in Davos, and these two teams were looking to take another step forward in adding another Spengler Cup to their histories!

Canada decided not to sit back in this game, and it resulted in a 2-0 lead after five minutes of play. Jonathan Ang scored on a great feed from Derek Grant on the powerplay just 3:48 into the game, and John Quenneville doubled the lead at 5:08 when he tipped a shot by Joey Laleggia past goaltender Juha Jatkola. That forced KalPa head coach Petri Karjalainen to take his timeout as he refocused his club before things slipped away on them. That seemed to work as KalPa played with a renewed confidence through the end of the period, but that 2-0 score would hold for the Canadians.

The second period saw both sides looking for chances, but the goaltenders at each end of the ice were ready to play in this frame. Despite KalPa's opportunities, Canada seemed to carry more of the play as the period progressed, and they'd be rewarded with a power-play late in the frame. That was a regrettable move for the Finnish side as Chris DiDomenico found the back of the net to put Canada up 3-0, and things looked bleak for KalPa as the period came to an end.

The same problem that plagued KalPa in the first period returned in the third period as Jonathan Hazen and Guillaume Asselin scored 28 seconds apart, and Canada had a 5-0 lead by the 2:04 mark of the final frame, prompting KalPa to swap netminders. Throwing caution to the wind, KalPa brought everything they could to try and cut into the deficit. Colby Sissons made it 5-1 with his goal at 6:09, and Jaakko Rissanen made it a 5-2 game when he beat Aaron Dell at 12:53. Canada would put Belfast Giants netminder Tyler Beskorowany between the pipes for the final 4:15, and he'd be beaten Kaspar Simontaival at 17:34 to make it 5-3. Canada would let the nation breathe a sigh of relief, though, as Chris DiDomenico potted an empty-netter with 42 seconds to play, and Canada downed KalPa Kuopio 6-3 to advance to Saturday's semifinal game.

In the other quarterfinal, the 0-2 Frölunda HC squad met the defending champions in 1-1 Ambri-Piotta, and this game may have been a bit of a surprise considering how well Ambri-Piotta played in the group stage and how Frölunda struggled to score goals. After a goalless first period, Frölunda got second period goals from Linus Oberg and Max Friberg to go up 2-0 before adding three more goals - Filip Hasa, Jere Innala, and Noah Dower Nilsson with markers - in the third period to oust Ambri-Piotta by a 5-0 score.

That sets up the early Saturday semifinal game with the hosts, HC Davos, meeting Frölunda HC in a rematch from the group stage. HC Davos downed Frölunda HC by a 4-1 score on December 27, so Frölunda HC may be seeking some revenge after that loss. Frölunda HC may have to find a way to slow down Davos' Dennis Rasmussen as he enters the semifinal game with two goals - both scored against Frölunda - and two assists in two games played thus far.

The late semifinal game on Saturday will see Canada meeting HC Dynamo Pardubice, and this game may resemble more of a North American-style game as Pardubice plays fast and physical. Pardubice has won both games by a single goal with one going to overtime, so they aren't afraid of playing tight games. Thomas Zohorna is the player Canada will need to key on as he has two goals and an assist in the two games Pardubice has played. The winner will move on to Sunday's final where they will meet the winner of the Frölunda-Davos game. Spengler organizers are likely hoping for a Canada-Davos final!

The games start early tomorrow, but I'll be up watching as I'm excited to see Canada potentially advance to another Spengler Cup Final, and my hope is that they'll get one more shot at Davos who rallied back from a two-goal deficit to beat Canada in the group stage. Revenge is best served in the medal round, I'm told, and winning another Spengler Cup on New Year's Eve will be a fun end to 2023!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!