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Canadian team captain Berkly Catton scored twice in a 5-0 blanking of Switzerland at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup on Wednesday. A Hockey Canada logo is shown on the jersey of a player with Canada’s National Junior Team during a training camp practice in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
By The Canadian Press

Canada advances to Hlinka Gretzky Cup final with 6-3 win over Finland

Aug 7, 2026 | 7:06 PM

EDMONTON — Canada scored twice early in the third period to snap a 2-2 deadlock and then held on to beat Finland 6-3 on Friday to advance to the championship final at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Canada will play the United States for gold on Saturday. The Americans beat Slovakia 5-2 in Friday’s other semifinal.

Finland dominated the play and shot clock in the first half of the opening period in Friday’s semifinal, with Olli Kylmala giving Finland an early lead with a power-play goal at 5:46.

But the Canadians settled down after that, and found their game at Rogers Place.

Benjamin Veitch scored twice, including once into an empty net, while Malik L’Italien, Landon DuPont, Jaakko Wycisk and Kayden Stroeder (empty net) added singles for Canada. Wycisk added three assists, while Veitch added pair of helpers.

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Kylmala scored twice for Finland, while Max Poikela added a single.

Canada outshot the Finns 34-25. Leif Oaten stopped 22 of 25 shots for Canada and had to be sharp early when Finland applied all kinds of pressure. Samuel Heikkinen stopped 29 of 33 shots for Finland.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

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