IIHF World Championship Day 3 recap: a quiet day for Flames payers

Only a couple of Calgary Flames players hit the ice on Day 3 of the IIHF World Championship.

Slovakia vs. Slovenia

The day began with Slovakia and Slovenia each playing their second games of the tournament. Slovakia opened the scoring midway through the first period with two goals just 1:06 apart. That would prove more than enough, as both teams added one more goal each, resulting in a 3-1 victory for Slovakia.

Flames prospect Samuel Honzek turned in a performance similar to his first game. He recorded three shots on goal but didn’t factor into the scoring and overall looked just okay. His line, alongside Dalibor Dvorsky and Martin Chromiak, continues to be the least-used trio on the team.

Next games

• Slovakia: May 12 vs. Latvia
• Slovenia: May 13 vs. Latvia

Canada vs. Latvia

Canada’s offence broke out for seven goals against Latvia, powered by Travis Konecny, Kent Johnson and Sidney Crosby, winning 7-1.

It wasn’t the best start for Canada, as Latvian forward Eduards Tralmaks slipped a wrist shot past Marc-André Fleury to open the scoring. But Canada responded quickly, with Konecny tipping in his first of two goals. Nathan MacKinnon added another a minute later, and the floodgates opened.

Fleury settled in after the early goal and looked like his vintage self, making several spectacular stops and turning aside 16 of the 17 shots he faced.

For Flames defenceman MacKenzie Weegar, it was a solid game. He didn’t appear on the scoresheet but finished with a plus rating — as did most of the Canadian lineup. He also stayed out of the penalty box, though there were a total of 12 minor penalties assessed in the game.

Calgary native Ryker Evans has served as Canada’s seventh defenceman in both games so far, averaging around a dozen shifts per outing. While it’s great to see a Calgarian on the ice for Canada, from a Flames perspective, it would’ve been nice to see Zayne Parekh get a look in that role. Yes, he’s young and has only one NHL game to his name, but it would have been exciting to see what he could do with some ice time.

Next games

• Canada: May 13 vs. France
• Latvia: May 12 vs. Slovakia

Czechia vs. Norway

Though Czechia has two Flames players on its roster, neither has suited up so far. Dan Vladar once again served as backup to Karel Vejmelka. With Czechia playing back-to-back games, there’s a strong chance Vladar could get the start against tomorrow against Denmark.

Adam Klapka remains in a non-roster spot, though there’s still potential for him to be added to the main lineup.

Czechia and Norway played a tight game. After a scoreless opening frame, Czechia broke through early in the second. Norway equalized shortly after, but David Pastrnak netted the eventual game-winner.

Norway pressed hard in the third period, out-shooting Czechia 12–7, but Vejmelka stood tall to secure the 2-1 win — Czechia’s second of the tournament.

Next games

• Czechia: May 12 vs. Denmark
• Norway: May 13 vs. Germany

Around the tournament

As expected, the United States rolled past Hungary 6-0. Frank Nazar and Cutter Gauthier each scored twice. Despite the lopsided score, Hungarian goaltender Adam Vay was stellar, making 33 saves on 39 shots — including 18 in the second period alone.

The U.S. returns to action May 12 against Switzerland, while Hungary has the day off before facing Kazakhstan on May 13.

Germany also remained undefeated, defeating Kazakhstan 4-1. Kazakhstan opened the scoring but couldn’t any further goals. German NHLers Moritz Seider and Lukas Reichel each registered a point in the win.

Germany will face Norway next, while Kazakhstan looks to bounce back against Hungary.

To close out the day, Finland staged the comeback of the tournament so far, edging France in overtime. Down 3-1 with just 2:30 remaining in the third period, Seattle Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen scored twice to force extra time — just the second game of the tournament to go to OT.

It didn’t take long to settle the result, as Juuso Parssinen scored 90 seconds into the extra frame to complete the comeback and seal the 4-3 win for Finland and avoid the upset.

Finland will look to build of this big win as they meet with their rival Sweden tomorrow while France will now run into a difficult Canadian team.

Day 4 schedule

(All times are MT.)

• 8:20 a.m. – Austria vs. Slovakia
• 8:20 a.m. – United States vs. Switzerland
• 12:20 p.m. – Finland vs. Sweden
• 12:20 p.m. – Czechia vs. Denmark

Tune in as Mikael Backlund and Rasmus Andersson take the ice once again as Sweden looks to stay perfect.