Scott Ratzlaff earned his second shutout of the tournament as Canada blanks Sweden 3-0 to secure the top spot in pool A at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
RED DEER, Alta. – Scott Ratzlaff secured his second shutout of the tournament on 18 shots in Canada’s 3-0 win over Sweden to secure the top spot in pool A and move on to the semifinals against Finland at 5 p.m. MT on Friday.
Calum Ritchie opened the scoring just over three minutes in the first, putting away the loose puck for his second of the tournament. Canada outshot Sweden 17-6 through 20 minutes of play, 40-18 overall.
Zach Benson tallied at the midway point of the game to give the home team a 2-0 lead at 10:55 in the second period. Brayden Yager buried his fourth of the tournament short side on the lone Canadian power play for the final score of the game.
From there, Canada’s defence took over as the P.K. unit managed to hold the Swedish power play to 0 for 4. Ratzlaff closed the door on the Swedes, posting 18 saves in the game. The product of Irma, AB has not surrendered a goal in his two starts in 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Yager and Ritchie both finished with a goal and an assist each in the game for a tournament-leading eight points through three games so far.
The win secured Canada the top spot in its pool after a perfect preliminary round. Canada will face Finland in the first semifinal on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. MT from the Peavey Mart Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta.
