HALIFAX – Canada has its ticket to the grand final of the World Junior Championships. And he can say a big thank you to his goalkeeper Thomas Milic.

In a classic game between two great rivals, the goaltender stood like a wall in front of a 45-shot barrage to help his team in a 6-2 win over the United States from a hysterical red tide at the Scotiabank Center in Halifax Wednesday.

“There are very few words that can describe his performance,” said striker Connor Bedard. It was wonderful. Without him, I don’t know if we’ll win this game. They had so many good chances. He was very solid. We have confidence in him and are glad to have him behind us. »

Robustness, spectacular saves, a small comeback, furious sequences, posts, unrecognized goals, tremendous talent and a final result that delights the spectators… Really, one could hardly wish for a better scenario for this semi-final .

Canada now have the opportunity to win their 20th gold medal in history on Thursday when they take on the Czech Republic, the only side to beat them in the competition – 5-2 in an opener. The Americans play against Sweden for the bronze medal.

“We’re really happy,” said Roy, the offensive star of the evening with two goals and two assists. There’s a little jitter, but it’s a good jitter. We remember how they reacted when they hit us. It almost looked like they had won the tournament. We remember and will arrive ready. »

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The Quebec forward had a productive night and also played inspired hockey in a penalty shoot-out. Linemates Bedard and Logan Stankoven each had a goal and an assist.

“It sure feels good,” added the Montreal Canadiens prospect. It was a good game and I have my line partners to thank. The three of us together, we play really well and caused a lot of offense again tonight. I think I’m doing my job very well in the backcourt, so in general I’m happy. »

Adam Fantilli, with his first of the competition, was the only player not to play on the first line and score in the opening 40 minutes. And it was a very important goal that gave the hosts a 3-2 lead after conceding the first two goals of the game in the first 10:30.

Nothing – nothing at all – indicated a Canadian triumph at the time. Faster, sharper, and more determined, the Americans seemed destined to make short work of their opponents. However, the wind quickly turned side after the first cold shower.

Fantilli ended his night by teaming up with Owen Beck to set the stage for Brandt Clarke’s goal that gave everyone a sigh of relief at 9:45 of the third. Roy then completed the goal in an empty net outnumbered.

Logan Cooley and Kenny Connors set the tone for the game, both making the disorganized and sleepy Canadian defense look bad. Jackson Blake and Rutger McGroarty also beat Milic, but their hits were annulled for goalie interference.

After the failures at the beginning of the game, the latter was probably the only way to slow it down. The porter was simply sensational – and the word is weak – in front of his cage. Without his brilliance, it’s hard to imagine how the crowd favorite could have won.

“I like receiving a lot of shots,” Milic commented. It keeps me busy and keeps me in the moment. Sure, it’s a bit more physically demanding, but it keeps me mentally engaged throughout the game. I’m very confident, just like our team. »

On the other end, Trey Augustine was very good but couldn’t make out as much as his counterpart. The 17-year-old goaltender held 31 pucks while the crowd laughed at his name for much of the game.

Another bad start

The Canadian side have been in the habit of starting games late since the beginning of the tournament and they made the same mistake again against the Americans. It was slightly more damaging than against second-rate nations.

The crowd’s favorite fired the first shot on goal after more than six minutes, the USA already had nine and took a 1-0 lead.

The consequences of this slow start were accentuated by the poor performance of the defensive brigade. Dennis Williams’ herd responded very poorly to American pressure, mostly panicking and making several costly reversals.

“We were really stressed before the game,” continued Nathan Gaucher. It was the semifinals in front of our fans. We’re in Canada and we want to win. We put that pressure on ourselves. We started the machine after that and it went really well. »

We don’t know what was said in the dressing room at the first break, but the solutions were obviously found. It took Stankoven and Fantilli just 5:46 to push Canada forward and finally get out of the blocks.