U.S. earns QF spot at Worlds, Canada beats Sweden again

Minsk, Belarus (SportsNetwork.com) – The United States earned a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Hockey Championship on Sunday with a victory over Finland and Canada again topped Sweden in a rematch of the Olympic gold medal game.

Tyler Johnson scored a pair of third-period goals and Tim Thomas made 22 saves for the Americans in a 3-1 victory. Brock Nelson also scored and Seth Jones notched a pair of assists in the triumph, the second straight for the U.S.

The United States sits second in Group B and can finish no lower than fourth with just a game against Germany on Tuesday remaining in round-robin action.

Canada, meanwhile, took over the top spot in Group A with its 3-2 overtime win against Sweden. Both squads have 15 points, but the Canadians currently hold the tiebreaker.

Brayden Schenn and Kevin Bieksa scored second-period goals to help Canada erase a 2-0 deficit and Ryan Ellis netted the winner in overtime. Ben Scrivens made 30 saves for the Canadians, who will finish round-robin play Tuesday against Norway.

Russia will play Germany and Norway will face the Czech Republic later Sunday.

Categorized in: NHL