Jeff Truitt has led Team Canada into the medal round at the U18s. (submitted photo)

By Rob Mahon

Truitt At Worlds

Truitt coaches Canada to quarters at World U18 Hockey Championship

Apr 25, 2023 | 1:52 PM

Last season, team Canada missed the podium at one of the last major international tournaments of the scouting season. Now they’ll have their shot at redemption.

After a rocky start to the tournament, team Canada, under the leadership of Prince Albert Raiders’ head coach Jeff Truitt, is off to the medal round at the World Under-18 Hockey Championships in Switzerland.

Canada secured not only a spot in the quarterfinal but second place in their group with an 8-3 victory over Czechia today. The win puts Canada as the higher seed for the medal round, in which they will play Switzerland, the third-place team in the other pool.

The team has come a long way since their opener, an 8-0 loss at the hands of Sweden, the eventual winners of the pool. They rebounded with an 8-0 win of their own over Germany the next day, held on for a 4-3 win over Slovakia (crucially, in regulation), and then inflicted the beating on Czechia to close out their schedule.

Colby Barlow opened the scoring for Canada late in the first period, set up by Regina Pats forward and Prince Albert native Tanner Howe. It was Howe’s first point of the tournament. He is a returning player from last year’s U18 squad.

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From there, forward Matthew Wood took over, scoring the next three goals for Canada, including what would prove to be the game winner for his hat trick. Though Czechia got back within two, Vancouver Giants forward Ty Halaburda restored Canada’s three-goal lead before the second period was out.

At last year’s U18 Worlds, Canada reached the quarterfinal but fell 6-5 in overtime to Finland. The year prior, Canada went undefeated en route to a gold medal with a team that featured then-Raiders defenceman Nolan Allan.

The quarter final games will take place on Thursday, April 27. The times for each teams games have yet to be determined.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP