Canada to face defending champion Finland in world junior semifinal

By Canadian Press

Published: January 2, 2020 at 5:13 PM

Canada will have to wait until later today before their semifinal opponent is announced

Canada's quest for gold remains on track at the world junior hockey championship.

Alexis Lafreniere scored and added an assist in his return from injury as part of a resounding 6-1 victory over Slovakia in the quarterfinals.

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Barrett Hayton added two goals and an assist for the Canadians, Connor McMichael, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Liam Foudy also scored, and Joel Hofer picked up his third straight win.

Lafreniere was back in the lineup after missing the last two games with a knee injury suffered in a humiliating 6-0 setback to Russia last Saturday, Canada's worst defeat in the under-20 tournament's 44-year history.

Canada will face defending champion Finland in the semifinals.

The Finns defeated the Canadians 2-1 in overtime at Vancouver's Rogers Arena in the quarterfinals of last year's tournament.