Norway drew first blood against the Canadian superstars at the Ice Hockey World Championships in Belarus on Tuesday, but eventually went down in a close 3-2 battle. The win meant Canada advanced to the quarterfinals, but for Norway it was the last match of the competition.
After an unexpectedly strong start to the championship Norway was knocked out of finals contention last week, so it was simply pride on the line going into the fray with Canada. They started strong, with captain Anders Bastiansen slipping the puck past the Canadian keeper 14 minutes in, reported Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). Canada’s first goal was contentiously disallowed, before they equalized 1-1 at the start of the second period.
A masterful pass by Mathis Olimb helped Mads Hansen score Norway’s second goal. “I just decided to shoot, and it set the angle,” Hansen told NRK.
Canada scored the next two to take the lead for the first time in the game. Despite having a six versus four man “power play” in the dying minutes, Norway couldn’t capitalize on a number of chances against the in-form Canadian keeper. Canada will face either Finland or Latvia in the quarterfinals.
newsinenglish.no staff
