Connor Bedard Highlight Reel Goal Propels Canada To Semis

It was quarterfinal day at the 2023 World Junior Championships. What a day it was capped off by an exciting game between Slovakia and Canada. The projected number one overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft Connor Bedard wowed the fans with an unbelievable overtime goal to send Canada to the semifinals to play their rivals Team USA on Wednesday.

It was a thrilling day bookended by two fantastic games. The two middle games were blowouts as expected. But the Scandinavian Rivals (Sweden/Finland) and as previously mentioned Canada vs Slovakia did not disappoint. Let’s take a look at what happened on quarterfinal day as we are down to the final four at the 2023 World Junior Championships.

2023 World Junior Championship Quarterfinal Recap

Canada vs Slovakia – Connor Bedard What Can You Say But Oh My!

What can you say about Connor Bedard? Nobody was going to stop him in overtime. Bedard wanted the puck on his stick. After breaking Eric Lindros‘s record for most points and Jordan Eberle‘s goal record earlier in the night, Bedard went around three Slovakian players in overtime and got his Eberle moment sending the Canadian crowd into a frenzy.

CONNOR BEDARD SENDS CANADA TO THE SEMIS! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/4s06UDY6oX

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 3, 2023

When they talk about generational talent Bedard is it. 32 points and 16 goals now at the World Junior tournament. Most points by a 17-year-old player at the tournament and leads the tournament with 21 points. What he is doing is unreal. It was an excellent game to bookend the night. It was all about Bedard for Canada, who blew a 3-1 lead.

However, it was the goaltending of Thomas Milic and Adam Gajan that was the story. Gajan came out of nowhere. Didn’t even start for Team Slovakia in their first game and had the Slovaks a goal away from the semis. He played outstanding. So did the entire Slovakia team. Milic came up with big saves in overtime. But in the end, Bedard was just too much.

Team USA vs Germany

Team USA used their strong start to power past Germany. Logan Cooley produced a hat trick while Red Savage and Cutter Gauthier each pocketed two goals. The Americans knew they had one job to do and that was to start fast and play smart with the puck. Goaltender Trey Augustine stopped all 14 shots he faced. Augustine only played two periods and got a rest in the third period. Ryan Ufko had five primary assists while Luke Middlestadt recorded a three-assist night. Team USA was not sure what German team they were going to get, but they did not take them lightly en route to an 11-1 victory.

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Czechia vs Switzerland

This game was never in doubt for Czechia. It looked like Switzerland might pull the upset early scoring 22 seconds into the first period. However, from there it was all Czechia. The Czechs scored nine unanswered goals showing why they are a legit threat to win the gold medal this year. Czechia got two goals each from Marcel Marcel and Gabriel Szturc. Columbus Blue Jackets prospect David Jiricek continued his stellar tournament potting another multi-point game. Now Czechia faces the team the only team to beat them in preliminary play in the semifinals.

Sweden vs Finland

Leo Carlsson saved his best game for when the games mattered the most. Carlsson picked up his first two goals of the tournament as Sweden rallied with two third-period goals to defeat their Scandinavian rival Finland. This game was highly entertaining coming down to the final minute. With Finland on the power play, the puck was rung around the boards. It skipped over the Finnish defenceman’s stick and Victor Stjernborg was off to the races. Stjernborg scored the game-winning goal short-handed. Sweden will now face the top seeds in Czechia.

Semifinals at the 2023 World Juniors happen Wednesday with Czechia vs Sweden first followed by Team USA vs Canada.