FRIBOURG — Already assured of top spot in their pool, Canada finished off the preliminary round at the world men’s hockey championship with a 3-2 win over Czechia on Tuesday.

Canada’s reward for finishing as top seed in Pool B? Another knockout game against the archrival United States.

The defending champion Americans squeaked into the playoffs after finishing fourth in Pool A with a 4-1 win over Austria.

That set up a rematch of the gold-medal game from this year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics, which the U.S. won 2-1 in overtime. The teams also met in the final of the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, with Canada winning 3-2 in overtime.

“We will enjoy this win and get right back at it tomorrow, but it is a massive opportunity for our guys against the Americans (in the quarterfinals),” Canada head coach Misha Donskov said. “We know what is on the line, and what happened recently at the Olympics. Everyone in our room remembers what happened there, and we have a lot of pride in our game as Canadians, so we will be ready.”

Decorated centre Sidney Crosby assisted on two goals from young captain Macklin Celebrini as the favourites battled back from a 2-0 deficit.

John Tavares scored the winner midway through the third period.

“To go down two (goals) against a really good team like (Czechia) and find our way back says a lot about our group,” Celebrini said. “It is pretty impressive how we have found ways to win, but at the same time we need to get out to better starts.

“If you watched my goals, you can see that I did not really do anything. I just had my stick in the right place and (Crosby) found me, and it is awesome the way we are moving the puck in the offensive zone and making plays. It is a lot of fun to play with him.”

Marek Alscher and Dominik Kubalik scored for Czechia.

Jet Greaves made 19 saves for Canada, while Dominik Pavlat stopped 22 shots for Czechia.

The quarterfinals are scheduled for Thursday. Sweden versus Switzerland, Finland versus Czechia and Latvia versus Norway are the other matchups. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2026.