Ruck leads Canada past Czechia 5-0 in preliminary-round game at Hlinka Gretzky Cup

Liam Ruck scored twice as Canada skated to a 5-0 win over Czechia on Wednesday in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Ruck’s second goal came in the midst of a four-goal outburst in the final nine minutes of play for Canada (3-0).

“We are playing great countries at this tournament, and obviously we would like to have some (goals) a little earlier in games, but we are expecting to play a similar type of game in the semifinals and medal game,” said head coach Mathieu Turcotte.

“We know those are going to be tight games and we will need to stick to our structure and stay patient, and find a way to close out games when it counts the most.”

Beckham Edwards, Daxon Rudolph and Alessandro Di Iorio also found the back of net.

Gavin Betts made 23 saves for the shutout victory.

Frantisek Poletin stopped 30 shots in net for the host Czechs (1-2).

It was the final game of the preliminary round for both teams in the under-18 men’s hockey tournament.

Canada will face the United States when the playoffs begin on Friday.

“(The United States) is always a great team at any level, and they play fast,” Ruck said. “We need to be ready to match that in the semifinals, and we have a good, deep team so we are ready for the challenge.”

Earlier Wednesday, Switzerland beat Finland 4-3 in overtime, the United States routed Germany 8-1, and Sweden shut out Slovakia 7-0.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2025.