2022 IIHF World Hockey Championship Bronze and Gold Medal preview

Sunday will mark the conclusion of the 2022 IIHF World Hockey Championship with the Bronze and Gold Medal games from Tampere (Finland).

The Bronze Medal Game will kick-off the action on Sunday at 8:20 a.m. ET where Czechia will take on the United States. Czechia is coming off of a 6-1 loss at the hands of Canada in the Semi-Finals on Saturday.

Czechia started the tournament with a win over Great Britain, following by a loss against Sweden and a shootout loss to Austria. Then came the addition of Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak, who made an immediate impact and went on to form the tournament's most lethal line alongside his former teammate David Krejci and captain Roman Cervenka.

The Czechs would go on to finish third in Group B with a record of 4-0-1-2 in seven preliminary round games. That would set up a Quarter-Final date with the second place team in Group A, Germany. Czechia would defeat the Germans by a score of 4-1.

As for the United States, Czechia's opponent in the Bronze Medal Game, they finished fourth in Group B with a record of 3-2-0-2 and went on to face the only undefeated team in the tournament, Switzerland, in the Quarter-Final and won 3-0. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman stood tall, making 33 saves for the shutout. They then faced the hosts, Finland, in the Semi-Finals, but ultimately came up short, losing 4-3.

Leading the way offensively for the United States is Adam Gaudette and Ben Meyers with seven points each, closely followed by Harvard University forward and Montreal Canadiens prospect, Sean Farrell, who has six points.

The United States will need to find a way to shut down the Pasternak-Krejci-Cervenka line, much like they did during their 1-0 loss to the Czechs in the preliminary round.

Czechia will look to win their first medal at the World Championship for the first time since 2012, while the United States is aiming to win their second straight bronze medal.

My prediction: Czechia wins 4-1.

For a third consecutive year, Canada will face off against Finland in the Gold Medal at the World Hockey Championship. Finland won gold in 2019, while Canada won the rematch last year in Riga (Latvia).

Finland is led by goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, who has been nothing short of spectacular in the tournament. In seven game, Olkinuora has a record of 7-0-0-0 with a 0.86 GAA, a .961 save percentage and four shutouts. defenceman Mikko Lehtonen leads the team in points with ten, while forward Sakari Manninen has nine, Mikael Granlund has eight and Joel Armia has seven.

The Finns placed first in Group B following the preliminary round with a record of 6-0-1-0 through seven games, with their only loss coming at the hands of their Nordic rival, Sweden, in a shootout. In the Quarter-Final, Finland took on Juraj Slafkovsky, Simon Nemec and Slovakia. Despite going down 2-0 just over fifteen minutes in, Finland stormed back and scored four straight goals to advance to the Semi-Finals, where they faced the United States.

Canada will look to win back-to-back gold medals for the first time since 2015 and 2016. Coming into Sunday's game, Canada will look to build off an offensive outburst against the Czechs, where they scored six goals from five different players. The scoring has been fairly balanced within the Canadian roster, as only three of the 21 skaters have yet to record a goal. Pierre-Luc Dubois and Drake Batherson both lead the team in points with thirteen, while Dylan Cozens sits at twelve.

In goal, Canada will turn to Chris Driedger once again. Logan Thompson was the starter for the majority of the preliminary round, but has sustained an undisclosed injury and there has yet to be an update on his status since his last appearance on May 21st against Switzerland. Driedger made 25 saves on 26 shots during Saturday's win and was named Player of the Game for Canada.

Puck drop for Sunday's Gold Medal Game is set for 1:20 p.m. ET on TSN.

My prediction: Canada wins 4-3 in overtime.

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