After finishing first in Group B, Team Canada will battle for a spot in the gold medal game on Friday at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Canada will face the United States at 11 a.m. mountain time in Trencin, Slovakia but at the same time, Finland will take on Czechia in Breclav, Czechia.
Canada finished with a record 2-1-0 after beginning the tournament with a 9-6 loss to Finland on July 31. However, the Canadians bounced back with a 14-4 victory to Slovakia on Aug. 1 and a 5-0 shutout over Switzerland on Wednesday.
The winner of both matchups will move on to the gold medal game on Saturday at 9 a.m. mountain time followed by the bronze medal match.
Red Deer Rebels forward Ollie Josephson, who plays for Team Canada, has recorded two points (two assists) in three games in the tournament so far.
Rebels prospect Samuel Drancak has had a productive tournament for Czechia as well scoring a goal and helping get his country to the semi-finals.
The Rebels selected Drancak 54th overall in the first round of the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft this summer.
He’s expected to join Rebels forward Frantisek Formanek as the two import players on the Rebels roster for the upcoming 2023-24 Western Hockey League season.
Last year at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup Canada in Red Deer, Canada defeated Sweden in the gold medal game to win the tournament on home ice.