World Championships Update: San Jose Sharks Moving On To Semifinal Round
Mar 28, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) during warm ups before a game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
It was another banner day for the San Jose Sharks and their representation at the IIHF World Championships in Prague of the Czech Republic. The tournament advanced to the knockout phase of the competition and all three Sharks players will be moving on to the semifinal round on Saturday.
The day started with Ben Smith and Team USA picking up a 3-1 victory over Switzerland. Smith tied the game at one for the Americans midway through the second period when he beat Reto Berra of the Colorado Avalanche with a shot from the slot.
After getting off to a slow start from a production standpoint in this tournament, Smith now has goals in consecutive games as Team USA advances to take on the high-powered Russians in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bracket, Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl will square off in the other semifinals as their respective countries advanced to the next phase of the tournament.
Burns and Team Canada rolled to another convincing victory, dispatching Belarus by a 9-0 final score. Burns played a vital role in the win, paving the way with a team-high four points (two goals and two assists) and plus-three rating.
He opened the scoring just 27 seconds into the game and added his second of the day on the power play to give Canada a 6-0 lead at the time. The goals were the first of the tournament for Burns who is tied for third in scoring at the tournament with 11 points (two goals and nine assists) and is also third with a plus-10 rating.
For Hertl, he did not feature in the game for the host nation of the Czech Republic who defeated Finland by a 5-3 final to advance to take on Canada in the first semifinal. Canada defeated the Czech Republic by a 6-3 margin in the preliminary round action.
Hertl has one goal and two assists thus far in the tournament.