Canada’s offence on fire at International Para Hockey Cup

NYMBURK, Czechia – Vincent Boily of Alma, Que., scored four goals Wednesday as Canada concluded the preliminary round play at the International Para Hockey Cup with a 7-0 victory over host Czechia.

The Canadians earned two wins and a loss in the prelims. They face Czechia again on Friday in the semifinals.  The other semi pits the U.S. (3-0) against the World Selects (0-3).

Tyler McGregor of Forest, Ont., added his fourth goal of the tournament while Liam Hickey of St. John’s, N.L., and Adam Dixon of Midland, Ont., also scored.

After scoring five goals in an 11-0 rout of the World Selects on Tuesday, Dominic Cozzolino of Mississauga, Ont., collected four assists.

For Boily, the four-goal performance was another indication of his growing comfort playing alongside veterans Cozzolino and James Dunn.

“I think we’ve been building this chemistry since last year,” said Boily. “More games, more reps together and it is great playing with veteran guys who put me in the position to have success.

“I thought we were good on the forecheck all night and that allowed us to win our battles. I’m really proud of the effort.”

Jean-François Huneault of Saint-Eustache, Que., and Corbin Watson of Kingsville, Ont., shared the shutout, combining for nine saves as Canada outshot Czechia 23-9.

The victory was an encouraging sign for a Canadian squad that has been working to develop its chemistry in its first tournament of the 2026-27 season.

“That was the effort we were looking for,” said Canadian head coach Boris Rybalka. “You want to get better every game; this was our best game of the tournament and now we want to do the same on Friday.”

Rybalka said the team had only five practices together at a training camp last month before travelling to Czechia. He was also pleased both goaltenders saw action ahead of the medal round.

Canada opened the tournament Sunday with a 5-3 loss to the United States.

The Canadians aren’t expecting another easy outing against the Czechs, bronze medallists at the last three world championships, in Friday’s semi.

“I’m just proud of the way we competed tonight for 45 minutes straight in all three zones,” said McGregor. “We have gotten better with each game, which is good to see.

“We know they’ll be hungry, physical and a different team next game. We’ve got some things to work on for them, but we’ll be ready to go on Friday.”

Friday’s semifinal is scheduled for noon ET.

With files from Hockey Canada