Canadiens' Samuel Montembeault standing tall at world championship
Goalie makes 24 saves as Canada advances to the semifinals against Latvia with a 4-1 victory over Finland.
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Canadiens goalie Samuel Montembeault continued his strong play Thursday at the IIHF World Championship in Tampere, Finland.
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Montembeault made 24 saves in Canada’s 4-1 win over Finland in a quarterfinal matchup and was named his team’s player of the game. Montembeault has allowed only six goals on 118 shots in the five games he has played at the tournament while posting a 1.19 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage.
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The 26-year-old goalie had a 16-19-3 record this season with the Canadiens, along with a 3.42 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. Montembeault has one season left on his two-year, US$2-million contract with a salary-cap hit of $1 million. He can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Canada will play Latvia in Saturday’s semifinals. Latvia upset Sweden 3-1 in their quarterfinal matchup Thursday in Riga before a delirious home crowd. This marks the first time Latvia will compete for a medal at an international hockey event.
Saturday’s second semifinal game will be between the United States and Germany, which upset the Swiss team on Thursday.
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Jack Quinn, Mike Carcone, Sammy Blais and former Canadien Tyler Toffoli scored for Canada in its quarterfinal victory.
“He’s been a rock for us the whole tournament,” Marcone said about Montembeault on the IIHF website. “We’re thankful to have him back there, and he’s been great. Hopefully we can keep going.”
Last year, Finland beat Canada 4-3 in overtime of the gold-medal game. Canada won the gold medal in 2021.