The Canadian team got off to a lead-heavy start at the World Cup in Riga with three straight losses.
Afterwards, they played really well and managed, with an emergency call, to advance to the quarterfinals.
There they then showed class by beating out the gold favorite ROC.
Now a new rival meeting awaits, this time against the USA.
- Meeting the Russians and the United States are two huge rivalries for us and it goes back many years.
It is quite cool and special to finally be able to participate yourself after previously only being allowed to follow these matches during all the years, says Connor Brown to SVT Sport.
- These matches mean a lot to the whole country and to us players so we are tagged and ready.
World Cup's hottest chain
It is a relatively inexperienced team that Canada is putting on its feet in this World Cup.
For Ottawa forward Connor Brown, for example, it will be his first national team assignment.
However, he has excelled and is shared first in the WC's scoring with two goals, nine assists and a total of eleven points.
As many as Slovakia's Peter Cehlarik (5 + 6) who has already been knocked out.
Canada's first chain with Brown, Adam Henrique (ten points) and Andrew Mangiapane (nine points) was formed during the tournament when the latter joined, and is thus a weapon that the United States was not faced with in the last race.
- I think our chain has played really well.
It feels like we are starting to understand more and more where we want the puck, how we can have even longer attacks and create more chances.
Our powerplay has also been good.
It's really fun to play with them, says Brown.
"Everything clapped against the Russians"
How much did the victory against the Russians mean for self-confidence? Many calculated you after three straight losses in the group stage.
- I think our team has only gotten better and better and everything clapped against the Russians.
It was also a really delicious decision.
Why do you think you responded by getting better and better instead of discouraged?
- This team was thrown together in such a short time and we had no training matches or especially many training sessions together in advance.
We got to know each other during the tournament and all the chains have only risen during the journey.
SEE ALSO: See the spectacular decision that sent Canada to the semifinals
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Canada decided in the long run against the Russian team Photo: Bildbyrån