Canada 2, Latvia 1 (OT): Michael Hage (Montreal Canadiens) scored a power-play goal 44 seconds into overtime, and Canada won its second straight game in Group B at 3M Arena at Mariucci on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Cole Reschny (Calgary Flames) also scored for Canada (1-1-0-0), and Gavin McKenna (2026 draft eligible) had two assists. Jack Ivankovic (Nashville Predators) made 26 saves.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Just happy I could help us get a win,” Hage said. “It was a good pass by Gavin. Glad I got pretty good wood on it.”
Rudolfs Berzkalns (2026 draft eligible) scored for Latvia (0-0-1-0), which played its first game of the tournament. Nils Maurins (2026 draft eligible) made 36 saves.
The game came one year to the day that Canada lost to Latvia 3-2 in a shootout. Ivankovic also was Canada’s goalie in that game. He made 24 saves through overtime, then stopped seven of eight shooters in the eight-round tiebreaker.
“We all live to play hockey and be at this tournament. No one really is too focused on last year’s team. Everybody’s focused on today,” Ivankovic said.
Canada began overtime on the power play after Latvia forward Roberts Naudins (2026 draft eligible) was penalized for delay of game at 19:08 of the third period.
McKenna, the projected top pick of the 2026 NHL Draft, got a loose puck on the right side of the offensive zone. He passed the puck to Hage, and he scored on a one-timer from the left face-off circle.
“He’s really smart,” Hage said of McKenna. “He’s very deceptive with his eyes and his stick. For me, it’s pretty easy to read off of, and it’s fun to play on a line with him.”
Reschny gave Canada a 1-0 lead at 2:22 of the second period on with a power-play goal. McKenna cycled the puck near the top of the offensive zone and reversed it back to Reschny in the right face-off circle. He skated to the middle of the ice and beat Maurins past the blocker with a shot from above the hash marks.
McKenna has four assists in two games. He had two primary assists in Canada’s 7-5 win against Czechia on Friday.
Berzkalns tied it 1-1 at 18:02 of the third period when he scored at the front of the net on the rebound of a shot by Krisjanis Sarts (2026 draft eligible).
“To come back even in a moment like that, it shows that we’re fighting for each other, and no matter what, we are just trying to do our stuff and we’re not watching who we are playing against,” said Latvia defenseman Alberts Smits (2026 draft eligible). “We’re just doing our thing.”
Latvia next plays Finland on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN). Canada faces Denmark on Monday (8:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).