Canadian men defeat Slovenia for 5th straight win to open world hockey championship

In a game where Canada's offensive stars were largely silent, unheralded forward Emmitt Finnie helped keep his team undefeated at the world hockey championship in Fribourg, Switzerland.

Finnie scored his first international goal and added an assist as Canada defeated Slovenia 3-1 on Friday to increase its lead atop the standings in Group B.

It's another step forward for Finnie, who has found a regular role with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings after being selected in the seventh round of the 2023 draft.

The 20-year-old from Lethbridge, Alta., appeared in all 82 games as a Red Wings rookie this season, scoring 17 goals and adding 13 assists.

Finnie showed a goal-scorers poise as he put the game out of reach in the third period. Parked in front of the Slovenian goal, he smartly redirected a Morgan Rielly point shot past goaltender Zan Us.

"It feels great [to score], and if anyone told me nine months ago that I would be [at world championship], I would have said they were crazy," said Finnie, who was named Canada's player of the game.

"It has been a lot of fun here, and I have had a lot of support from everyone, so it feels great. We need to keep playing our game, never be satisfied and keep working hard."

Denton Mateychuk and Dylan Cozens also scored for Canada, which leads Pool B with 14 points from four regulation wins and an overtime victory.

Mateychuk, playing in his first worlds, skated to the top of the left circle before shooting past Slovenia goaltender Zan Us at 11:07 in the opening period.

WATCH | Canada earns 4th regulation victory in Fribourg:

A pair of 2nd period goals leads Canada to win over Slovenia at worlds

Cozens added the second from the slot with 6:46 remaining in the middle period for his third goal