Belarus to play Canada at 2015 IIHF World Championship

The Belarusian national ice hockey team will play one of its most important games of the 2015 IIHF World Championship in Prague on 14 May.

Dave Lewis' men will face Team Canada captained by NHL star Sidney Crosby.

The North American team finished the preliminary round atop Group A with 21 points. In seven games Canada's powerful offence scored 49 goals.

Belarus has never ever beaten Canada at the IIHF World Championship. All in all, Belarus and Canada have played against each other 16 times. Belarusians won two times: 4-3 in a friendly at the Minsk Palace of Sports on 2 May 2006 and 9-2 at the Polesie Cup in Gomel in February 2007.

One of the key figures in today's encounter at Prague's O2 Arena will be Canadian-born goaltender Kevin Lalande that dons the colors of the Belarusian national team.

“If you'd told me a couple of years ago in that I'd be in the Czech Republic wearing a Belarus jersey and playing against Canada I'd have said you were crazy but now it's something I'm really looking forward to,” Kevin Lalande told the IIHF website. “I'm excited and it's going to be a lot of fun no matter what the score is.”

Belarus vs Canada faceoff is scheduled for 17.15. Belarus 1 TV channel will broadcast the game live.

In other quarterfinal games on 14 May the United States will face Switzerland, Russia will play Sweden and Finland will go against the Czech Republic.

Prague O2 Arena will host the semifinals on 16 May and the medal games on 17 May.