HALMSTAD, SWEDEN – Canada's Under-18 team moves onto the quarter-finals on Wednesday versus Russia at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship finishing the preliminary round with a 2-1-1 record, good for 3rd place in group B. 

Russia, who finished in 2nd place in group A with a record of 3-1-0, will meet the Canadians at 4pm local time (7am PT / 10am ET) on Wednesday in Angelholm, Sweden.  The game will be carried LIVE on Wednesday by the official broadcaster of Hockey Canada, TSN (check local listings). 

Sweden (3-1-0) will meet the Czech Republic (2-2-0) in other quarter-final action on Wednesday, while USA and Finland, who both finished undefeated and on top of their respective groups, get a bye to the semi-final on Thursday.

Final preliminary standings at the 2006 IIHF World U-18 Championship are:

Canada played to a scoreless tie with Finland on Monday to complete its preliminary round schedule.  Without a win in today's game versus Finland, Canada's hope of finishing in first place in group B was not realized.  However, with the tie, Canada gets one point - good enough to guarantee a trip to the quarter-finals on Wednesday. 

Canada's Jonathan Bernier played very solid the entire game versus Finland on Monday, making 22 saves and earning the shut out.  Finland's Riku Helenius stopped all 34 Canadian shots for Finland.  Both goaltenders were named player of the game for their respective teams. Canada outshot Finland 34-22, but was shut out for the second straight game.

Canada will travel to Angelholm on Tuesday, which is about a 45 minute drive from Halmstad, and will practice on Tuesday afternoon in preparation for Wednesday's quarter-final game.

Canada’s Under-18 team is made up of the best available players born in 1988 or later, who are not competing, or have been eliminated in the playoffs from their respective club teams. This is the fifth year that Hockey Canada has entered a team in the April World Under-18 men's hockey championship. Canada won it in 2003, and finished second last year after losing to USA in the gold medal game.

Real time statistics for all of Canada’s games and all games in the Championship will be available LIVE at www.hockeycanada.ca.  

Visit the official website of Hockey Canada, www.hockeycanada.ca to view Canada’s 2006 IIHF Under-18 Championship roster, schedule, team updates and more information on the event.