Canada's men defeat China 5-0 to set up repeat encounter on Tuesday
Kent Johnson and Eric O'Dell each had a goal and an assist as Canada bounced back from their defeat to USA, but missed out on automatic quarter-final berth.
Ice Hockey
Canada ended Group A with a comfortable 5-0 win over China on Sunday (13 February), then found out they would play the hosts again on Tuesday.
The format of this men's ice hockey tournament at Beijing 2022 sees the group winners and the best runner-up make automatic progress to the quarter-finals.
Those teams are USA - who beat Canada on Saturday - Finland, ROC and Group C runners-up Sweden.
The other eight teams in the competition enter the qualification playoffs with the team with the best record facing the one with the worst record, the next best team against the next worst and so on.
Canada had the fifth best record meaning they will have a repeat encounter with China on Tuesday.
Judging by this evidence, they will have little to worry about with Ben Street taking just over two minutes to open the scoring before Adam Tambellini and Eric O'Dell made it 3-0 midway through the first period.
China managed to skate with Canada in the second period, but their defence was breached again after 38:03 when July's number five NHL Draft pick Kent Johnson scored his first goal of the tournament.
Early in the third period, Corban Knight made it 5-0 on the powerplay on an assist from number one draft pick Owen Power who again had the most ice time of any Canadian.
Goalie Matt Tomkins, in for Eddie Pasquale, had 26 saves for the shutout.
O'Dell said afterwards, "We had a pretty good game and over our line we played well. I think we need to build off that and just look through to the next game, where I hear that we will play them again. We need to play the same way then."