Wednesday marks the beginning of the quarterfinal round of the 2008 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. A loss from this point forward means elimination from gold medal contention.

For the first time since 2002, Team Canada won't have a bye through the quarterfinals. The Canadians have posted a 3-1 record, losing to Sweden by the score of 4-3.

Canada will face Finland in the quarters. The Fins notched a 2-2 record during the group phase of the competition.

Canadian head coach Craig Hartsburg announced that Steve Mason will start in goal.

Wednesday's second quarterfinal will pit Russia (3-1) against the host Czech Republic (2-2). The winners of the two games will face either the USA (4-0) or Sweden (4-0), both of whom earned byes to the semifinals after finishing first in their respective groups.


(Picture: Steve Mason, Canadian Press)