True.
Frustrating though when you get 2+10 for clean hits.
Also, you'll see posters here go nuts when you have Canadians diving all over the place and get the calls, while Canadian fans keep bringing up how embarrased all Swedes should be for having their players dive all the time and so on.
Nevertheless, everybody enters these tournaments and know exactly what to expect. Whining about the calls when you are playing in Canada against Canada is a great example of wasting time and energy on things that can only turn the refs against you even more.
As far as how nobody here understands why Canada gets the benefit of the doubt here, it's pretty simple. Lots of people/media watching the games. Do good, and you get another game. Do poorly, and you're done, and if Canada ever loses a hockey game anywhere, let alone in Canada, no Mapleleaf here is going to tell me that the refs aren't chastised by an entire nation. Lots of pressure on those guys. I don't for a second think the refs sit before the game and determine they are going to stick it to the other team, but they are still human, and in the heat of the battle, Canada will always get the benefit of the doubt. It's not strange. They are nervous and eager to do the best they can too. It's only human.
Canada is unique in that sense, because of its size and massive hoceky market (Tourneys in Europe are not as affected due ot the smaller markets and internal rivalries... Many times Fins will cheer for Canada when they play Sweden for example). The only country that can match it is Russia, but I still don't think most European countries gives a rat's about Russia because of history.
Having said all that, it's not the Canadian players' or the fans' fault. They just play and/or cheer like anyone else does. To deny that a team wanting to beat a Canadian team, especially in Canada, has to be not only better but quite a bit better is just as naive as subscribing to a conspiracy theory IMO.