Team Canada overcame a slow start in their gold medal game vs. the US at the U18 World Championships on Sunday, downing the Americans 6-4.
Gavin McKenna of the Medicine Hat Tigers scored a hat-trick and added an assist, while his WHL counterpart Tij Iginla had a 3 point effort including the game winning goal in the victory. Canada would score 4 third-period goals to complete the comeback including 3 power play markers after US forward Trevor Connelly was ejected for a check to the head on Ryder Ritchie.
The reigning world champions outshot the Canadians 35-25, and nearly iced the game in the 2nd period if not for the otherworldly play of Carter George who kept the Canucks in the contest.
Despite the loss, the Americans now hold the all-time record for medals at the tournament with 20 (11 gold, 6 silver, and 3 bronze). Cole Eiserman’s goal moved him past Cole Caufield for the all-time USNTDP scoring record as he tallied his 127th career marker for the red, white and blue.
On the Canadian side of things, McKenna’s 20 points in the tournament set a new record for the most points by a Canadian at a single U18 Men’s World Championships. The Whitehorse native’s 10 goals also set a new program record as well.
Team captain Porter Martone set a single tournament record for most assists with 12, while also setting new career records for assists (15) and total points (23) in the process.
The win gives Canada its 5th gold medal at the event since the inception of the tournament in 1999. Rounding out the podium was Sweden who defeated Slovakia 4-0 earlier in the day to capture the bronze medal.
Photo: s.yume. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.