Canada scores late in the third period to win Gold at the World Juniors

Team Canada is celebrating as it proved that a team with heart, tough and strong can beat the odds and see victory over a favoured opponent. With a 3-1 win in Buffalo tonight against Team Sweden, Canada showed that a team packed with stars is not a recipe for guaranteed success.

Team Canada’s Tyler Steenbergen, was the only remaining forward who had yet to score a goal during the tournament came on strong late in the 3rd period with 1 minute, 40 seconds left in regulation scored to give Canada a 2-1 lead. The result saw a sea of Red and White Canadians who travelled to Buffalo in jubilation.

Steenbergen, who plays for the Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos, started the tournament with thirty-five goals and twenty-seven assists. While not given a large amount of time on the ice, Dominique Ducharme, Team Canada’s coach, kept him on the sidelines for when needed.

Ducharme feels Steenbergen made the goal of a lifetime stating,

He’s the kind of kid in the big moment when he has one chance, he can bury it because he’s a goal scorer like that

Team Canada’s Captain, Dillion Dube got the scoring underway, and Steenbergen was in the right place at the right time and was able to deflect by Conor Timmins and put the puck behind the crease to give Canada a 2-1 lead. Only seconds later, with the Swedes net empty, Alex Formenton sealed Team Sweden’s fate.

Tonight’s win see’s Canada’s record against the Swedes increase to 4-0 during World Junior Gold medal action.

This year’s roster saw seven players from the 2017 Juniors returning to battle for gold. After losing to the Americans in Montreal, the satisfaction of winning in the U.S was, to some, like payback for the heartbreaking loss last year.

For Team Captain Dillion Dube, he said the loss to Team USA was on his mind every day. Team Canada has an easy ride to the Gold Medal game until tonight’s game. Team Sweden outplayed Canada for much of the game, yet Canada managed to find the net and take the win. This is another defeat that is hard to swallow for the Swedes and adds another lost medal game at the Juniors.

Team Canada completed the tournament with a near perfect record of six wins, and one loss, which came as a result of a shootout against Team U.S.A. Coach Ducharme feels that the loss may have fuelled the fire stating,

Our players need to see it and feel it, sometimes to get that bite, that kick in the butt, sometimes is not a bad thing. It makes you understand a little bit quicker.

However, the team was quick to learn and saw contributions from multiple players. One of the final cuts, Drake Batherson, played remarkably well and scored 7 goals. Defencemen Cale Makar proved to be a valuable asset as the 7th defencemen and collectively as a team, Team Canada outscored opposing teams in the last three games of the tournament.

When it came down to the end, Canada was at their best and took control. The hero of this year’s tournament was one who was unlikely to see glory, and this only shows that those on the roster played as a team, without any one player looking to the hero.

Steenbergen said,

It doesn’t matter who, from No. 1 all the way to No. 13. We just wanted the gold.

Author Noah is our American writer who likes to give his own spin on everything Golf & the NHL he covers mainly the US side of the game as Doug covers the Canada. In his time off he can usually be taking to the greens or on the ice playing some hockey