From 1993 through to 1997, Canada won a record five-straight gold medals. The streak started under difficult circumstances beginning at the 1993 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Sweden, one of the most competitive engagements in tournament history. The host Swedes, led by Peter Forsberg, Markus Näslund, and Niklas Sundström, broke scoring records. In 1995, the host Canadians benefited from a squad bolstered by the 1994–95 NHL lockout, resulting in a perfect record "en route" to winning gold. The streak culminated at the 1997 tournament in Switzerland, with excellent defence and goaltending covering for an offence that struggled early in the competition. The run of dominance ended in 1998, when the team buckled under enormous media pressure and lost interest once gold was no longer a possibility, suffering an embarrassing eighth place exit.