The World Junior Hockey championship ended in dramatic fashion in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Competing for gold, Canada and USA went head-to-head in a hockey game for the ages. The Canadians would go up by two goals twice, but the Americans would come back each time to erase the deficit. 60 minutes of hockey in regulation time were not enough, and neither was 20 minutes of overtime. With the hockey game having so much action and high quality hitting and offence from both sides, it was a shame to see that it would need to result in a shootout to determine the winner. The United States would get the lone goal, winning the game 5-4 and bringing home with them the gold medal. Parsons makes the golden save in the shootout as USA tops Canada to win Gold. @CanadianTire #BigPlay #WorldJuniors https://t.co/JLvAqi0ZFz pic.twitter.com/grysEUa7OH — TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 6, 2017 Canadians often take pride in its hockey, often calling the sport Canada’s game. Thus losing the game considering it was to their North American rivals in a shootout with the leads that they had was truly heartbreaking. “They gave everything,” Canadian head coach Dominique Ducharme said of his players while speaking with TSN. “The commitment, the effort to our team, the attitude our guys had all tournament, they committed to the team.” [Image by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images] The gold medal game was not the only one filled with drama. The day before, two semifinal games had plenty of pace and back-and-forth action as well. In the afternoon, the United States and Russia displayed plenty of speed in a very entertaining game with few pauses in the action. Like their gold medal win, USA had to take the game to a shootout to advance to the finals. In the evening, Canada battled through adversity from giving up early leads to Sweden, yet were able to group together to deliver a very convincing win. The Swedish junior hockey team, winners of 40 straight preliminary games and the consensus favorite, were once again unable to see things through in the elimination rounds. They have only won a single junior gold medal in 35 years and have gone without a medal in a World Junior Hockey Championship in three straight. They lost in the bronze medal game to Russia, who scored 33 seconds into overtime. Considering that they were the only powerhouse team that did not have any eligible players unavailable due to playing in the National Hockey League, Sweden’s failures come at an even greater surprise. [Image by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images] The challenge for smaller hockey countries is that if they are missing of their top players, it is more difficult to fill their empty spots in the teams’ lineups with less top-end players to call upon. Finland, the defending gold medalists, were missing its top three eligible junior hockey players currently playing in the NHL. It is a reason they struggled mightily, forced to play in the relegation round. The team’s management even fired the entire coaching staff before its tournament was over after failing to meet expectations. A big story in the midst of this junior hockey tournament was the disappointing attendance for Hockey Canada. The governing body admitted that they expected better sales numbers. The main criticism was towards the ticket prices, which were close to professional hockey prices. Playing in a major hockey market seemed to make the decision makers think that high ticket prices would still fetch attendance. Similar concerns arose from the last time Canada hosted the World Junior Hockey Championship two years ago, thus ticket prices were 30 percent cheaper this year, according to CBC. The IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship is an annual event that features some of the world’s best young hockey players compete for gold. Next year’s tournament will take place in Buffalo, New York, USA. [Featured Image by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images] </s> The United States and Canada took to the ice to decide the winner of the 2017 World Juinor Hockey Championships with Russia and Sweden meeting earlier in the day for the bronze. Can't ask for much more than both the Gold Medal Game and the Third Place Game needing bonus hockey to finish off a tremendously entertaining 2017 WJHC.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Canes Country. </s> U.S. Defeats Russia In Hockey World Junior Semifinal, Faces Canada For Gold

The United States hockey team bested Russia in a seven-round shootout Wednesday to secure a place in the IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal match on Thursday night.

It was the Americans' first win over the Russians in an elimination round in the tournament's history. They had been 0-7.

Tied at 3-3 at the end of regulation and through overtime, the game went to a dramatic penalty shootout that saw the crowning of a new American hockey hero: 19-year-old Troy Terry. The University of Denver sophomore and Anaheim Ducks prospect scored a shootout hat trick, including the game-winner in the seventh round.

"If you would have told me before the game that I would be the guy going multiple times in a shootout I would not have believed you," Terry said, per USA Today Sports.

According to International Ice Hockey Federation rules, a player can shoot again after all the players in the five-player shootout rotation have shot. In the initial five rounds, Terry and teammate Jeremy Bracco scored, and U.S. goalie Tyler Parsons made three saves. In the extra two rounds, Terry scored twice more.

The feat earned comparisons to T.J. Oshie's shootout performance in the 2014 Sochi Olympics when he scored on four of six attempts to beat Russia in group play. It also recalled Canadian Jonathan Toews' three shootout goals in the 2007 World Junior Championship semifinal, which knocked the U.S. out of contention.

And, of course, any time the U.S. tops Russia in hockey, there is inevitably a mention of the iconic Miracle on Ice game in which a young U.S. team downed the mighty the Soviet Union squad in the 1980 Olympics. In the intervening years, the superpowers' hockey rivalry has faded. As The Washington Post's Dave Sheinen wrote in 2014: "The hard edges of the U.S.-Russia rivalry have been softened by time, shifting geopolitical circumstances and the ubiquitous presence of Russians in the NHL, among other factors."

In the 2017 tournament, developments in U.S.-Russia foreign relations — specifically U.S. intelligence concluding that the Russian government interfered in the presidential election — added a small but noticeable wrinkle to the rivalry, as some wryly pointed out on social media:

In tonight's gold medal match, the U.S. will face Canada, which beat Sweden 5-2 on Wednesday night. As the Associated Press reports, "The United States and Canada have met three times for the title, with Canada winning in 1997 and the Americans in 2004 and 2010. Canada won the last of its record 16 titles in 2015." The U.S. beat Canada 3-1 earlier in the tournament.

The game starts at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on the NHL Network. </s> MONTREAL — Troy Terry scored the lone shootout goal, Tyler Parsons stopped all five shots he faced in the tiebreaker, and the United States outlasted Canada, 5-4, on Thursday night to win the world junior hockey title.

The game was decided in the five-round shootout after a scoreless 20-minute overtime period.

On Wednesday in the semifinals, Terry scored on all three of his shootout attempts to give the United States a 4-3 victory over Russia. Terry, a University of Denver forward, is an Anaheim Ducks draft pick. </s> GANGNEUNG, Korea, Republic Of — Canada suffered its first defeat at the 2017 IPC World Para Hockey Championship, falling 2-1 to the United States on Monday.

Canada's Tyler McGregor opened the scoring late in the first period, but Nikko Landeros and Declan Farmer scored in the second period for the Americans.

"It was a good game, very physical and high-paced," Canada head coach Ken Babey said. "We didn't capitalize on our chances. We will learn from this and move forward to our next game."

Steve Cash made 11 saves to pick up the win for the Americans (4-0-0). Dominic Larocque stopped six shots for Canada (4-1-0).

The Canadians will close out their preliminary round schedule Tuesday against Germany with a chance to clinch a spot in the gold-medal game.

This is the first world championship to take place since the International Paralympic Committee rebranded the sport from sledge hockey to para hockey in November. </s> Canada and Finland will face off for the gold medal in the 2019 IIHF Hockey World Championship after scoring semifinal wins Saturday at Ondrej Nepela Arena in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Vegas Golden Knights winger Mark Stone continued to build a strong case for tournament MVP with a goal and an assist to pace the Canadians in a 5-1 victory over the Czech Republic. Darnell Nurse (Edmonton Oilers), Pierre-Luc Dubois (Columbus Blue Jackets), Kyle Turris (Nashville Predators) and Thomas Chabot (Ottawa Senators) also lit the lamp for the 26-time champions.

Meanwhile, Finland ended the title hopes of previously undefeated Russia with a dramatic 1-0 triumph. Captain Marko Anttila scored the game's only goal with just under 10 minutes left in regulation, while goalie Kevin Lankinen stonewalled the numerous Red Machine snipers to earn a 32-save shutout.

Bronze Medal: Russia vs. Czech Republic (9:45 a.m. ET)

Canada played the semifinal with the freedom of a team given a second lease on life, and it's easy to understand why.

Alain Vigneault's squad was less than a second from elimination in the quarterfinals before a Damon Severson (New Jersey Devils) slap shot beat Switzerland netminder Leonardo Genoni and trickled across the goal line with 0.4 seconds left in the third period to tie the game.

Stone scored in overtime to punch the Canadians' ticket to the semifinals, and now the they are one win away from their first world title since 2016. They failed to reach the final the last two years.

Finland, which last captured World Championship gold in 2011, poses a difficult final challenge for Canada, though. The Lions scored a 3-1 victory over the Canadians in the first game of pool play and put their defensive prowess on display once again Saturday to upset Russia.

The Finns also showcased their ability to win a high-scoring shootout in a 5-4 overtime triumph against rival and defending champion Sweden in the quarterfinals.

Kaapo Kakko could be the X-factor in the final.

The 18-year-old sensation is a candidate to become the first overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft on June 21, and he shined with six goals in Finland's first four games of the event.

He's failed to find the net in the team's last five contests, however, and figures to see a heavy dose of Canada's defensively strong second line—Anthony Cirelli (Tampa Bay Lightning), Sean Couturier (Philadelphia Flyers) and Sam Reinhart (Buffalo Sabres)—in the gold-medal game.

All told, it's hard to say whether Finland edging a Russian side that looked poised to win gold or Canada's destruction of the Czechs was the more impressive performance in the semis.

But now the stage is set for what should be a closely contested fight for the championship in Slovakia. </s> (AP Photo/Petr David Josek). Russia's Nikita Kucherov, left, celebrates after scoring a goal with Russia's Artemi Panarin, right, during the Ice Hockey World Championships bronze medal match between Russia and Finland in the LANXESS arena in Cologne, G...

(AP Photo/Petr David Josek). Finland's Mikko Lehtonen celebrates after scoring his a goal during the Ice Hockey World Championships bronze medal match between Russia and Finland in the LANXESS arena in Cologne, Germany, Sunday, May 21, 2017.

(AP Photo/Petr David Josek). Russia's Nikita Kucherov, right, dives to score a goal past Finland's Harri Sateri, left, and Finland's Joonas Jarvinen, center, during the Ice Hockey World Championships bronze medal match between Russia and Finland in the...

(AP Photo/Petr David Josek). Finland's Topi Jaakola, right, challenges for the puck Russia's Sergei Plotnikov, left, during the Ice Hockey World Championships bronze medal match between Russia and Finland in the LANXESS arena in Cologne, Germany, Sunda...

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) - Telling himself to stay calm, Henrik Lundqvist stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout and Sweden dethroned two-time defending champion Canada to win the world hockey championship 2-1 on Sunday night.

Nicklas Backstrom and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored shootout goals for the Swedes to win their first title since 2013 and prevent Canada from a three-peat.

"It was pretty nerve-racking in the end, but we pulled it off," said Lundqvist, the New York Rangers star who made 41 saves in regulation and overtime to get it to a shootout. "What a game. It was so exciting. It's been an amazing week.

Lundqvist and Canadian counterpart Calvin Pickard, who saved tournament MVP William Nylander's first shootout attempt for Sweden, were outstanding in a game in which the Canadians narrowly outshot their opponents 43-42.

"This is how close it should be when you get to the final game," Swedish coach Rikard Gronborg said. "It's a huge win for Swedish hockey."

The respect between the sides was evident from the off as defenses held firm in the opening two periods.

The breakthrough came against the odds, with Backstrom penalized for slashing, when Victor Hedman scored short-handed with 20.8 seconds left in the second period.

It was a strange goal from distance as the defenseman just lifted the puck and it somehow bounced in through Pickard's legs. The presence of Joel Lundqvist, Henrik's twin brother, may have distracted the Canadian goaltender.

"It was a fluke goal," Swedish forward Marcus Kruger said.

O'Reilly tied it in the third period on a rebound after an initial shot from Mitch Marner.

It was tense, and fans were left gasping as the action swung from end to end. Lundqvist said he hoped fans enjoyed now neither team sat back in the third period or overtime.

Nate MacKinnon missed a good chance to clinch the win for Canada on a power play before overtime, when both goaltenders maintained their exceptional form.

"I want to congratulate Sweden. They were an exceptional team, it was a lot of fun to play them," Canadian coach Jon Cooper said. "If we were going to lose to somebody, I'm glad those guys won."

Earlier, Nikita Kucherov sealed a 5-3 win for Russia in the bronze-medal game against Finland.

"It's not the medal we wanted," Russian coach Oleg Znarok said.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Finland has won the gold medal at the hockey world championship by beating Canada 3-1 Sunday in the final.

Marko Anttila’s second goal of the game broke a 1-all tie early in the third period as the Finns defeated Canada for a second time at the tournament. Harri Pesonen added an insurance goal with five minutes to play.

Shea Theodore scored for Canada in the first period.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Finland has won the gold medal at the hockey world championship by beating Canada 3-1 Sunday in the final.

Marko Anttila’s second goal of the game broke a 1-all tie early in the third period as the Finns defeated Canada for a second time at the tournament. Harri Pesonen added an insurance goal with five minutes to play.

Shea Theodore scored for Canada in the first period.
In ice hockey, the United States defeats Canada to win the gold medal at the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.