Red, White and Gold: Canada Wins U18 Championship Over USA

Canada Takes Home Gold at the IIHF U18 World Championships.

The boys in red and white have once again been crowned victorious at the IIHF U18 World Championships after a three-year hiatus. 

A miraculous third-period turnaround in Sunday’s gold medal game was the difference for Canada against its rival United States. The Canadians were able to fend off the Americans and capture gold in what ended as a 6-4 barn-burner at Espoo Metro Arena in Finland.

“It’s the best feeling in the world… I’ll remember this forever,” Canadian forward Gavin McKenna said post-game, grinning from ear-to-ear after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

McKenna’s 10 goals not only led the entire tournament but also broke a record for most-ever goals by a Canadian at the U18s, topping Shane Wright’s previous record of nine.  

His 20 points in the tournament also broke the Canadian U18 World Championship scoring record for most in a single tournament, ousting Tyson Jost and Macklin Celebrini’s record of 15.

And since we’re already this far along with U18 World Championship records being broken, let's keep going.  

With all these records being broken, it may appear as though Canada’s eventual gold medal celebration was a walk in the park, but in fact, capturing its fifth gold medal at the U18s and acquiring the gold hardware didn’t come trouble-free.

After taking down Latvia 4-0 in the quarterfinal with goals by Maxim Massé, Ryder Ritchie, Martone, and Jett Luchanko, the Canadians booked a date with the Swedes in the semifinal. 

The first period was undoubtedly the best-case scenario the Canadians could have possibly hoped for, as they put up four on the board with goals by Liam Greentree, McKenna, Tij Iginla, and Ritchie to go up 4-0. 

In the second, the Swedes got on the board early with a tally by Viggo Nordlund, and then both teams exchanged one goal each in just under two minutes, with a goal from Henry Mews and another tally by Nordlund.

5-2 going into the third, and it’s a fairly comfortable lead for the Canadians, but they almost found a way to blow it.

With around six minutes left in the third period, Sweden only trailed by one after goals from Victor Eklund and Hugo Orrsten. As much as the Canadians tried to remain calm and stick to their game, there was certainly a seed of doubt planted among the team.

Fast forward to Sunday, where Canada found itself down 3-2 through the first forty minutes of the gold medal game. The Americans put up goals from Christian Humphreys, Cole Eiserman, and Cole Hutson, while Ritchie and McKenna scored for Canada through the early stages.

The game was evidently USA’s to lose with forward Trevor Connelly giving the Canadians a five-minute powerplay as he was handed a major penalty for an illegal check to the head. In that moment, the Canadians realized they couldn’t take their foot off the gas. 

They cashed in on their big opportunity and scored three goals from McKenna, Cole Beaudoin, and Iginla. The USA did its best to fight back, but it wasn’t enough, as Canada prevailed.

“It feels amazing,” said Martone. “We fought back there in the third period and really dug deep and came away with a gold medal. And that’s all that matters.”