Empty-handed: Canada loses bronze to U.S. at world championship

COPENHAGEN — Canada will come home without a medal for the first time in four years after dropping a 4-1 decision to the United States in Sunday’s bronze-medal game at the world hockey championship.

“Coming here, we expect gold and expect to compete for gold and when you don’t, it’s disappointing,” said alternate captain Ryan O’Reilly, who was playing in his sixth world championship. He won two gold medals and a silver in the past three years. “We still wanted to beat the U.S. and prove we’re the better team but we just didn’t have the jump. We gave them a lot.

“Overall, it’s a disappointing tournament. It feels like a waste of time. You want to come here and compete and have a chance to win and you don’t.”

Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored the lone goal for Canada late in the second period, while Curtis McElhinney made 33 saves.

Chris Kreider scored twice for the United States, while Nick Bonino had the eventual winner with O’Reilly serving an interference penalty with 6:39 to play in the third period. Anders Lee also added an empty-net goal with

2:45 remaining. Keith Kinkaid made 24 saves for the win in the U.S. net.

Sweden beat Switzerland in the gold-medal game, 3-2 in a shootout Sunday.

Forward Filip Forsberg scored the decisive goal in the shootout to give Sweden a third world title in six years, and 11th overall.

Sweden won all 10 matches at the tournament.

Canadian coach Bill Peters went back to McElhinney in net after Darcy Kuemper took the loss in Saturday’s 3-2 semifinal defeat by Switzerland. Kuemper was also in net when Canada fell 5-4 to the United States in its tournament opener on May 4.

In his four preliminary-round appearances, McElhinney recorded three wins and a loss, with a 1.30 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.

McElhinney kept his team in the game against an American team that generated the lion’s share of the game’s offence through 40 minutes, outshooting Canada 27-17.

Peters also switched up his skaters, dressing defenceman Thomas Chabot in place of Ryan Pulock, putting young speedsters Mat Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier on a line with O’Reilly and moving Bo Horvat onto a newlook energy line with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle Turris.

“I thought the game was a little bit choppy,” said Peters. “I thought the game was going to look a little bit different.

“I thought it was going to look like it did on our goal, with them going down, looking like it was gonna be 2-0 and then we counterattacked to make it 1-1. I thought there was going to be more 5-on-5 play up and down the ice, with two good, skilled teams playing.”

Playing their third game in four days, both teams looked flat as they tried to rally to earn bronze after disappointing semifinal losses — a 3-2 defeat by the underdogs from Switzerland for Canada and a 6-0 shutout by Sweden for the U.S.

“I think both teams wanted to play today, but they wanted to play a later game,” said Peters.

With the gold-medal game between the defending champions from neighbouring Sweden and surprising Switzerland set to be Sunday’s main attraction, the mood was subdued in the stands.