Gold-medal captain
Kelowna Rockets forward Dillon Dube, Team Canada’s captain, raises the world junior hockey championship trophy after Canada’s 3-1 win over Sweden in the final on Friday. Tyler Steenbergen’s goal with 1:40 to go broke a 1-1 tie to give Canada the win in Buffalo. For more on the game,
Steenbergen scores late winner, Hart stellar in goal as Canada downs Sweden for championship
BUFFALO, N.Y. (CP) — Tyler Steenbergen was Canada’s 13th forward for most of the world junior hockey championship, consistently getting the fewest minutes on the team. It was fitting then — on a Canadian squad head coach Dominique Ducharme built around depth — that Steenbergen was the one to score the winner in the gold-medal game.
Steenbergen deflected a long pass from defenceman Connor Timmins into the net with 1:40 left to play to lead Canada to a 3-1 victory over Sweden on Friday. Steenbergen had played only 32 seconds in the first period, then 2:45 in the second and 3:59 in the third.
“It goes to show that Dom can put anyone on the ice at any time and he believes in them,” said Steenbergen. “It’s pretty special to be able to know that I’d be out there in those final two minutes and I can put it in the net.”
Rarely used in the tournament except on the power play, Steenbergen dropped to one knee and pumped his fist after putting away the winner, pounding on the glass before being mobbed by teammates.
“I think that explains everything,” captain Dillon Dube said of Steenbergen scoring when he had little ice time. “It’s a cliche, but four lines deep really means something. I couldn’t be happier for any other guy to get it. And now he’s a champion forever.”
Dube also scored for Canada, while Alex Formenton added an empty-net goal 26 seconds after Steenbergen struck. Carter Hart made 35 saves, tying Jimmy Waite and Stephane Fiset for most career wins by a Canadian goalie at the world juniors.
“To be honest, I don’t really care about how I did as an individual,” said Hart. “It’s definitely one of the best games to be a part of in my life. It’s one of the best days of my life.”
Loud “Let’s go Canada!” chants began within the first minute of the game. It was the largest indoor crowd of the tournament by a wide margin, with 17,544 fans at KeyBank Center. Poor attendance throughout the event, aside from the record-setting 44,592 fans at the first-ever outdoor game, was an ongoing issue.
International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel admitted on Thursday that the Toronto-Buffalo corridor has been oversaturated with three worldjunior tournaments hosted in the region over the past four years, on top of the NHL’s World Cup of Hockey in Toronto in the fall of 2016. He said that the IIHF would try to spread events around North America more to avoid burning out fans, with the 2019 world juniors slated for Vancouver and Victoria.
Canada’s opening goal saw Jordan Kyrou carry the puck down the centre of the ice, passing to Dube on his left wing and he snapped the puck past Swedish goalie Filip Gustavsson at the 1:49 mark of the second.
The crowd erupted with cheers after Dube’s goal, singing along to “Hey Baby!” by DJ Otzi, putting extra emphasis on the “ooo, ahhhh” of the chorus.
“Hey Baby!” had been a controversial choice for Canada’s goal-scoring celebration song. The majority of Canada’s players voted for a different song but two players went rogue and submitted the ear-worm on their own. Eventually, it became a favourite of all.
“When we scored our goal at the end there everyone was screaming, belting out the lyrics to that song at the top of their lungs,” Hart said of Alex Formenton’s empty-netter that followed Steenbergen’s winner.
Dube and defenceman Cal Foote became the ninth and 10th players from the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets to win gold for Canada at the world juniors — joining Madison Bowey and Josh Morrissey in 2015; Jamie Benn and Tyler Myers in 2009; Luke Schenn in 2008; Blake Comeau in 2006; Shea Weber in 2005; and Robb Gordon in 1996. Dube also became the first Rockets’ player to captain Canada at the event.
Dube finished the tournament with five points (three goals and two assists), while Foote had three assists.