Grizzlies goalie Rose stars in Canada West’s gold-medal show
Zack Rose has an extra item to bring back from his trip out East — a shiny gold medal from the World Jr. A Hockey Challenge in Truro, N.S.
The 18-year-old Victoria Grizzlies goaltender backstopped Team Canada West to a championship run at the annual event, making 35 saves Saturday in a 5-1 victory over seven-time champion United States in the final at RECC Arena.
Rose, of Paradise, N.L., was named player of the game as he turned in a tremendous positional hockey performance over the 60 minutes and experienced an excellent tournament after replacing Mitch Adamyk, of the Powell River Kings, as the starter.
For his efforts, Rose was named the tournament’s all-star netminder and most valuable player.
“It’s fantastic. There’s nothing like it in the world,” Rose said of his emotions of capturing gold and representing the country in its fifth tournament title. “This feeling I have right now, wearing the Maple Leaf and winning gold for Canada, is just unbelievable.
“I mean, to win a championship representing Canada is just incredible. It’s every kid’s dream, especially to get it over rivals like the Americans just makes it feel so much better. It was truly an incredible experience that I’ll never forget.”
In five games played, Rose allowed just seven goals on 120 shots for a tidy 1.58 goalsagainst-average and spectacular .942 save percentage.
“My team kind of called upon me and you just have to step up,” Rose said. “You have to forget that you started the tournament as a backup and take the reins from there. I feel that I did that and I honestly couldn’t have done it without my team.
“It’s the big stage, you just have to stay level-headed and I feel like I did that. I came out there and just relaxed and, I think, that was the difference for me today.”
Rose replaced Adamyk in a 5-2 loss to the Czech Republic in round-robin play last week, stopping all nine shots he faced in relief.
Rose then made 25 saves in a 2-1 loss to the U.S. before stopping 18 in a 4-3 overtime quarter-final victory over Canada East.
That was followed by a 26-save performance in a 5-1 victory over the Czech Republic in the semifinal, setting up Saturday’s finale.
“They were full marks for the win,” TSN analyst and former NHL general manager and head scout Craig Button said on air at the end of the championship game. “Zack Rose was impenetrable.”
Rose will rejoin his Grizzlies teammates in January.