Canada edges rival Americans in nail-biter, winning first para hockey gold medal since 2017
The Canadian men’s Paralympic hockey team has struck gold once again, outlasting its southern rival 2-1 in the gold medal game on Sunday in Calgary.
It’s been seven years since Canada’s last world para hockey gold medal, which for Canadian captain Tyler McGregor, makes Sunday’s win that much sweeter.
“It's been for myself seven years, and for many of us seven years since we've won a world championship,” said McGregor post-game. “And to be quite honest, I've, especially the past couple years, been bearing the weight of that.”
Canada’s gold medal victory ends a streak of dominance from the Americans, which had won the previous three world para hockey championships, as well as striking gold in the 2018 and 2022 Paralympic Games.
The Canadians wasted no time getting on the board Sunday, as Dominic Cozzolino buried a beautiful back door pass from McGregor just 35 seconds into the first period.
“We'd like to survive the first shift without giving one up there, but I thought we settled in,” said American coach David Hoff. "At the end of the period, we'd outshot them 8-1.”
Team Canada extended its lead in the second period when McGregor won the puck on the forecheck, finding Anton Jacobs-Webb in front for his third –and biggest—goal of the tournament.
It was all USA in the third period when finally, with 3:41 to play, a familiar face found the back of the net for the US as tournament MVP Declan Farmer’s highlight reel finish cut Canada’s lead in half.
Outshooting Canada 14-4 in the final frame, the Americans poured on the pressure until the final buzzer, but Canadian goaltender Adam Kingsmill—whose .944 save percentage led the tournament—saved his best game for last, stopping 24 of 25 USA shots.
A big part of Canada’s success against the United States was keeping the American offence—which averaged 8.5 goals per game heading into the final—away from the slot.
"We were able to handle a team that's a high-octane offence and keep them to bad ice for most of the game," said Canadian head coach Russ Herrington. "That allowed us to put Kingsmill in a position where he could shine."
"They were very efficient getting pucks out of the zone. They were very efficient about getting pucks in deep into the zone, making us work 200 feet if we're going to do something,” said Hoff, the American head coach. “They did what they needed to do to win a hockey game."
The win is Canada's fourth world para hockey gold medal since the tournament’s inception in 2008.
"We put so much into this," said Cozzolino. "Wearing this jersey and from everything we've been through over the past seven years, this is what it's all for. Man, this is the best ever.”
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