Team Canada continued its dominance in the intentional hockey market by beating Team Europe in the finals of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Canada Wins World Cup of Hockey
Team Europe scored first, a shot from Zdeno Chara making it past Canada’s Carey Price six minutes into the first period. Scoring was stagnant from that point, despite valiant efforts from both sides, held back only by goalies Jaroslav Halak and Price. Halak, who currently plays for the New York Islanders, was the only goalie in the tournament to play all of his team’s games (including the pre-tournament exhibitions). Price remains undefeated in international competition, standing at 16-0 after this win.
Things were looking bleak at the beginning of the third period until a holding call was made on European captain Anze Kopitar for holding Canada’s Corey Perry. Thirty seconds into the power play, Patrice Bergeron angled in a shot from Brent Burns to tie up the game. The tables turned a minute later when Canada’s Drew Doughty high-sticked Europe’s Tobias Rieder, but Brad Marchand scored a short-handed goal with only 44 seconds remaining to break the tie and win the game for team Canada.
Team captain Sidney Crosby was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. It should be noted that all three goals scored in this game were by players who play for the Boston Bruins.
Both teams deserved their place in this final, with Canada being the favorites from the beginning, and Europe playing spoiler. When asked, Coach Ralph Krueger of Europe said “They may hate us for spoiling their tournament.” Yet, the fact that a team made up of players from eight countries and fourteen NHL clubs were able to make it to the final was a testament to their ability to play as teammates as well as Krueger’s coaching abilities. Look to see him getting a job behind the bench for a team soon.
Main Photo
