2006-07 National Men's Under-18 Team

CANADA FINISHES FOURTH AT WORLD UNDER-18 CHAMPIONSHIP

TAMPERE, FINLAND – Canada will return home from the 2007 IIHF World Under-18 Championship with a fourth-place finish after falling 8-3 to Sweden in Sunday’s bronze medal game.

Angelo Esposito (Montreal, QC/Quebec, QMJHL) scored twice and Drew Doughty (London, ON/Guelph, OHL) added a single for Canada, who scored twice in the second period to erase a two-goal deficit before Sweden scored six unanswered goals to pull away.

The Swedes controlled the play early in the first period, and were rewarded with the opening goal just over six minutes in off the stick of Robin Olsson. Simon Hjalmarsson made it a two-goal lead 10 minutes later, sending Sweden into the first intermission up by a pair.

Esposito got the Canadians on the board just past of the six-minute mark of the second period, taking a pass from Zack Torquato (Sault Ste. Marie, ON/Erie, OHL) and snapping a shot past Swedish goaltender Mark Owuya.

Doughty got the Canadians even 10 minutes later, getting a wrist shot through Owuya’s legs following a scramble in front of the Swedish goal.

The game looked to be headed to the third period tied before Sweden’s Mikael Backlund beat Canadian goaltender Trevor Cann (Oakville, ON/Peterborough, OHL) with just one second to go in the middle frame, giving the Swedes the lead heading to the final 20 minutes.

Backlund got his second of the game early in the third period on a Swedish powerplay, after Canadian forward Jamie Arniel (Kingston, ON/Guelph, OHL) had been sent off for shooting the puck over the glass.

Goals from Hjalmarsson and Emil Bejmo pushed the Swedish lead to four goals, chasing Cann from the net.

Braden Holtby (Marshall, SK/Saskatoon, WHL) made his first appearance of the tournament in the Canadian goal, and was greeted by goals on the first two shots he faced – Hjalmarsson’s second of the game, followed 52 seconds later by Backlund’s hat trick marker.

Esposito rounded out the scoring for the Canadians, who were outshot 55-28.

Canada finished fourth for the second consecutive year, and third time in four years, at the event, where they have taken home the gold medal only once, in 2003. | » IIHF Summary