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WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Canada Will Go For Gold

January 3, 2010 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


Saskatoon, SK. (Courtesy of Slam Sports) - Marco Scandella scored shorthanded and Taylor Hall had two goals as Canada booked a ticket in the final of the world junior hockey championship for the ninth year in a row with a 6-1 victory Switzerland on Sunday.

Canada will play the winner of tonight's other Semi-Final between Sweden and the United States in the Gold Medal final on Tuesday night. Canada has won a medal in 11 straight world junior tournaments and is gunning for a record sixth straight gold.

Switzerland, which pulled out a stunning 3-2 overtime win in the quarter-finals over Russia on Saturday night, will play for the bronze medal. The only world junior medal won by the Swiss was a bronze at the 1998 tournament.

Jordan Eberle, Stefan Della Rovere and Brandon Wheat Kings' 18-year old center Brayden Schenn also scored for Canada, which outshot the Swiss 44-21 before a crowd of 13,427 at the Credit Union Centre. Mauro Jorg scored Switzerland's goal.

Canada scored on its first power play as a Ryan Ellis point shot deflected to Eberle, who beat Swiss goaltender Benjamin Conz with a high shot at 3:48. The Canadians failed to add to their lead in the first despite 19 shots in the period.

The goal lifted Eberle into a tie with Jason Allison for second place all-time in points among Canadians with 24. He also tied John Tavares for the goals record with his 12.

Ellis was off for holding when Canada struck shorthanded 7:26 into the second as Gabriel Bourque fed Scandella on a rush to the net and he beat Conz for his first of the tournament.

Less than two minutes later, Hall took a feed from Stefan Della Rovere and slid in his fourth of the tournament.

The Swiss called a timeout, and got themselves back in the game when Nazem Kadri was sent off for boarding. Portland Winter Hawk Nino Niederreiter won the faceoff and Jorg beat Jake Allen with a screened shot from the top of the right circle at 12:27.

Schenn scored on a rush down the left side when his pass attempt came back to him off Ramon Untersander and he beat Conz with a backhander 2:56 into the third.

Canada failed to score on a two-man advantage for 1:30, but then put in two in a 28-second span late in the game as Della Rovere converted a feed from Jordan Caron and Hall went around the net to stuff in a sixth goal.

Alex Pietrangelo had two assists to give him 11 points in the tournament, tops among defencemen. Brandon McMillan also had two helpers.

For a second straight game the Swiss were missing two key defencemen with injuries - captain Lucas Sbisa and alternate captain Roman Josi - forcing Geering into double shifts for much of the game.

The win may prove costly however, as Canadian blueliner Travis Hamonic of the Western Hockey League's Moose Jaw Warriors was slammed into the boards on a check from behind and left the game with an apparent injury. His status for Tuesday night's Gold Medal final is unknown.

Hamonic - from St. Malo - is the lone Manitoban on this year's Canadian team.

Meanwhile at the World Under 17 Challenge in Timmins, Ontario Team Pacific blanked Quebec 4-0 in the 5th Place Game while Team Atlantic doubled up on Team Western 4-2 in the game to decide seventh and eighth place.

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