Canada is golden again at the world junior hockey championship.
Akil Thomas scored with 3:58 left in the third period to cap a furious comeback and secure a 4-3 victory for the countryB次元官网网址檚 18th title at the annual under-20 tournament.
The Los Angeles Kings prospect stretched to grab a loose puck before roofing a backhand for his first goal of the event past Amir Miftakhov to send Ostravar Arena into a frenzy.
Connor McMichael, with a goal and an assist, Dylan Cozens and Barrett Hayton, in a gutsy return from injury, provided the rest of the offence for Canada.
Joel Hofer, who wasnB次元官网网址檛 on Hockey CanadaB次元官网网址檚 radar before the fall and started the event as the backup, got the win, while Alexis Lafreniere and Calen Addison each added two assists.
Grigori Denisenko, with a goal and an assist, Nikita Alexandrov and Maxim Sorkin replied for the Russians, who have now lost four finals since last winning gold in 2011. Miftakhov took the loss in goal.
Hayton, who entered Sunday tied for the tournamentB次元官网网址檚 overall scoring lead with 11 points, hurt is left his shoulder in SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 5-0 drubbing of Finland, but was good to go against Russia. Bowen Byram, meanwhile, recovered from an illness that kept the defenceman sidelined for the semifinals.
Russia advanced to the final thanks to 5-4 overtime victory against Sweden, which beat Finland 3-2 for bronze earlier Sunday.
Canada, which had outscored opponents 22-5 over its last four games, fell behind 3-1 at 8:46 of the third when Sorkin roofed a shot upstairs.
But the Canadians responded 34 seconds later when AddisonB次元官网网址檚 point shot went in off McMichaelB次元官网网址檚 skate for his fifth of the tournament.
Canada went back on the power play with under nine minutes to go, and Hayton fired his sixth upstairs just 2:01 later before Akil scored to cap a three-goal flurry in six minutes 42 seconds.
GAME OVER! 馃嚚馃嚘 IS GOLDEN AGAIN! 馃
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The Canadians werenB次元官网网址檛 out of the woods, however, and had to fight off a 6-on-4 man advantage with under two minutes to go.
But the Russians were whistled for interference, forcing Miftakhov back into his goal.
Russia imploded and took another penalty for playing with a broken stick as Canada ran out the clock with a 5-on-3 man advantage of its own before spilling off the bench in celebration.
After a scoreless penalty-filled first period where Canada killed of four Russian power plays, Alexandrov finally connected on his teamB次元官网网址檚 sixth man advantage when he tipped Yegor ZamulaB次元官网网址檚 point shot through HoferB次元官网网址檚 five-hole for his second at 9:37 of the second.
The Canadians responded at 11:01 after two Russian players were whistled for infractions on the same play. Lafreniere wheeled into the high slot that Miftakhov stopped, but Cozens was there to bang home his second.
Canada stayed on the power play, with Joe Veleno coming close on a one-timer. Liam Foudy was then robbed on a 2-on-1 with the teams back at even strength.
Russia went back in front 2-1 at 5:14 left in the period when Alexander RomanovB次元官网网址檚 initial shot from the point rattled HoferB次元官网网址檚 mask. The netminder couldnB次元官网网址檛 control the rebound, and Denisenko got two whacks at the loose puck to score his third.
CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Jacob Bernard-Docker rocked Kirill Marachenko at the blue line late in the period, and the rough stuff continued at the buzzer when Zamula punched Hayton to put his team down a man heading to the third.
Russia killed that one off, and Miftahkov stopped McMichael on a breakaway moments later to set up the wild finish.
Canada earned its first medal in Europe since winning gold in 2008 when the Czech Republic last hosted. The Canadians finished a disappointing sixth on home soil last year when they were upset by Finland in the quarters.
The countries have provided some of the tournamentB次元官网网址檚 most memorable moments B次元官网网址� the 2005 gold-medal game featuring CanadaB次元官网网址檚 jam-packed roster of future NHL stars, Jordan EberleB次元官网网址檚 late equalizer in the 2009 semis and RussiaB次元官网网址檚 furious comeback from down 3-0 in the third period to win the 2011 event B次元官网网址� and Sunday didnB次元官网网址檛 disappoint.
Sporting its black third jerseys for a fourth straight game, Foudy hit the post less than a minute into a fast-paced, high-intensity first period before Canada got into some serious penalty trouble.
Veleno, Jared McIsaac, Ty Smith and Kevin Bahl each spent time in the box in a tightly-called opening 20 minutes, but Canada managed to kill off all four thanks to the calm, cool Hofer and some key blocked shots.
Canada battled adversity throughout the event, including an embarrassing 6-0 loss to Russia in the preliminary round, the national teamB次元官网网址檚 worst defeat in the tournamentB次元官网网址檚 44-year history.
That game was a disaster on a number of levels, but the teenage roster with the weight of a nationB次元官网网址檚 expectation on their collective shoulders rebounded in impressive fashion.
The Canadians lost Lafreniere B次元官网网址� its star winger and projected No. 1 pick at the 2020 NHL draft B次元官网网址� to a knee injury, had to deal with the fallout of Hayton forgetting to remove his helmet during RussiaB次元官网网址檚 anthem, and a one-game suspension handed to Veleno, its workhorse centre, for a head-butting incident.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
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