Macklin Celebrini scored the deciding goal 7-51 in overtime and Canada defeated Slovakia 4-3 to secure bronze at the Men’s U18 World Ice Hockey Championships on Sunday in Basel, Switzerland.
Celebrini also scored the first goal of the game and had an assist. Colby Barlow and Matthew Wood added the others for Canada with one goal and three assists.
Gabriel D’Aigle made 26 saves as he became the first 16-year-old goalkeeper to start a tournament.
“This win means everything to us,” said Celebrini. “It’s not the color we wanted, but we showed a lot of character in this game, prevailed and found a way. I’m really proud of this team.”
16-year-old Celebrini finished the tournament with 15 points as team leader and equaled Tyson Jost (2016), the most points by a Canadian at a single U18 World Cup.
“There were some special 16-year-olds who played in this tournament and Macklin is no exception,” said Canada head coach Jeff Truitt. “He is a dynamic player and wants to be in the spotlight.
“He was a clutch guy for us at all tournaments and especially today. He has a bright future ahead of him.”
Dalibor Dvorsky, Peter Cisar and Daniel Jencko answered for Slovakia. Samuel Urban stopped 37 of 41 shots.
After a scoreless first period, Barlow’s goal gave Canada a 2-1 lead with 13 seconds remaining in the second period.
In the third, Slovakia achieved a 3–2 lead with Jencko’s marker with 4:27 remaining in regular time. However, Wood scored the decisive goal with 1:10 left to send the game into overtime.
Ryan Leonard capped a US comeback with the decisive extra-time goal to beat Sweden 3-2 in the gold medal game later on Sunday.
Canada lost 7-2 to Sweden in the semifinals on Saturday.
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