Prince George Cougars goaltender Taylor Gauthier shut the door on Sweden in helping Canada’s under-18 team to a 6-2 triumph in the championship game of the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup in Edmonton.
Gauthier faced 16 shots and stopped them all after entering the game at 11:33 of the first period with his team trailing 2-0.
Starter Nolan Maier of the Saskatoon Blades allowed two goals on just three shots.
The Canadian team enjoyed period leads of 3-2 and 4-2 to capture gold for the 22nd time in the 28-year history of the tournament, including 10 of the last 11.
It was Gauthier’s second appearance in the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup.
What a game! What a tournament! What fans! ?????? #HlinkaGretzkyCup pic.twitter.com/lE7nNz5Wej
— Team Canada Men (@HC_Men) August 12, 2018
He was in net during a 4-2 victory over Slovakia in the round robin, where he blocked 17 of 19 shots.
Gauthier concluded the tournament with a 1.11 goals-against-average (GAA) and .943 save-percentage (SV%).
There are 22 players on the Canadian team, 11 of them from the WHL.
The others beside Gauthier and Maier are defencemen Bowen Byram (Vancouver Giants), Kaedan Korczak (Kelowna Rockets), Matthew Robertson (Edmonton Oil Kings) Braden Schneider (Brandon Wheat Kings) and
forwards Dylan Cozens (Lethbridge Hurricanes), Kirby Dach (Saskatoon Blades), Peyton Krebs (Kootenay ICE),
Sasha Mutala (Tri-City Americans) and Josh Williams (Medicine Hat Tigers).
Saskatoon Blades Head Coach Mitch Love of Quesnel was one of the Canadian assistant coaches.
Calgary Hitmen assistant coach Jason LaBarbera of Prince George was the Canadian goaltending consultant.
Russia earned the bronze medal after a 5-4 victory over the United States.
The Americans lost the semi-final to Canada 6-5 in overtime where the Canadians scored a controversial goal in the final second of the third period.
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