World Juniors End On High Note As USA Tops Canada In Shootout

USA defeated Canada 5-4 in a shootout last night in Montreal in "one of the best World Junior Championship gold medal games ever played." USA Hockey's "first gold medal" since '13 came before a near-capacity Bell Centre crowd of 20,380 (TSN.ca, 1/5). Team USA C Troy Terry's decisive shootout goal came after 80 minutes of "non-stop action and heart-rending drama" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 1/6).

There has been talk that Montreal "should be embarrassed by the small crowds" for the World Juniors, but "another way to look at it is that the city should be proud of itself for refusing to be gouged by ridiculously high prices." Thankfully for tournament organizers, Team Canada "made it to the gold-medal game to fill up the Bell Centre and Montreal showed yet again it is an 'event' city." IIHF President René Fasel yesterday "suggested Montrealers only care about the Canadiens, which is why the junior ticket sales were so weak" (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 1/6).