DAVOS, Switzerland – Canada’s National Men’s Team has finished second at the 2018 Spengler Cup, dropping a narrow 2-1 decision to KalPa Kuopio in the championship game Monday after an eight-round shootout.
It is the 10th time the Canadians have finished as the runner-up at the annual tournament (1985, 1988, 1990, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2018).
"Losing in a shootout is always disappointing, but our team should be very proud of the way we played,” said Team Canada captain Andrew Ebbett (Vernon, B.C./SC Bern, NLA). “We represented our country and our families extremely well. Playing in the Spengler Cup is a privilege and an honour, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Team Canada."
Canada took the lead five minutes into the third period when Daniel Winnik (Toronto, Ont./Genève-Servette HC, NLA) converted the rebound off a Torrey Mitchell (Greenfield Park, Que./Lausanne HC, NLA) breakaway to open the scoring, but Kuopio, which plays in the SM-liiga in Finland, equalized six minutes later.
Zach Boychuk (Airdrie, Alta./SC Bern, NLA) and Cory Emmerton (St. Thomas, Ont./Lausanne HC, NLA) counted goals in the first three rounds of the shootout, but the Canadians weren’t able to put another puck past Kuopio goaltender Denis Godla, who made 39 saves.
Zach Fucale (Rosemère, Que./Fort Wayne, ECHL) finished with 23 stops in regulation and overtime before turning aside five of eight attempts in the shootout.
"Today was a tough loss, but what a hockey game. Credit [KalPa] Kuopio, it played hard and found a way to win in the shootout,” said Canadian head coach Kevin Dineen (Toronto, Ont.). “Our players and staff should hold their heads high, and should be very proud of their efforts. I am already looking forward to the next opportunity to represent my country and be a part of Team Canada."
Full game stats and story are available at HockeyCanada.ca.
Following the game, Boychuk and defenceman Dante Fabbro (Coquitlam, B.C./Boston University, HE) were named to the tournament all-star team, as selected by the media.
The loss represents the end of a 12-game winning streak at the Spengler Cup, dating back to 2016; it’s the longest ever by Canada at the tournament.
The Canadians remain tied with host team HC Davos for championship titles, winning 15 times since first participating in 1984 (1984, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017).
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Twitter.com/HC_Men.