Canada is back on top of the world.
A year after falling short of the gold medal against Finland in overtime, Team Canada took home the gold at the 2023 World Hockey Championship with a 5-2 win over Germany.
The game was far closer than the score would indicate. Germany held the lead in both the first and second periods, but Canada responded each time to go into the third period with a 2-2 tie.
That’s where Canada took their first lead, with St. Louis Blues forward Sammy Blais getting his second goal of the game to make it 3-2, then Calgary Flames forward Tyler Toffoli putting it out of reach with the 4-2 goal before a late empty-netter sealed the deal.
As a result, two Vancouver Canucks defencemen will bring home gold medals: Tyler Myers and Ethan Bear.
Unfortunately, Bear didn’t play in either the semifinal or the gold-medal game, as he was injured late in Canada’s game against Finland. He appeared to take a slash to the wrist but it is only being described as an upper-body injury.
Myers, as he did all tournament, ate up major minutes for Canada on a pairing with Pierre-Olivier Joseph. He played 24:44 in the gold-medal game as head coach Andre Tourigny relied heavily on the veteran in key situations. That was second in ice time to only the Flames’ Mackenzie Weegar, who was named the tournament’s top defenceman.
For the most part, Myers had a quiet tournament, finishing with just one point — a goal — in ten games. Given Myers’ tendency towards chaos, however, a quiet tournament is for the best.
The larger ice surface seemed to suit Myers’ skillset, as he used his mobility and reach to cover large swathes of the ice and minimized his mistakes with and without the puck. He played with a steadiness that Canucks fans have seldom seen in Vancouver.
Along with Myers and Bear, two former Canucks in Toffoli and Brad Hunt were also on the gold-medal winning team, as was Vancouver’s own Milan Lucic.
