Gavin McKenna registers hat-trick as Canada beats USA for U-18 World Championship gold
ESPOO, Fin. – In one of the wildest gold-medal games in recent international hockey history, Canada took advantage of a late five-minute power play to beat to help finish off a 6-4 victory over the United States.
It’s Canada’s first win since the 2021 tournament in Texas when Connor Bedard and Shane Wright led the team. It’s their second medal in a row after winning bronze last year in Basel, Switzerland. This is Canada’s fifth gold medal at the tournament, and helps finish a year that saw them win the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Czechia back in August.
USA extends their medal streak to three years, and are now the first team to win 20 medals at the tournament.
It all started with 52 seconds left on the board in the first period. Christian Humphreys opened the scoring after making a quick move near the net, knocking in the loose puck to make it 1-0 USA.
That lead lasted until the five-minute mark in the second. Ryder Ritchie outlasted an American defender, making them think he was going to pass it to Tij Iginla. Instead, Ritchie shot top corner on Nick Kempf, tying the game up at one apiece.
The Americans would take full control over the next few minutes, though. At 28:31, Cole Eiserman took sole spot of first place in USA Hockey National Team Development Program all-time scoring with his 127th goal, surpassing Cole Caufield. Then, five minutes later, Cole Hutson scored to make it a 3-1 game, giving USA its biggest advantage of the night.
It wouldn’t last for too long, though. At 35:40 on the power play, McKenna took over the top spot all-time in single-tournament scoring by a Canadian with his 17th point, beating Kempf with a quick deke near the crease.
But then, a five-minute major for head contact to Trevor Connelly changed everything. McKenna scored his second of the night to get the power play started at 50:25. Then, just over a minute later, Cole Beaudoin scored to make it 4-3, putting the Americans behind for the first time all tournament. At 54:19, Tij Iginla took a pass from McKenna to make it 5-3, giving Canada big lead late.
But the Americans weren’t backing down. At 55:36, Brodie Ziemer made it 5-4 off of a feed from E.J. Emery, bringing them back within one. They hoped that would help spark a late comeback, but an empty netter from McKenna at 58:42 helped seal the deal, giving Canada the come-from-behind victory.
The bronze medal game was much closer than the final 4-0 score would suggest. The game remained scoreless heading into the third period, and that’s when Lucas Pettersson capitalized on a hot game to make it 1-0. Melvin Fernstrom made it 2-0 shortly after, while Alfons Freij and Victor Eklund both added goals in the dying minutes to secure the victory.
Here’s a look at the top performers from the gold medal game on Sunday in Espoo:
Canada
#24 Tij Iginla, LW: For the second consecutive game, I thought Iginla was Canada’s best two-way player. He was attacking well, skating well and hitting hard, too. He scored Canada’s fifth goal, but it was everything else – the setups, the passes, everything, that made him so noticeable. The Canadians got him at his best when they needed it.
#9 Gavin McKenna, LW (2026): Three goals. Four points. What else can you ask from one of the best young players in the world? He’s special.
#28 Cole Beaudoin, C: I keep writing about Beaudoin, and for a good reason. That effort, man. He wanted to separate Americans from the puck every possible opportunity he got. He’s just a big man that is unrelenting and you can see defenders make mistakes with the puck because they’re afraid of him.
#30 Carter George, G: That huge diving effort late in the second? Massive. Potentially game-saving. George was one of the biggest reasons why Canada held on against a hard-charging Swedish team on Saturday and he kept the team alive in the onslaught by the Americans, especially on the penalty kill.
USA
#8 Teddy Stiga, LW: From the get-go, Stiga was fired up. He landed some big hits early, was on the receiving end of one on his first shift, and had some close chances of his own. It’s crazy he didn’t get a point because he was easily one of the hardest-working players out there.
#34 Cole Eiserman, LW: Eiserman is now the all-time USA Hockey National Team Development Program goal-scoring leader after scoring the 2-1 goal in the second period. That was his 127th career goal, and it was well-deserved given how perfectly placed it was. He also landed some hits and made some excellent moves in scoring areas in another great game for the projected 2024 first-rounder.
#23 Cole Hutson, D: This was my favorite game from Hutson here in Finland. He set up Eiserman for the 2-1 goal before getting one of his own at 33:04 to give his team some breathing room. He skated so well, was difficult to beat and still showed some of the nastiness that makes him so fascinating.
#25 LJ Mooney, RW (2025): Did you know LJ stands for Little John? Now you do. Mooney was moving, grooving and putting in a full 200-foot effort in a game where James Hagens was shut down. His speed is so dangerous and he’s got the hands and the brains to make plays at pace.