USA, Canada Red to play for gold at World U-17 Hockey Challenge

It all comes down to this.

After USA previously clinched a spot in the gold medal game following a perfect 6-0 record, Canada Red clinched its spot with a 5-3 win over Sweden on Friday at 5:00 PM PST.

Canada Black and Finland will play for bronze earlier in the day on Saturday. The Finns entered the day with the best chance of clinching a spot in the final with nine points, but wins for Canada Red and Black kept them out of the running.

Canada Red beat Sweden 6-3 on the heels of goals from Tij Iginla, Ben Cormier, Nathan Villeneuve, Ethan Procyszyn and a pair from Porter Martone. The Swedes answered both of Canada’s goals in the first, but two goals in the first 3:35 of the second was enough to help Canada take the victory.

USA won the previous meeting against Canada Red 5-2, and led all teams with 39 goals for and 12 against after six games.

Canada White, already eliminated from contention, managed to beat Finland 8-2. Roger McQueen and Ryder Ritchie each had two goals, while goaltender David Yegorov had 33 saves for Canada. The Finns seemingly fell apart when it mattered in this tournament, but will have a chance to win bronze against Canada Black, a team that has struggled to stay healthy all tournament long.