Canada whips U.S. 8

Canada whips U.S. 8-1 to win Hlinka Gretzky Cup

Finland defeat Slovakia 3-2 to take bronze medal

Brock England, Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue each scored twice, the power play went 3-for-5, and Canada whipped the United States 8-1 to win the Hlinka Gretzky Cup on Saturday in Edmonton.

Benjamin Veitch and Jaakko Wycisk also scored for Canada, who outshot the Americans 45-17, and led 3-1 after the first period and 6-1 heading into the third at Rogers Place.

Canadian captain Landon DuPont had four assists for the hosts, who earned their 26th Under-18 gold medal at the summer event.

"This is a crazy moment because we have dreamt of this since the start of the tournament, and it was our mission to win gold," said Schultz, who was named player of the game. "It feels great to be wearing the gold medal around our necks, and everyone is excited to get this win.

"It was so fun to play with this team, and we wanted to win so badly. We knew we had it in us and that we were the group that could get it done, and to have the crowd behind us every shift and cheer us on was incredible."

Gunnar Conboy scored a power-play goal for the Americans, who went 1-for-5 on the power play.

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Canadian coach Ryan Oulahen was thrilled with the end result.

"I am so proud of this group. I know the score says what it says, but I would have been proud if it was a 1-0 game because of how well we played and the way everyone bought in to what we wanted to accomplish," said Oulahen.

"This group will be remembered for playing the Canadian way. We got better every single day, and tonight was 60 minutes of exactly how you would want to draw things up. This is an impressive team that is led by an impressive staff, and I am going to remember this experience forever."

Canada finished the preliminary round in first place in Group A after wins over Switzerland (7-3), Slovakia (6-1) and Sweden (7-4). It booked its spot in the gold-medal game with a 6-3 win over Finland in the semifinals.

The medal marks the 31st that Canada has won at the annual summer Under-18 tournament, capturing 26 gold medals, three silver and two bronze.

Finland scored twice in the third period to defeat Slovakia 3-2 in Saturday's bronze-medal game. Roni Kuukasjarvi scored the winner on a power play at 13:27 of the third period. Sweden scored twice in the final period to beat Germany 4-2 in Saturday's seventh-place game. Oliver Sundberg and Olle Zetterstedt each scored twice for Sweden.