Journal Staff
Sarnia Sting’s goalie backstopped Canada to a gold medal last week at the U-18 World Hockey Championships in Texas.
Ben Gaudreau made 31 saves to lead Canada to a 5-3 victory in the final against Russia on May 6.
The Corbiel, Ont. native went 5-0 at the tournament, playing 240 minutes with a 2.20 goals against average and 0.919 save percentage.
“It was really exciting. The last minute felt about as long as the entire game,” Gaudreau said in a post-game interview.
“Once Shaner (Wright) put the icing on the cake there with 40 seconds left it really set in. The feelings can’t really be described. I couldn’t have done this with a better group of guys.”
It was Canada’s first gold medal at the tournament since 2013.
Gaudreau dressed for 28 games with the Sting in the 2019-20 season, posting a 4.34 goals against average and a 0.919 save percentage.