Canada claims silver in decisive 6-1 loss to Team USA in World Para Hockey final

Team Canada came up short of the gold in the 2023 World Para Hockey Championship final as Team USA took the top prize for the fourth consecutive year.

The 6-1 loss was decisive for Team Canada. The U.S. remained in the lead for the entire contest, scoring two goals per period.

Canada’s lone goal came from Player of the Game Tyler McGregor four minutes into the third period.

“To be quite honest, for a core group of us, that has been really, really hard,” McGregor said in a Team Canada news release.

“We’ve had so many heartbreaks, but we’ve had new people that inject our room with so much passion and energy. You have to show up to the gold medal game under a lot of pressure, play your best, make plays under pressure and be ready for whatever comes your way. I think we’re capable of doing that and we showed that we’re at least on the path to doing so.”

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts from across Saskatchewan sent to your device

The last time Team Canada came away with a gold medal in the tournament was 2017, when they defeated the Americans 4-1 in Gangneung, South Korea.

Since that victory, Team Canada and the U.S have met in every tournament final.

Canada scoring a lone goal, the Americans scoring two to five.

Head coach Russ Herrington said that regardless of the results, the team should be proud of their efforts this season.

“I think our players should be really proud of what they invested this year,” Herrington said in the release.

“We talked a lot about not defining yourself by what you do or what you achieve; you define yourself by who you are and how you invest in the process to get there. We’re so proud as athletes and staff of the steps we’ve taken. It’s an arduous journey and we feel like we’ve excelled the process a little bit, but there’s a road still to travel to get to the top of podium.”

In its 12 appearances at the Para Hockey World Championships, Canada has medalled 11 times, capturing both gold and silver four times and bronze three times.