This is the faceoff we’ve been waiting for.
An intense matchup of Canada vs. the USA will take place tonight once the puck drops at the gold medal game of the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. It all goes down at Edmonton’s Rogers Place on Tuesday, January 5 at 9:30 pm Eastern / 7:30 pm Mountain. The neighbouring countries are facing off against each other for the championship title for the first time since 2017, when the USA took home the victory, so this is definitely going to be a must-see battle on ice.
Team Canada secured their spot in the gold medal finals by defeating Russia 5-0 in the semi-finals and the Czech Republic 3-0 in the quarter finals. The US team advanced to the finals by winning their semi-finals game against Finland in a close call of 4-3. Canada is hoping to successfully defend their gold medal title after their men’s national junior ice hockey team narrowly beat Russia in the 2020 gold medal game.
Canada vs USA for GOLD tomorrow
How bad do we want to beat the Americans?! pic.twitter.com/2Kt8ZSF2gP
— Mookie Wilson (@Mookalicious) January 5, 2021
“The picture of [playing for gold] has been probably our driving force since we got here,” said team goalie Devon Levi on a video call after the team’s semi-finals win against Russia. “We’ve put in a lot to this. It’s a great feeling that we’re here and that we got here. But the job’s not done yet.”
Canada and the US are known for having a friendly rivalry in hockey, so this head to head showdown is bound to be one to remember. Will Canada be able to snatch their third gold win in four years and remain as the reigning champions? Or will the USA succeed in dethroning Canada? We’ll find out tonight!
The rivalry continues…
It will be 🇨🇦 vs. 🇺🇸 in the #worldjuniors gold medal finalhttps://t.co/tUZrWZr5xU
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) January 5, 2021
Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships is being hosted behind closed doors with no spectators for any game.
See also: 10 Unique Winter Sports You Can Find In Canada
[Featured Image Source: Twitter / Hockey Canada’s World Juniors Coverage]