Canada cruises to 2nd straight U18 world men's hockey title for 1st time

Brady Martin scored twice, netminder Jack Ivankovic stopped 28 shots, and Canada whipped Sweden 7-0 in the under-18 world men's hockey championship gold-medal game on Saturday at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.

Xavier Villeneuve, Jackson Smith, Ethan Czata, Braeden Cootes and Jack Nesbitt also scored for Canada, which led 2-0 after the first period and 5-0 heading into the third. Ben Kindel chipped in with a pair of assists. Fourteen players registered at least one point for the champions.

The victory gave Canada consecutive gold medals at the under-18 championship for the first time. And Ivankovic, who played this season for the Brampton Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League, went 144 minutes 53 seconds without allowing a goal in Texas. He finished with back-to-back shutouts.

Sweden, which was coming off an emotional 4-3 semifinal win over the United States on Friday, didn't appear to have much left in the tank for the aggressive Canadians, who blanked Slovakia 4-0 in Friday's other semifinal.

"What a great feeling," said Canadian head coach Cory Stillman. "[It's been a] long season for these guys and you always want to finish the season with a championship with your club team.

If that doesn't pan out, you get to represent your country and that's pretty special.

"We got better as the tournament went on. Tonight, was the best game we played, and we came out winners."

Jackson Smith, who played for the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League this past season, was thrilled to win the gold medal.

"This was one of the closest teams I've ever been on," said Smith. "We came together quick, didn't have a ton of time to get to know each other but that didn't matter. It showed out there with how we played tonight, we are truly a team. This is an incredible feeling.

"There is nothing better than winning gold for Canada, and to do it twice [2024 Hlinka-Gretzky] is extra special. Hopefully, this is just the start for me and these guys."

Ivankovic and Martin were named to the tournament all-star team, an award voted on by the IIHF and tournament directorate. Ivankovic was also named best goaltender of the tournament.

Ben Kevan OT hero for Americans

Ben Kevan's goal at 5:37 of overtime lifted the United States to a 4-3 victory over Slovakia in Saturday's bronze-medal game.

Jan Chovan of Slovakia scored with 6:47 left in the third period to force the extra session.

Blake Fiddler, Jacob Kvasnicka and Cole McKinney also scored for the Americans, who led 1-0 after the first period but trailed 2-1 heading into the third.

Michal Svrcek scored twice for the Slovakians, who were outshot 33-26.