Watch Team USA Vs. Team Canada Hockey Live Online: Start Time, Streaming Video For 2017 World Junior Championship Gold Medal Game
Hockey fans can watch the Team USA vs. Team Canada hockey game live online and see which nation takes home the gold medal in the 2017 World Junior Hockey Championship.
The two powerhouse teams will meet in Thursday’s championship game after each winning in dramatic fashion in the semifinal round. The American team needed a shootout to advance past Russia, while Team Canada overcame two early deficits in a 5-2 win over Sweden.
Team USA and Team Canada will now meet for the gold medal game on Thursday from the Bell Centre in Montreal, with the puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on both the NHL Network and TSN, and also available live online for those unable to make it to a television (a link to the streaming video can be found below).
The Canadian team found itself trailing twice to Sweden in the semifinal, down 1-0 and 2-1 before scoring four more goals to earn a resounding victory.
As the Globe and Mail pointed out, the Canadian team won by slowing the game down and encouraging a more physical, grinding style.
“The Swedes are a speedy team and ooze skill, but the Canadians quickly learned that if the game was decided along the boards and in the corners it would be to their advantage.”
“And so the second became a contest of wills between a team trying to cycle and grind and another trying to counterattack with speed.”
While the drama was out of the way early for the Canadians, the American team needed a theatrical finish to knock off the Russian team and advance to what organizers likely see as a dream of a gold medal game for the North American crowd. It appeared to many that the Russian team had won after taking the lead through three rounds of the shootout, but the rules for the Under-20 tournament stipulate that shootouts go five rounds.
The American team was able to knot up the score before winning in the seventh round on a shot by Troy Terry, who scored three times on goalie Ilya Samsonov in the shootout.
“I’m just trying to gather my words here,” Terry, a 19-year-old Anaheim Ducks prospect, told ESPN. “I’m still shaking a little bit. He’s is such a big goalie, I felt the best way to score on him was going five-hole. The second and third time, I was just trying to figure it out as I went down.”
Fans who watch the Team USA vs. Team Canada hockey match live online will see an American squad that just overcame its first real diversity of the annual tournament. The American team trailed in the game — the first time they were behind the entire tournament — but came back and showed great fight.
“I’m so happy for our guys and the fight that they showed,” said coach Bob Motzko of St. Cloud State. “That was a tremendous game to be a part of. We’ll enjoy this for a little, but our guys know the mission isn’t over. It’s exciting to know we have a chance at the gold medal tomorrow.”
Organizers are likely breathing a sigh of relief after the American and Canadian teams advanced through the semifinals. The tournament has been plagued by poor attendance and complaints that high ticket prices are driving away the average fan, so having the Canadian team and American team in the gold medal game will likely make it an easier sell to fans.
Fans who want to watch the Team USA vs. Team Canada hockey game live online can click here for live-streaming video of the 2017 World Junior Hockey Championship gold medal game from TSN.
[Featured Image by Claus Andersen/Getty Images]
