CAMROSE, AB – After positing semifinal wins on Saturday, Canada West and the United States are set to meet for the gold medal at the 2008 World Junior A Challenge. The game can be seen live on TSN2, beginning at 6 p.m. MST/8 p.m. EST; visit www.tsn2.ca to find out how you can see the game in your area.

Canada West has won the only two gold medals in the history of the World Junior A Challenge, claiming top spot in 2006 (Yorkton, SK) and 2007 (Trail, BC). The Americans won the bronze medal last year in their tournament debut.

In Saturday’s late semifinal, Brodie Reid (Delta, BC/Burnaby, BCHL) scored twice and Denver Manderson (Fergus, ON/Penticton, BCHL) added a goal and two assists as Canada West won 4-1, its second straight victory after a shootout loss to Belarus in the tournament-opening game last Sunday. Cole Wilson also scored for the Canadians, while Kevin Genoe (Qualicum Beach, BC/Prince George, BCHL) made 21 saves to register the win.

Earlier Saturday, the United States ended the run of all-Canadian gold medal games with a 5-1 win over Canada East. Matt Donovan scored twice and 11 different players recorded at least one point for the Americans. Stephen Horyl (Sydney, NS/Truro, MJAHL) scored the lone goal for Canada East, who will play for bronze for the first time after winning silver in 20.

The game will mark the second meeting all-time between the two teams at the World Junior A Challenge. In 2007, Canada West scored a 5-1 win over the United States in a semifinal game in Nelson, BC. Eight players who played in that game will take to the ice at the Edgeworth Centre on Sunday – three for Canada West (Brown, MacWilliam, Seigo) and five for the United States (Cichy, Helgeson, Larson, Nicastro, Smith).

Canada East and Belarus will meet for the bronze medal at 1 p.m. MST/3 p.m. EST.

In action earlier Saturday, Russia claimed fifth place with an 8-2 win over Germany. Stanislav Bocharov had a hat trick for the Russians.

Jason La Rose, Hockey Canada’s coordinator of communications/content development, will be on-site during the 2008 World Junior A Challenge for any tournament information or media requests. He can be reached at (403) 703-8791, or at [email protected].