DAY 8 - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2008

Mike Cichy (F) – United States

Cichy capped off a big week in a big way on Sunday, scoring once and adding in assist as the United States claimed the gold medal. He finished with 10 points (five goals, five assists) – good for the tournament lead – earned a spot on the tournament all-star team and was named the Under Armour® Undeniable MVP award for his work. It was a big leap from 2007, when Cichy recorded only one point in four games for the bronze medal-winning Americans.

DAY 7 - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2008

Brodie Reid (F) – Canada West

Pointless through his team’s first two games, Reid picked the perfect time to break out of his scoring slump, connecting twice with the man advantage to lead Canada West to the gold medal game for the third-straight year. The Ladner, BC native will help lead Canada West and its deadly powerplay (a tournament-high eight goals) into Sunday’s gold medal clash with the United States as the Canadians look to remain the only gold medalists in WJAC history.

DAY 5 - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2008

Siarhei Drozd (F) – Belarus

With only one assist through two periods, not many saw Drozd’s record-setting performance coming. The Belarussian sniper scored three times in 3:46, all of them on the powerplay, setting records for fastest hat trick, most powerplay goals in a game, most powerplay goals in a period, most goals at one WJAC (7) and most powerplay goals at one WJAC (5). Most importantly, his four-point night helped Belarus earn a spot in the tournament semifinals for the first time.

DAY 4 - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008

Marty O’Grady (F) – Canada

They didn’t win the game, but Canada East claimed a bigger victory after its 5-3 loss to the United States – top spot in Group B and a bye to the semifinals. O’Grady’s two goals helped keep the Canadians close enough to hold off the Germans and Americans and claim the group and earn two days off before Saturday’s final four match-ups. O’Grady finished tied for third in preliminary round scoring and was one of only four players to score three goals.

DAY 3 – TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008

Conor Morrison (F) – Germany

Canadians were on the wrong end of the first big upset of the 2008 World Junior A Challenge when Canada West fell to Belarus. On Tuesday, a Canadian-born player played a major role in the second. Conor Morrison, who was born in London, ON but raised in Germany, broke a 2-2 tie early in the second period as the Germans surprised the United States, one of the pre-tournament favourites, 5-2, setting up a wild Group B finish.

DAY 2 – MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2008

Sergei Chvatov (F) – Russia

Although his first goal came with the Russians already leading 3-0, Chvatov was unquestionably the offensive star in Russia’s record-tying 10-4 win over Belarus, scoring three times – just the sixth hat trick in WJAC history, and the first by a Russian – and adding an assist in the romp. Chvatov and linemate Vladimir Tarasenko (four assists) led the charge for the Russians, who scored on 25% of their chances – 10 goals on 41 shots.

DAY 1 – SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2008

Yauheni Salamonau (F) – Belarus

Although he failed to register a point during regulation time and overtime, Salamonau saved his moment for when it counted most, roofing a backhand over Canada West goaltender Andrew Bodnarchuk for what proved to be the winning goal in the shootout, giving Belarus the win over the two-time defending gold medalists in undoubtedly the biggest upset in the history of the World Junior A Challenge.