2017-18 National Men's Team

2017 Spengler Cup
Game #11
Championship
Final
December 31, 2017 6:00 am EST
Vaillant Arena
Davos, SUI

Scoring

Teams
1st
2nd
3rd
Final
Teams
1
2
3
F
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
3

Shots on Goal

1st
2nd
3rd
Final
1
2
3
F
9
16
11
36
11
12
5
28

Statistics

PP
PIM
0 / 2
4
0 / 2
4

Game Story

POULIN BACKSTOPS CANADA TO THIRD-STRAIGHT SPENGLER TITLE

JASON LA ROSE

DAVOS, Switzerland – Kevin Poulin (Montreal, Que./KHL Medvescak Zagreb, EBEL) turned aside all 36 shots he faced in a terrific performance, and Canada’s National Men’s Team blanked Switzerland 3-0 on Sunday to win its third-consecutive Spengler Cup championship.

It is the first time a team has gone back-to-back-to-back at the tournament since Canada won four in a row from 1995-98. The title is also the 15th for Canada, tying host HC Davos for most all-time.

Both goaltenders were busy early, with Poulin and Swiss counterpart Leonardo Genoni combining for 20 saves in scoreless first period.

It took a fortuitous bounce for Canada to open the scoring in the second; a shot by Maxim Noreau (Montreal, Que./SC Bern, NLA) hit the leg of Zach Boychuk (Airdrie, Alta./HC Slovan Bratislava, KHL) and eluded Genoni at 7:34.

Noreau needed less than four minutes to add insurance, blasting a point shot past Genoni directly off a won face-off to send Canada to the intermission up by a pair of goals.

The defenceman – who wore the ‘C’ for the second year in a row – finished the tournament as the co-leader in scoring, netting a pair of goals to go along with five assists in four games.

David McIntyre (Pefferlaw, Ont./EV Zug, NLA) added an exclamation point for the Canadians with less than eight minutes left, spinning in the slot and squeezing a shot under the arm of Genoni to make it 3-0.

That was more than enough for Poulin, who fashioned just the eighth shutout by a Canadian goaltender in tournament history, and the second in a championship game – Canada blanked Lada Togliatti in the 1995 final.

Poulin made 16 saves in the second period but was arguably at his best in the third, keeping the Swiss at bay as they looked to get back within a goal early in the final frame. His best save came with less than two minutes to go, a how-did-he-do-that pad stop off Damien Brunner.

The Spengler Cup was the last of five Olympic tune-up events for the Canadians, who will select their team for the 2018 Games in the coming weeks.

Canada opens the Olympic tournament against Switzerland on Feb. 15 in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Play by Play

Team
Description
Time
1st Period
PENALTY
Penalty: Luca Fazzini
Hooking (2:00)
02:07
2nd Period
GOAL
Goal: Zach Boychuk

Assists: Maxim Noreau, Andrew Ebbett
07:34
GOAL
Goal: Maxim Noreau

Assists: Victor Bartley, Jay McClement
11:31
PENALTY
Penalty: Noah Rod
Boarding (2:00)
13:46
3rd Period
PENALTY
Penalty: Mason Raymond
Delay of Game (2:00)
09:45
GOAL
Goal: David McIntyre

Assists: P-A Parenteau
12:19
PENALTY
Penalty: Maxim Noreau
Hooking (2:00)
19:59

Goaltender Leaders

Name Team Mins Shots Saves GA SV%
Leonardo Genoni SUI 56 28 25 3 0.893
Kevin Poulin CAN 60 36 36 0 1.000

Game Leaders

GA 3 - SV - 25 - SAV% - 0.893
GA 0 - SV - 36 - SAV% - 1.000
Goals 1 - Assists 1 - Points 2
G 1 - A 1 - PTS 2
Goals 1 - Assists 0 - Points 1
G 1 - A 0 - PTS 1

Previous Games

0 - 3 L @ CanadaCAN
Dec 31, 2017
3 - 0 W v SwitzerlandSUI
Dec 31, 2017
8 - 3 W v HC DavosDAV
Dec 30, 2017
5 - 2 W v Mountfield HKMHK
Dec 30, 2017
4 - 0 W v HPK HämeenlinnaHPK
Dec 28, 2017
4 - 1 W v HC DavosDAV
Dec 28, 2017
Videos
Photos
2016-17 NMT: CAN 5 – HCL 2 (Championship)
Three second-period goals helped Canada to its 14th Spengler Cup.
2016-17 NMT: CAN 3 – MIN 2 (Semifinal)
Marc-Antoine Pouliot had three points, and Canada advanced to the Spengler Cup championship game.
2016-17 NMT: CAN 5 – MHK 1 (Quarter-Final)
Raymond, Gormley and Ebbett had 1G 2A each, and Canada advanced.
2016-17 NMT - CAN 4 – HCD 3 (Preliminary)
Ebbett scored the winner, and Canada edged the Spengler Cup hosts.
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Credit