PIESTANY, Slovakia – Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team will play for gold at the 2008 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament on Saturday, August 16 in Piestany, Slovakia.

Canada completed preliminary round play with a 9-1 win over Slovakia on Thursday to move its record in Pool B to 3-0. It also recorded wins over Sweden and Switzerland. Canada will face Russia in the gold medal game, as the Russians finished first in Pool A with a 3-0 record, including wins over the Czech Republic, United States and Finland.

"We're thrilled to be playing in Saturday's gold medal game,” says head coach Bill Peters. “Everyone knows about the Canada-Russia rivalry and it's exciting to be involved in the latest chapter."

On Thursday, Brayden Schenn (Saskatoon, SK/Brandon, WHL) scored once and added two assists and Ryan Ellis (Hamilton, ON/Windsor, OHL) had four helpers as Canada romped over the tournament co-hosts. Louis Leblanc (Kirkland, QC/Lac St-Louis, LHMAAAQ) scored twice, while Casey Cizikas (Mississauga, ON/Mississauga, OHL) had three assists in the win. Nathan Lieuwen (Abbotsford, BC/Westside, BCHL) needed to make just 13 saves in the Canadian goal as Canada outshot Slovakia 53-14.

Players and staff will return to Canada on Sunday, August 17 on one of two flights before connecting to their final destinations across North America. See below for specific flight itineraries for Canada’s players and coaches.

TEAM CANADA RETURN FLIGHT ITINERARY INFORMATION – SUNDAY, AUGUST 17
Information is listed by FINAL destination. Arrival times are all LOCAL TIMES. Flight information may change without notice.

Montreal, QC / AC8982 / 6:38 p.m.
Assistant coach André Tourigny
Simon Després, Hubert Labrie, Louis Leblanc

Vancouver, BC / AC8325 / 6:45 p.m.
Stefan Elliott, Evander Kane

Toronto, ON / AC463 / 7:08 p.m.
Casey Cizikas, Taylor Doherty, Matthew Duchene, Ryan Ellis, Bryce O’Hagan, Ryan O’Reilly

Kitchener, ON / JV0323 / 7:10 p.m.
Assistant coach Steve Spott

Abbotsford, BC / WJ105 / 7:12 p.m.
Nathan Lieuwen

Spokane, WA / AS2364 / 8:59 p.m.
Head coach Bill Peters

Saskatoon, SK / AC8588 / 9:00 p.m.
Carter Ashton, Jimmy Bubnick, Jared Cowen, Brayden McNabb, Garrett Mitchell, Brayden Schenn

Winnipeg, MB / AC8336 / 9:28 p.m.
Cody Eakin, Scott Glennie

Kingston, ON / AC7372 / 9:38 p.m.
Taylor Hall

The media contact with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team is Chris Jurewicz. He can be reached in Slovakia at 011 372 53 386 941 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Please note that the time in Slovakia/Czech Republic is six hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time.