LILLEHAMMER, Norway – The men's hockey team added a second silver medal to Team Canada’s seven podium finishes at the 2016 Youth Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer.

Canada faced the U.S. in the gold medal game, and were down by two goals entering the third period. Despite goals from Ryan Merkley (Mississauga, Ont./Toronto Jr. Canadiens, GTHL) and Allan McShane (Collingwood, Ont./Toronto Marlboros, GTHL), the Canadians dropped a 5-2 decision on their way to earning the silver medal.

“I think the game was pretty even,” said head coach Martin Raymond. “We had to kill many penalties, and that doesn’t help when you play a big, physical, talented team. We beat them earlier this week and they beat us today; unfortunately, they won the game that matters the most.”

Canada earned the bronze medal at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012 in Innsbruck, Austria. Sunday’s gold marks the first Winter Youth Olympic Games medal for the U.S.

Forward Luka Burzan (Surrey, B.C./Valley West, BCMML) notched four goals and three assists in Canada’s six games to lead the team in scoring.

In the bronze-medal game on Saturday, Russia defeated Finland 6-2 to capture its second medal in Games history; Russia won silver at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

Canada finished first in the preliminary round with a 3-1 record, with wins over Finland (5-1), the United States (4-2), and Norway (6-0), and losing only to Russia (4-3) in its opening game. Canada defeated Finland (4-3 in a shootout) in Friday’s semifinal.

The 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games brought together young athletes from around the world to participate in a unique cultural experience and international sporting competition.

For more information on Hockey Canada and the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Twitter/HC_Men.