The crowd at the Scotiabank Center in Halifax was buzzing Thursday night after Canada’s gold medal win over the Czech Republic at the world junior hockey championship.
Dylan Guenther scored the game-winning goal at 6:22 of overtime to give Team Canada a 3-2 victory after the Czechs scored twice late in the third period to tie the game.
DYLAN GUNTER’S GOLDEN GOAL! 🥇 pic.twitter.com/VbbZQfTOV4
—@HockeyCanada
“Golden goal, can’t ask for more,” said one fan who drove down from Moncton to watch the final.
Hundreds of Halifax fans gathered in sub-zero temperatures to watch the game on screens outside the Halifax Convention Center, a few blocks from the arena.
Golden goal!! pic.twitter.com/Vu51IEhTFH
—@tjhfx
After Canada won the gold medal, fireworks lit up the sky near the Halifax City Clock, just across the street from the arena.
Canada wins the gold 🏆 pic.twitter.com/sX9Qwzxw8N
—@ShaunTheShooter
A couple from Toronto said they were in Halifax for the last two rounds of the tournament and were ecstatic to see Canada finish on top.
“How else can you feel? Canada won the gold,” said one. “I couldn’t have asked for a better win.”
This Toronto couple says they are ecstatic that their journey to the world junior championships ended with Canada winning gold. (Robert Guertin/CBC)
Fan celebrations spread across the country, including an impromptu parade in the Nunavut community of Baker Lake.
We had a parade in Baker Lake, Nunavut (geographical center of Canada) after pic.twitter.com/cdZrzSbOjA
—@ShaneConrad13
—@newsmanbluesman
Canada earned a spot in the final after beating the U.S. 6-2 in Wednesday’s semifinal.
The red and whites remained unbeaten after losing their tournament opener to the Czech Republic 5-2 on Boxing Day.
After two periods, Canada was in position to get revenge with a 2-0 lead. But the Czechs rallied with two goals 54 seconds apart.
Halifax and Moncton bid to host the tournament in 2023 after it was pulled by Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The Russian team was also banned from competing.
The Scotiabank Center in Halifax set an attendance record for Canada’s semi-final against the USA on Wednesday with 10,636 in the stands. Attendance numbers for the gold medal game have not yet been released.
Canada has now won back-to-back gold medals after beating Finland in August to win the 2022 world junior championships, which were postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak at the December 2021 tournament.
Economic boost for Halifax, Moncton
Halifax Mayor Mike Savage said it was important for the tournament to return after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Hockey Canada scandal.
“I think it was in many ways a coming out, a re-emergence of junior hockey and the importance of hockey to this country. Halifax and Moncton have been great hosts and it’s been a really great couple of weeks here in those cities,” Savage said Friday.
The Halifax Regional Municipality spent $1 million on the tournament, while the province spent $2 million.
Savage said the benefits of hosting the tournament outweigh the costs.
“Events like this create a vibrancy in the city that makes people want to visit, but also ultimately makes people want to live here and invest here, so it really couldn’t be better.”
Patrick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, estimates the economic impact at $50 million for the two host cities.
Much of that comes from an influx of people booking hotel rooms and dining at restaurants at a time when business is typically slow.
“This [tournament] extended the season probably until this weekend,” Sullivan said Friday.
Sullivan said just before the tournament there were more than 8,000 hotel rooms booked around Halifax and restaurants were expected to see a 75 percent increase in business compared to their typical season.
“It was a very, very good event for Halifax.”
Fans are ecstatic after Canada’s world junior gold in Halifax
The crowd at the Scotiabank Center in Halifax was buzzing Thursday night after Canada’s dramatic gold medal win over the Czech Republic at the world junior hockey championship.
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