2017 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship Gold Medal Game: USA vs. Canada - Game Time, How to Watch, Preview and More!

For the first time since 2010, the bitter USA-Canada hockey rivalry will shine under the bright lights of the Gold Medal game at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Here’s everything you need to know:

The matchup:

USA (6-0-0) vs. Canada (5-1-0)

Date:

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Time:

8:00 PM

Venue:

Centre Bell, Montreal, Quebec

How to Watch:

The game will be broadcast live in the United States on NHL Network, and in Canada on TSN.

How to Listen:

Listen to the game on one of the listed TSN Radio affiliates via the TuneIn Radio or IHeartRadio apps if you’re in the US.

The BC angle:

Colin White, Casey Fitzgerald and Joe Woll are the three BC Eagles playing for the US in the World Junior final. They’re seeking to become Eagles #4, 5, and 6 to win World Junior gold. Pat Eaves (2004), Chris Kreider (2010) and Johnny Gaudreau (2013) contributed to the Americans’ three prior WJC titles.

There are a bevy of BU players on the US, including leading point-getter and Colin White’s linemate, Clayton Keller. Beanpot villain Jordan Greenway has also established himself as a force to be reckoned with for the Americans. On the flip side, Dante Fabbro represents BU on Canada’s roster.

Adam Fox of Harvard, Erik Foley of Providence, and Tage Thompson of UConn are also players of local interest on the US team.

The history:

Canada is the most successful country in the history of the World Junior championship, with 16 titles to their name; they will, as usual, have a raucous home crowd behind them in the final.

But the Americans have had the upper hand in two recent gold medal bouts between the two long-time rivals.

In 2004, Marc Andre Fleury gave up an astonishing own goal late in the third period that helped the US post their first ever WJC gold:

In 2010, the US and Canada played one of the greatest hockey games I’ve ever witnessed, with Canada rallying from a late two-goal deficit to force OT before John Carlson silenced the frenzied crowd in Saskatoon:

If past history is any indication, this is likely to be a high-octane, nail-biting classic. Buckle up.

The matchup:

The US topped Canada 3-1 on New Year’s Eve in another great game between the two rivals. Colin White opened the scoring for the US, and Jordan Greenway added the game winning goal shortly thereafter as the Americans were able to hang on to an early 2-0 lead.

The US game was the only blemish for Canada, who have run roughshod over their opponents for the most part. They beat Russia 5-3 on Boxing Day, blanked Slovakia 5-0, and thrashed Latvia 10-2. In the knockout stages, they beat the Czechs 5-3 and controlled last night’s game for the most part against Sweden en route to a 5-2 win in the semifinals. They lead the tournament with a +18 goal differential, compared to +14 for Sweden and +12 for the US.

In their round robin game, the Americans were able to effectively defend in layers and limit the ability of Canadian superstars Dylan Strome, Mathew Barzal and Thomas Chabot to heavily influence the game, with the exception of a second period power play strike by Chabot. At even strength, the Americans suffocated Canada in the defensive zone, but were able to attack with speed through the neutral zone. We’ll see if they’re able to do the same tonight, or if the game gets bonkers and wide open, as tends to be the case in WJC finals.

Follow along:

We’ll be discussing the game on Twitter at @BCInterruption; you can also follow @USAHockey for official updates. ‘Merica!