TORINO, ITALY – Colson Gengenbach from the Calgary Dinos snapped a second period deadlock with the game-winning tally as Canada captured gold with a 3-1 victory over Slovakia at the FISU World University Winter Games, Wednesday.
Canada posted a 6-0-1 record overall – outscoring opponents 46-13 – with the only setback being a 2-1 shootout loss to Czechia in the preliminary round. Slovakia (5-2-0) settled for silver and Ukraine (4-3-0) took bronze with a 5-3 upset over the USA (5-2-0).
The U SPORTS all-stars have now won six golds in FISU men’s hockey, along with three silvers and nine bronzes, while representing Canada at the bi-annual event. The previous men’s hockey golds were won in 2023, 2013, 2007, 1991 and 1981.
Two players from the McGill Redbirds, William Rouleau of St. Basile de Portneuf, Que., and Mathieu Gagnon of Gatineau, Que., will be returning home with a gold medal around their necks, along with bench boss David Urquhart, who was serving on the Team Canada staff as an assistant coach. Also part on the Team Canada mission staff was Dr. Mickey Moroz and Julie Gardiner, both members of the McGill Sports Medicine Clinic.
“Its a great accomplishment,” said Urquhart from the team bus after the game. “I think about all the guys and the journey they had. Especially ‘Rouls’ and ‘Gags’, I’m so proud of those two. A moment like that for those players is the experience of a lifetime… They won a Memorial Cup together (with Rouyn-Noranda in 2019), so to see them win a gold medal for Canada is a special moment, not only for the players but also for the parents and families.
“We were really lucky to play that two-game series against the Canadian junior team in December because that allowed the coaching staff to get some systems in place and let the guys get to know each other a little bit. So when we arrived here in Italy, there was already a bond between the players and there was a buzz in the dressing room.”
Gagnon and Rouleau are among 13 players from the McGill men’s hockey program to represent Canada at the FISU Games. The only other one to previously win FISU gold was defenceman Scott Walford at the 2023 Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. The select group also includes Mathieu Darche and Jarrod Daniel (bronze in 1999), Benoit Martin (2005), Evan Vossen, Marc-Andre Dorion and Maxime Langelier-Parent (bronze in 2011), Liam Heelis (bronze in 2015), Mathieu Pompei, Etienne Boutet and Nathan Chiarlitti (bronze in 2017).
Sasha Mutala (UBC) opened the scoring at 19:59 of the first period. Gengenbach doubled Canada’s lead at 6:34 of the middle stanza. The Slovakians broke Canada’s shutout bid when Jakub Uram connected at 14:55 of the second. The Canucks iced the contest when Jack Duff (Queen’s) added an empty-net goal with 52 seconds remaining.
Canada had a 42-25 edge in shots as goaltender Kai Edmonds (TMU) made 24 saves for the victory, while Patrik Andrisik made 39 saves in a losing cause.
The Canadian roster was comprised of five players from the Canada West conference, 12 from the OUA, and six from the AUS.
The McGillian trio will fly back from Italy on Thursday and are expected to be available for McGill’s next game, against second-place Queen’s, a critical match-up in Kingston, Ont., on Saturday (Jan. 26). Queen’s also had two players and their head coach at the Games. With seven contests remaining before playoffs, the 10th-ranked Gaels are second in the OUA East with a 16-5-0 record, while No.6 McGill is 13-7-0 and sits six points behind with a game in hand.
SCORING SUMMARY
FISU HOCKEY BRACKET & STATS
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
McGill Athletics and Recreation
(514) 983- 7012
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
www.mcgillathletics.ca