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Carter Hart relieves Ingram, backstops Team Canada to WJC finals

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, January 4, 2017

By Jesse Geleynse Herald Writer

Don’t erect that Carter Hart statue outside the Philadelphia Art Museum just yet – Team Canada still has one more game to go.

Nevertheless the Everett Silvertips goaltender turned in a performance Canadian hockey fans will mention for years to come Wednesday as he stopped all 26 shots he faced after relieving starter Connor Ingram less than nine minutes into the game as Canada defeated Sweden 5-2 in Montreal to advance to the World Junior Championship Game.

The Canadians will take on the United States Thursday at 5 on NHL Network for the WJC title. The Americans outlasted Russia 4-3 in a shootout that last six rounds to reach the final. The game will be a rematch of the final pool-play game between the teams, a 3-1 win for Team USA on New Year’s Eve.

On Wednesday Ingram allowed two quick goals, including a short-handed tally, and was pulled for Hart at the 8:05 mark in the opening period. Hart immediately saved five shots on a Swedish power play and held them to an 0-for-4 showing on the man advantage.

Hart was named Canada’s Player of the Game and heard his name chanted by the crowd. Then he got to meet Martin Brodeur.

That save Hart made in the second? Perhaps he should have caught it clean, but he and Dante Fabbro combined to keep it out of the net and preserve Hart’s clean sheet.

As we’ve discussed before on this blog, there seems to be an almost impossible level of pressure heaped on those who step between the pipes for Team Canada. Hart not only solidified his place as tomorrow’s starter, but he finally settled what had been a growing goaltending controversy, consisting mostly of people clamoring for whatever goalie wasn’t in the net.

Suffice to say Hart’s performance Wednesday catapulted him from a much-maligned 18-year-old youngster to the Next Great Canadian Hero. And, as one of my Twitter followers pointed out, the narrative could flip again Thursday:

Oh, and Noah Juulsen had what one announcer called his “best game of the tournament.” The Everett captain had an assist on Canada’s penultimate insurance goal at 7:38 in the third period and laid this bone-clattering hit along the boards early in the contest:

All right, that’s enough gifs, tweets and videos for tonight. We’ll be back tomorrow.

For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter.

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