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Tyler Steenbergen’s late goal helps Canada win World Junior gold

World Juniors Sweden Canada Hockey

Canada celebrates a goal against Sweden during the second period of the title game of the IIHF world junior hockey championships Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

AP

Tyler Steenbergen was the last Canadian forward to score in the 2018 World Junior Championship and he picked a perfect time to do so.

With the game knotted up 1-1 late in the third period vs. Sweden, Steenbergen, a 2017 draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes, re-directed home a Connor Timmins pass to give Canada a 2-1 lead and help clinch another gold medal for the program.

Alex Formenton would add an empty netter to start the celebrations for fans inside KeyBank Center in Buffalo and all throughout Canada.

“The guys were giving me grief all tournament for not scoring but I’m happy to finally get it,” said Steenbergen, who saw just 3:17 of ice time through two periods.

The gold is Canada’s 17th in World Junior Championship history and first since 2015. The Swedes claimed their 11th silver medal and fifth since 2008.

Swedish captain and New York Rangers prospect Lias Andersson was so upset with getting silver that he quickly removed the medal and tossed it to a fan in the crowd.

Andersson would eventually get the medal back to end that fan’s 15 minutes of fame.

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.