🇨🇦 Canada 4-2 Finland 🇫🇮
World Championship Gold Medal Game
Arena Khodynka, Moscow 🇷🇺
Sunday, 13 May 2007

Here’s an incredible bit of trivia: by winning the 2007 IIHF World Championship, Canada earned its 24th Gold medal, more than any other nation. Canada’s seven Olympic Gold medals are also tops (tied with the Soviet Union).

But despite Canada’s success from 1920 right up to the present day, only one coach has ever won more than one Gold medal – Andy Murray! More incredible, only three other coaches, all Soviets, have ever had more success. The tandem of Arkady Chernyshev and Anatoli Tarasov won seven World Championship Golds between 1963 and 1971 (plus Gold at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics); Boris Kulagin won three in the 1970s (with Vsevolod Bobrov as co-coach for two of those wins); and, Viktor Tikhonov won eight Gold medals during his illustrious career (1978-92, plus three Olympic Gold medals in 1984, 1988, and 1992).

But Murray stands apart from these great men. Under the Soviet system, a coach would train his team for eleven months of the year, preparing exclusively for the Olympics or World Championships year after year. Andy Murray, though, led Canada to Gold on three very separate occasions with three completely different rosters – 1997, 2003 and 2007.

He was named coach on those occasions first and foremost because he was available (i.e., his NHL team was not in the playoffs), and second because of his abilities and experience. In addition to coaching in the NHL, Murray has coached in Europe and is thoroughly versed in the international game, from the size of the rink to the duties with the media, and everything in between. And herein lies Murray’s “secret formula” – he is great Canadian hockey patriot, with European hockey smarts and shrewdness.

Each time Murray coached Canada, he had perhaps two or three practices before the team’s first game to formulate a style of play, determine line combinations, and select a starting goalie. In short, he coached on the fly. Yet three times he led Canada to Gold, giving him the title of most successful coach in Canada’s international hockey history.

BOXSCORE
1st Period
06:17 – 🇫🇮 PEN – Söderholm, tripping
06:30 – 🇨🇦 PP GOAL – Nash (Murphy, Lombardi)
12:17 – 🇫🇮 PEN – T. Ruutu, interference
13:48 – 🇨🇦 PP GOAL – E. Staal (Williams, Cammalleri)
14:33 – 🇫🇮 PEN – Kallio, hooking
16:52 – 🇨🇦 PEN – E. Staal, elbowing

2nd Period
22:57 – 🇫🇮 PEN – Saravo, holding
23:29 – 🇫🇮 PEN – Berg, hooking
25:41 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Weber, tripping
29:11 – 🇨🇦 GOAL – Armstrong (J. Staal, Phaneuf)
35:40 – 🇫🇮 PEN – Koistinen, charging

3rd Period
41:41 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Schultz, high sticking
46:51 – 🇨🇦 PEN – Lombardi, high sticking
51:08 – 🇫🇮 GOAL – Kontiola (Peltonen)
57:44 – 🇫🇮 GOAL – Miettinen (Pyörälä)
58:54 – 🇨🇦 GOAL – Nash (Lombardi, Doan)

GOALTENDERS
W: 🇨🇦 Ward (20-22)
L: 🇫🇮 Lehtonen (14-18)

SHOTS ON GOAL
🇨🇦 5+9+4 = 18
🇫🇮 5+6+11 = 22

ROSTERS
🇨🇦 Goaltenders: Dwayne Roloson, Cam Ward. Defence: Eric Brewer, Mike Commodore, Dan Hamhuis, Barret Jackman, Cory Murphy, Dion Phaneuf, Nick Schultz, Shea Weber. Forwards: Colby Armstrong, Mike Cammalleri, Jason Chimera, Shane Doan, Matthew Lombardi, Jamal Mayers, Jay McClement, Rick Nash, Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews, Justin Williams.
🇫🇮 Goaltenders: Kari Lehtonen, Fredrik Norrena. Defence: Aki-Petteri Berg, Ville Koistinen, Lasse Kukkonen, Jukka-Pekka Laamanen, Pekka Saravo, Toni Söderholm. Forwards: Sean Bergenheim, Jukka Hentunen, Tomi Kallio, Niko Kapanen, Mikko Koivu, Petri Kontiola, Jere Lehtinen, Antti Miettinen, Ville Peltonen, Mika Pyörälä, Timo Pärssinen, Jarkko Ruutu, Tuomo Ruutu, Jari Viuhkola.

Article Credit: IIHF 100 Top Stories Of The Century
Photo Credit: MTV.fi – IIHF – HHOF – IOC