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TORONTO - The sweetest sound was the final buzzer. Canada built a four-goal lead on Russia and could taste gold at the world junior championship. What followed was a harrowing struggle just to hold on. We didnt panic or certainly tried not to panic, Sam Reinhart said. There were moments of panic, but by the time Monday night was over, gold medals were hanging around the players necks and they sang along with O Canada while locking arms on the blue-line on home ice at Air Canada Centre after a thrilling 5-4 victory over Russia. It wasnt easy, but Canadas world junior gold-medal drought that dated to 2009 was no more. Were world junior champions, were world champions. Its joy, Connor McDavid said. We were never really under pressure. The media and all the fans mightve been putting that pressure on us, but we were just able to brush it off. Right now this is just absolute joy. Joy was heightened by the emotional twists and turns of this gold-medal game, another classic in the passionate rivalry between Canada and Russia that began with the 1972 Summit Series. This will go down as another unforgettable piece of Canada-Russia history. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and experience and we took advantage of it, Max Domi said. Its awesome. No matter what happens in our lives, were always going to remember this. Anthony Duclair scored to give Canada the lead and ignite the crowd of 19,004 just 23 seconds in, and Russian starting goaltender Igor Shestyorkin was chased after Nick Paul scored goal No. 2 less than three minutes in. Thanks to goals from McDavid, Domi and Reinhart, Canada proceeded to build a four-goal lead at 5-1, and this looked like it would follow the script of past games in this tournament. This veteran team led by 19-year-old captain Curtis Lazar, a rookie with the Ottawa Senators, had never trailed and cruised into the final. Goal by goal the lead got smaller, and at 5-4 coach Benoit Groulx was forced to use his timeout to settle a rattled team that looked like teenagers for the first time. Thats no question the most adversity weve faced throughout the tournament, Reinhart said. After going undefeated with victories over Slovakia (twice), Finland, Germany, the United States and Denmark, this was the first time Canada was really pushed. Clinging to a one-goal lead from late in the second period and through the third, the onus was on goaltender Zach Fucale, who imploded in the semfinals of this tournament a year ago. This time, Fucale was at his best, stopping all 11 shots he faced in the final period, including two in the final 12 seconds to preserve gold. To come out in the third period there with all that pressure on his shoulders being the goalie ... he made some huge saves, calmed us down, defenceman Josh Morrissey said. He was just able to calm us down and make some huge saves. The emotional ebb and flow of the building was palpable. Excitement built from the opening two goals and hit another high when Morrissey sprung McDavid for a breakaway goal that will go down as one of the signature moments of the game. When Reinhart deflected Domis shot past Russian backup Ilya Sorokin to make it 5-1, fans — and likely players — could taste gold. What followed was a series of penalties and goals-against that made for a tense atmosphere. Im glad I was on the ice and not in the stands in the second period for a while there, Reinhart said. Groulx said it was clear the Russians were here for a fight and unwilling to wilt under pressure. Dmitri Yudin, Ivan Barbashev, Sergey Tolchinsky and Nikolai Goldobin scored goals to help make this one a classic. The beauty of junior hockey, Lazar said. Back and forth. You think you have it in the bag and they come back. thats what the Russians did. I thought our guys did a great job regrouping and staying calm. The poise of this gold-medal-winning team will be what Canadians remember. As dominant as this group was through the first six games, it had to bust out of its comfort zone to finish the job. What a way to finish a game and win a gold medal, Groulx said. Were very lucky to have these guys playing for us. The closeness of this group of 23 players aged 17 to 19 was never more evident than in the post-game ceremony when Lazar skated over to injured teammate Robby Fabbri and handed him the trophy. Fabbri was lost for the rest of the tournament with a high ankle sprain in the quarter-finals. We all told each other and we locked our arms and we said were doing this for Fabbs, Domi said. By the time it was over, this group made it clear they did this for the country, Hockey Canada, the fans but also for each other. That was part of the joy of victory. At the end, I mean, its a game, Lazar said. Its a game we love, the fans love it, we love it, the refs love it, and were all out here having fun. Notes — Bronze-medal-winning Slovak goaltender Denis Godla was voted tournament MVP by members of the media. Godla stopped 224 of the 242 shots he faced in seven games. ... Joining Godla on the all-tournament team were McDavid, Domi, Reinhart, Morrissey and Swedish defenceman Gustav Forsling. ... The 50/50 draw was a new arena record of $90,150 Lebron James Sneakers Wholesale . Cammalleri scored two goals, Corban Knight netted the winner in a shootout, and the Flames erased a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Stars 4-3 on Friday night. Discount Lebron Shoes . Beanballs were the theme Friday night as the Red Sox and Rays had another AL East rumble, with Boston earning a 3-2 victory on A. http://www.cheaplebronshoes.net/ .C. -- Martin Kaymer set a U. Cheap Lebrons From China . Cavaliers shooting guard Craig Ehlo makes a solid play on the ball, but still Jordan hits the amazing shot. Lebron Shoes For Cheap . Joakim Nordstrom and Garret Ross also scored for Chicago and Corey Crawford made 30 saves. Tomas Tatar scored twice for Red Wings (2-3-0), Jonathan Ericsson added a goal and Gustav Nyquist had three assists. Andrew Wiggins and Kansas have been upset. Wichita States undefeated season is over. Watch the road to the Sweet Sixteen today, as TSN2 and TSN GO return with coverage of the NCAA Mens Basketball Championships Round of 32. Coverage is underway on TSN2 now while TSN GO also offers TSN subscribers bonus online coverage, with live streams of all four venues. Sundays Results Dwight Powell had 15 points and seven rebounds and No. 10 seed Stanford wrapped up its second straight upset at the free throw line, knocking off No. 2 Kansas 60-57. Canadian freshman Andrew Wiggins had just four points on 1-for-6 shooting with four turnovers in his final college game for Kansas (25-10). Wiggins, from Vaughan, Ont., is a likely NBA lottery pick and had averaged 28 points the previous four games. Andrew Harrison converted 3-of-4 foul shots down the stretch and Fred VanVleets contested three-pointer fell short just prior to the buzzer, allowing Kentucky to knock off Wichita State, 78-76. DeAndre Kane drove for the game-winningg layup with 1.dddddddddddd.6 seconds left and No. 3 seed Iowa State beat North Carolina 85-83 on Sunday, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000. Jarnell Stokes had 17 points and a career-high-tying 18 rebounds, and the Tennessee Volunteers denied Mercer a second straight upset in the NCAA tournament by routing the Bears 83-63 on Sunday night. Jordan Adams had 19 points, Norman Powell scored 16 and UCLA moved on to the Sweet 16 for the first time in six years with a 77-60 win over Stephen F. Austin. Isaiah Austin and Canadian Brady Heslip each scored 17 points and Baylor shut down Creightons Doug McDermott with suffocating defence, ending the career of one of college basketballs most prolific scorers with an 85-55 win Sunday night in the NCAA tournament West Regional. Joe Harris had 16 points and five rebounds and the Cavaliers routed Memphis, 78-60, to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1995. (With files from the Associated Press and SportsNetwork.com) ' ' '