1991 Canada Cup

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1991 Canada Cup
Coupe du Canada de 1991 (French)
Tournament details
Host countryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Venue(s)8 (in 8 host cities)
DatesAugust 31 – September 16, 1991
Teams6
Final positions
Champions Gold medal blank.svgFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada (4th title)
Tournament statistics
Games played19
Goals scored113 (5.95 per game)
Scoring leader(s) Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Wayne Gretzky (12 pts)
MVP Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Bill Ranford, Canada, [1] [2]

The 1991 Labatt Canada Cup was a professional international ice hockey tournament played in August and September 1991. The finals took place in Montreal on September 14 and Hamilton on September 16, and were won by Canada. The Canadians defeated the USA in a two-game sweep, to secure the fifth and final Canada Cup. The tournament was replaced by the World Cup of Hockey in 1996.

Contents

Of the five Canada Cup tournaments, this is the only one in which a team went undefeated; Canada compiled a record of six wins and two ties in eight games. The first tie was a stunning 2–2 result with underdog Finland on the opening day of the tournament, who got spectacular goaltending from Markus Ketterer.[ citation needed ] Finland surprised many by finishing in third place in the round robin; the first time they had ever qualified for the semi-finals in the history of the Canada Cup. The Americans were also very strong, as they iced their best international line-up to date.[ citation needed ] They went a perfect 5–0 against European competition in the tournament while losing three times to Canada.

The team representing the USSR was relatively weak compared to past tournaments. It did not have many of its top stars due to severe political turmoil at home, with many players declining to play for the team or purposely left off the roster (such as Pavel Bure and Vladimir Konstantinov) for fears of defection. [3] It was not known until weeks before the start of the tournament that they would even send a team. This was the final major senior event in which a team representing the USSR would play.

Game 1 of the final is best remembered for the check on Wayne Gretzky by American defenseman Gary Suter, which knocked the Canadian captain out of the tournament and forced him to miss the first month of the NHL season.[ citation needed ] Game 2 was tied until late in the third period when Steve Larmer scored the tournament winner on a short-handed breakaway.

Rosters

See 1991 Canada Cup rosters

Standings

TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 53202111+108
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 54011915+48
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 5212101335
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 5203131744
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 5113141403
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia 5104111872
Source: [ citation needed ]

Results

Round-robin

August 31, 1991 Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg2–2Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
August 31, 1991 United States  Flag of the United States.svg6–3Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
August 31, 1991 Czechoslovakia  Flag of the Czech Republic.svg5–2Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
September 2, 1991 Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg6–3Flag of the United States.svg  United States
September 2, 1991 Sweden  Flag of Sweden.svg3–2Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
September 2, 1991 Finland  Flag of Finland.svg1–0Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
September 5, 1991 Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg4–1Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
September 5, 1991 United States  Flag of the United States.svg4–2Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
September 5, 1991 Soviet Union  Flag of the Soviet Union.svg6–1Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
September 7, 1991 Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg6–2Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
September 7, 1991 United States  Flag of the United States.svg2–1Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
September 7, 1991 Finland  Flag of Finland.svg3–1Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
September 9, 1991 Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg3–3Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
September 9, 1991 United States  Flag of the United States.svg4–3Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
September 9, 1991 Sweden  Flag of Sweden.svg5–2Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia

Playoff round

Semi-finals

September 11, 1991 United States  Flag of the United States.svg7–3Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
September 12, 1991 Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg4–0Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden

Final (best of three)

September 14, 1991 Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg4–1Flag of the United States.svg  United States
September 16, 1991 Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg4–2Flag of the United States.svg  United States

Leading scorers

PlayerTeamGPGAPtsPIM
Wayne Gretzky Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 748122
Steve Larmer Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 865114
Brett Hull Flag of the United States.svg  United States 82790
Mike Modano Flag of the United States.svg  United States 82792
Mark Messier Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 826810
Paul Coffey Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 81678
Craig Janney Flag of the United States.svg  United States 84264
Jeremy Roenick Flag of the United States.svg  United States 84264
Mats Sundin Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 624616
Al MacInnis Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 824623

Top Goalie: Bill Ranford, Canada (1.75 GAA)

Trophies and awards

Tournament champion

Tournament MVP

All-star team

Notes

  1. "Ranford gives net results and earns MVP honors". pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
  2. "Backchecking: Ranford caps off a dynasty". thehockeynews.com. May 9, 2010. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  3. "Russians regroup on other side of the red line?". ESPN. February 14, 2002.
  4. "Ranford gives net results and earns MVP honors". pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
  5. "Backchecking: Ranford caps off a dynasty". thehockeynews.com. May 9, 2010. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2012.

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