Erie Otters forward Greg McKegg and Team Ontario beat Team Pacific 5-1 tonight to win the gold medal at the 2009 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Port Alberni, British Columbia.
McKegg didn’t factor into the scoring in the title game. He finished with one point and two penalty minutes during Ontario’s 6-0 run through the tournament. Plymouth’s Tyler Seguin opened the scoring with 56 seconds left in the first period. Kitchener’s Jeff Skinner scored 2:55 into the second for a 2-0 lead.
Pacific sliced the lead to 2-1 with 32 seconds left in the period. But Ontario took a 2-1 lead into the third. Then Sudbury’s John McFarland, Owen Sound’s Steven Shipley and Kingston’s Erik Gudbranson sparked a three-goal outburst in the third to seal the victory. The United States won bronze with a 4-2 win against Team West earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, Otters goaltender Jaroslav Janus plays for a bronze medal on Monday in the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa, Ontario. Janus and Slovakia faces Russia at 3:30 p.m. at Scotiabank Place.