July 25, 1997
NR.078

TEAM USA DEFEATS CANADA 5-4 IN GOLD MEDAL FINAL TO WIN SECOND STRAIGHT IIHF IN-LINE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

ANAHEIM, CA -- Hardy Sauter scored his second goal of the game at 5:22 of the final period to lift Team USA to a 5-4 victory over Canada to win the IIHF In-Line Hockey World Championship on Friday night.

It was Canada's second straight loss to the Americans in the gold medal final at the IIHF world championship, which debuted last summer in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The teams entered the fourth quarter tied 3-3, and the U.S. made it 4-3 at 3:34 on a goal by Rob Mallette. But Canada, as it did four times in the game, tied the match when Glen Metropolit of Toronto converted a pass from Doug McCarthy of Edmonton at 5:16. That set the stage for Sauter's heroics and the gold-medal victory by Team USA.

To the delight of the 8,500 fans who came to the Arrowhead Pond to cheer on the home team, the Americans grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first quarter on a goal by Scott Drevitch, although Canada outshot Team USA 11-9 in the opening frame. That lead didn't last, as the U.S. established a string of one-goal leads only to have Canada tie the game three times by the end of the third quarter.

Steve Wilson of Belleville, ON made it 1-1 at 2:13 of the second period on a set-up by Doug Ast of Chilliwack, BC. Sauter, with his first goal of the game, re-established the Americans' one-goal margin at 8:32 of the second frame, but 2:06 later, Gerry St-Cyr of North Vancouver made it 2-2.

In the third quarter Team USA jumped to a 3-2 lead on a power-play goal by Joe Burton at 4:49, but St-Cyr tied the game again at 7:07 on a setup by Hugo Belanger of St-Hubert, QC. The teams had fired 28 shots apiece at the end of three quarters.

Canada advanced to the final by blanking Switzerland 8-0 on Thursday in semifinal action. The United States pounded Russia 11-3 in the other semifinal. The U.S. and Canada finished 1-2 in the five-game round-robin, with the U.S. going 5-0 in the preliminary round, with Canada 4-1. Canada's only round-robin loss was a 9-6 decision to the Americans.