Kelowna Rocket helps Canada win gold at world championship

Canada took home the gold at the International Ice Hockey Federation U18 World Championships on Sunday with help from Kelowna Rocket Tij Iginla. Iginla, son of hall-of-famer Jarome Iginla, scored a goal and two assists against the United States during the 6-4 win for Canada in Espoo, Finland. A total of nine WHLers were on the ice for Canada. Medicine Hat Tigers’ rookie of the year nominee Gavin McKenna scored a hat trick to extend his record as the top scoring Canadian at a single U18 World Championship tournament, according to a press release from the Kelowna Rockets.  READ MORE: Kelowna Rocket receives award for saving drowning man https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kelowna-rocket-receives-award-for-saving-drowning-man/it103639 "It's the best feeling ever," McKenna said on the broadcast post-game. "Obviously, you can't do it by yourself. I had an unbelievable line and an unbelievable team. Couldn't have done it without them. So many guys in this tournament stepped up when we needed it and it all paid off in the end." It was a tense game with the Americans taking a 3-1 lead until McKenna and Iginla tied it up during a power play. Iginla put Canada in the lead less than a minute after assisting McKenna’s two goals that tied it up. "There was never a doubt in this room," McKenna said. "The group of guys we have, we've built unbelievable friendships that we'll have for a lifetime. It's an amazing group and a hell of a win by us. All tournament we practiced our power play and it came up big and that was key to our win." To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .