2016 World Cup of Hockey Report (Final Review)
The end of the World Cup was somewhat anti-climactic as the team that won the World Cup was the team that everyone thought was going to win.
The Canadians took the first two games in the final series against Europe and walked out with the World Cup title.
They were the team that everyone saw at the start of the tournament as the best team in the world.
For the first time in a long time, the best Canadians players were all on the same team without any restrictions.
They had the best collection of players in the tournament and for many, they weren’t going to lose at all in the tournament.
They made good on those expectations as they made their way through the entire tournament without a loss on their way to the final series against Europe.
In the final series, the Canadians took a commanding lead with a 3-1 win to take the first game.
The Europeans did fight back though as the second game saw them take a 1-0 lead into the third period.
That is when the Canadians stepped up as they scored two goals in the final three minutes of the game to take the lead and the World cup title.
It wasn’t the easiest way to finish things out but in the end, the Canadians went undefeated in the tournament and took the World Cup to stay on top of the world.
It was just the continuation of the pattern over the last few years as the Canadians have been the best team by far in major tournaments.
They have won two-straight World Championships and in the last three major tournaments they have only lost one game.
It is a new era of Canadian dominance in international hockey but despite their dominance in the World Cup, there was something to be said for how things turned out.
The Canadians were a team that met expectations but they might have been the only team to meet expectations in the tournament.
The Europeans far exceeded expectations this year as they were a team thrown together to simply fill out the tournament.
Nobody thought that they could make it to the final but that is exactly what they did and despite losing they did give the Canadians a challenge in the second game that had many wondering what a third game would be like.
The Europeans announced their arrival in their first game when they beat the Americans who were one of the most underachieving teams in the tournament.
Many thought they were going to be a challenger this year but they finished without a win in one of their most disappointing tournaments in recent memory.
It is not a great time for U.S. hockey as they look back to see how they can fix their issues leading up to next year’s world championships.
The Russians also fell short of their expectation alongside Finland and Sweden who all were supposed to have a chance at the title.
Finland ended their tournament in last place in their group while Sweden and Russia finished their World Cup in the semi-finals.
Although the champion was not that unexpected there were plenty of unexpected moments in the World Cup this year.
It made the tournament a success as outside of Canada there were few certainties making it an exciting tournament.
It is sure to be back for the 2020 version as the NHL looks to keep it consistent although the look of the tournament may be different in four years.
The Canadians remain on top for the time being as the World Cup is back and Canada remains the best in the world at their national sport.
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