KRASNOYARSK, Russia – After losing two straight games, Canada righted the ship on Tuesday at the 29
th Winter Universiade, winning men's hockey bronze over Kazakhstan.
The Canadians lost 4-3 to Kazakhstan in the round-robin, but had little trouble in the bronze medal game as they won 3-0.
UOIT's
Jack Patterson (Bedford, N.S.) picked up an assist on the opening goal of the game after his shot deflected to Aidan Wallace who beat Nikita Kleshchenko. Just 42 seconds later Danny Del Paggio scored to put Canada up 2-0 through two periods.
The final goal came from Stephen Harper, who scored with 34 seconds remaining in regulation on an empty net.
"Winning bronze feels amazing – obviously, our goal was to win gold, but to finish the tournament with a win against a team we lost in the round robin, it feels great," said Patterson. "The experience has been unforgettable from start to finish. Representing our country is a huge honour and I've made friends for a lifetime through this experience."
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Alex Yuill (Wellington, Ont.) was also a member of the Canadian men's hockey team. The duo helped Canada to a 5-2 record at the games.
They wrapped up the Winter Universiade earlier Tuesday with the Closing Ceremony in front of a capacity crowd at Platinum Arena. It was hard for Patterson to pinpoint a moment that stood out amongst the rest.
"There were too many good memories to pick out just one, hanging out with the guys playing cards every night was awesome, winning bronze is sweet too," said Patterson. "This is an event I'll never forget."
