1991 Canada Cup

1991 Canada Cup
Tournament details
Host country  Canada
Dates August 31 - September 16, 1991
Teams 6
Venue(s) 8 (in 8 host cities)
Final positions
Champions   Canada (4th title)
Tournament statistics
Matches played 19
Goals scored 113 (5.95 per match)
Scoring leader(s) Canada Wayne Gretzky (12 pts)
MVP Canada Wayne Gretzky[1]

The 1991 Labatt Canada Cup was a professional international ice hockey tournament played in August and September 1991. The finals took place in Montreal on September 14 and Hamilton on September 16, and were won by Canada. The Canadians defeated the USA in a two game sweep, to win the fifth and final Canada Cup. The tournament would be replaced by the World Cup of Hockey in 1996.

Of the five Canada Cup tournaments, this is the only one in which a team went undefeated, with two ties. Canada compiled a record of six wins and two ties in eight games. The first tie was a stunning 2-2 result with underdog Finland on the opening day of the tournament, who got spectacular goaltending from Markus Ketterer. Finland surprised many by finishing in third place in the round robin; the first time they had ever qualified for the semi-finals in the history of the Canada Cup. The Americans were also very strong, as they iced their best international line-up to date. They went a perfect 5-0 against European competition in the tournament, while losing three times to Canada. The team representing the USSR was relatively weak compared to past tournaments, it did not have many of its top stars due to severe political turmoil at home, many players declining to play for the team, and purposely left off the roster (such as Pavel Bure, Vladimir Konstantinov, etc.) for fears of defection. [2] It was not known until weeks before the start of the tournament that they would even send a team. This was the final major senior event in which a team representing the USSR would play.

Game 1 of the final is best remembered for the check on Wayne Gretzky by American defenseman Gary Suter, which knocked the Canadian captain out of the tournament and forced him to miss the first month of the NHL season. Game 2 was tied until late in the third period when Steve Larmer scored the tournament winner on a short-handed breakaway.

Rosters

See 1991 Canada Cup rosters

Standings

Team GP W T L GF GA DIF PTS
 Canada 53202111+108
 United States 54011915+48
 Finland 52121013–35
 Sweden 52031317–44
 Soviet Union 5113141403
 Czechoslovakia 51041118–72

Results

Round-robin

August 31, 1991 Canada  2–2
  Finland
August 31, 1991 United States  6–3
  Sweden
August 31, 1991 Czechoslovakia  5–2
  Soviet Union
September 2, 1991 Canada  6–3
  United States
September 2, 1991 Sweden  3–2
  Soviet Union
September 2, 1991 Finland  1–0
  Czechoslovakia
September 5, 1991 Canada  4–1
  Sweden
September 5, 1991 United States  4–2
  Czechoslovakia
September 5, 1991 Soviet Union  6–1
  Finland
September 7, 1991 Canada  6–2
  Czechoslovakia
September 7, 1991 United States  2–1
  Soviet Union
September 7, 1991 Finland  3–1
  Sweden
September 9, 1991 Canada  3–3
  Soviet Union
September 9, 1991 United States  4–3
  Finland
September 9, 1991 Sweden  5–2
  Czechoslovakia

Playoff round

Semi-finals

September 11, 1991 United States  7–3
  Finland
September 12, 1991 Canada  4–0
  Sweden

Finals (best-of-3)

September 14, 1991 Canada  4–1
  United States
September 16, 1991 Canada  4–2
  United States

Leading Scorers

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Wayne Gretzky Canada748122
Steve Larmer  Canada 865114
Brett Hull  United States 82790
Mike Modano  United States 82792
Mark Messier  Canada 826810
Paul Coffey  Canada 81678
Craig Janney  United States 84264
Jeremy Roenick  United States 84264
Mats Sundin  Sweden 624616
Al MacInnis  Canada 824623

Top Goalie: Bill Ranford, Canada (1.75 GAA)

Trophies and awards

Tournament champion

Tournament MVP

All-star team

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/Team-Canada/Men/World-Cup/1991/Home
  2. ↑ "Russians regroup on other side of the red line?". espn.com. 2002-02-14.
  3. ↑ "Ranford gives net results and earns MVP honors". pqasb.pqarchiver.com.
  4. ↑ "Backchecking: Ranford caps off a dynasty". thehockeynews.com. 2010-05-09.

External links