1991 Canada Cup

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 was replaced by the World Cup of Hockey in 1996.

1991 Canada Cup
Tournament details
Host country Canada
DatesAugust 31 – September 16, 1991
Teams6
Venue(s)8 (in 8 host cities)
Final positions
Champions  Canada (4th title)
Tournament statistics
Matches played19
Goals scored113 (5.95 per match)
Scoring leader(s) Wayne Gretzky (12 pts)
MVP Bill Ranford, Canada,[1][2]
← 1987
1996 →

Of the five Canada Cup tournaments, this is the only one in which a team went undefeated; 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. [3] 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 L T GF GA DIF PTS
 Canada 53022111+108
 United States 54101915+48
 Finland 52211013−35
 Sweden 52301317−44
 Soviet Union 5131141403
 Czechoslovakia 51401118−72

Results

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

Playoff round

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

Final (best of three)
September 14, 1991Canada 4–1 United States
September 16, 1991Canada 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. "Ranford gives net results and earns MVP honors". pqasb.pqarchiver.com.
  2. "Backchecking: Ranford caps off a dynasty". thehockeynews.com. 2010-05-09. Archived from the original on 2015-06-04. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
  3. "Russians regroup on other side of the red line?". espn.com. 2002-02-14.
  4. "Ranford gives net results and earns MVP honors". pqasb.pqarchiver.com.
  5. "Backchecking: Ranford caps off a dynasty". thehockeynews.com. 2010-05-09. Archived from the original on 2015-06-04. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
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