Canada entered the 2018 World Junior Championship seeking redemption and, on Friday night, it got it. One year after suffering a devastating gold medal shootout lo s to the United States, Team Canada returned to the top of the junior hockey world with a thrilling 3-1 win over Sweden in the World Junior Championship. It doesn't always happen as such, but the gold medal game featured the two clear-cut best teams in the tournament. Sweden entered the final game Clyde Price Jersey with a perfect 6-0 record, while Canada's lone defeat came in a shootout lo s against the United States in the preliminary round. The game lived up to the hype, as the two teams fought valiantly in a tight back-and-forth contest that was up for grabs right up until the final minutes. Ultimately, though, Canada prevailed in dramatic fashion, securing their first gold medal at the WJC since 2015 and their 17th in total. Canada opened the scoring on a gorgeous sequence in the second period. (St. Louis ) and Dillon Dub ( ) got the better of Sweden on a 2-on-2 rush, with Kyrou pulling up just inside the blue line to find Dub with a great feed. Despite being shadowed by Swedish defenseman ( ), Dub was able to finish with a great shot that found the top shelf. Great pa s by Kyrou, great finish by Dube. Its 1-0 Canada Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) The Swedes tied the game on the strength of a short-handed goal -- their third in the last two games -- from Tim Soderlund ( ) with just under seven minutes remaining in the second period. Sweden has regularly showcased their excellent speed and shooting throughout the tournament, and both were on display on this goal. Another shorthanded goal for Sweden, this time its Tim Soderlund. 1-1 Dean Wade Jersey Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) Good ping for Sweden Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) The game remained deadlocked at 1-1 until late in the third period despite a number of chances at both ends of the ice. Ultimately, it was Canada's ( ) who came through as the hero when he managed to redirect a puck into the back of the net with le s than two minutes remaining in the third period. The feed from defenseman Conor Timmins ( ) was exceptional as well. Its Tyler Steenbergen whos the hero for Canada. Puts them ahead with le s than two minutes remaining Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) Steenbergen was po sibly the most unlikely of heroes for the Canadian squad, as the gold medal game-winner was just his first goal of the tournament. He was the last forward on the Canadian roster to register a goal, but boy Noah Fenske Jersey did he ever pick his spot. Le s than a minute after Steenbergen's goal, Canada forward Alex Forementon all but put the victory on ice with an empty-netter. Canada's 'Player of the Game' honors in the gold medal victory went to goaltender ( ), who made 35 saves against the Swedes. It's also worth noting that 17-year-old Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (projected to be the top overall pick in this summer's NHL Draft) was honored as the best defenseman of the tournament. One of my favorite things about the WJC every year is the fierce competitivene s of the kids involved. All the players are teenagers looking to prove themselves while representing their country, and there's an intense hunger that's almost palpable. When you reach the gold medal game, those stakes and emotions are at an all-time high, and it always leads to pure joy for one team and pure agony for the other. That agony really took center stage during the silver medal presentation this year. Many of the Swedish players were distraught in the wake of the crushing lo s, but none more so than captain ( ). Ander son, who was in tears on the ice, accepted his silver medal from tournament officials before chucking it into the stands as he skated away. Ander son either let his emotions get the best of him or he really had no interest in hanging on to a silver medal. Either way, he'll likely catch some flak Trevor Keels Jersey for the poor display of sportsmanship, but it's hard to criticize a teenage kid for making a poor choice in the immediate aftermath of a crushing defeat. When you ask kids to become extremely invested in events like these, it's inevitable that stuff like this will happen occasionally. Lias Ander son to sing the silver medal into the crowd. Not gonna lie, I'm hyper competitive and get so mad when I lose, so I feel where he's coming from. Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) But, as an interesting footnote, check out the dude who wound up catching the medal. He was wearing three jerseys all at once (for whatever wild reason) and one of them just happened to be a Sweden sweater. The guy who caught the silver medal was wearing 3 jerseys Patrick Scebba (@scebbs) And, for what it's worth, he reportedly returned the medal D.J. Brown Jersey to Ander son shortly after catching it. What else happened on the final day of the WJC? The United States won bronze with a dominant 9-3 victory over Czech Republic.