Thomas to the rescue
With one quick backhand flick of his wrist, Akil Thomas became a Canadian hero.
The Niagara IceDogs centre scored with 3:58 left in the third period to complete a furious comeback as Canada topped Russia 4-3 victory for the country’s 18th title at the World Junior Tournament Sunday in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Thomas picked up a loose puck and quickly roofed a backhand for his first goal of the event. The goal capped an exciting comeback for Canada who trailed 3-1 with just under 12 minutes to play.
“I saw a loose puck and kind of reacted and scored,” Thomas said in a televised interview on TSN just after Canada had claimed victory.
Thomas, who played for most of the tournament on the fourth line, was in shock when asked about bringing home the gold.
“It doesn’t feel real,” he said. “We’ve been together for a month now. It’s such a fun bunch and I just wanted to do as much as I could to help the boys.
“I was being patient and my time came.”
Niagara coach Billy Burke was behind the bench as the IceDogs dropped an 8-2 decision in Hamilton Sunday afternoon and didn’t see the game, but knew something special was happening.
“Right at the end of the second period my phone was sitting face up and I started seeing all these text messages fire in,” Burke said. “My phone kind of blew up and everyone was so excited for Akil.
“It was a great moment and sounds like a great game.”
Burke couldn’t be happier for his captain.
“I’m a big believer in hockey gods and karma and all that stuff and I think Akil today is a perfect example of that,” Burke said. “He has absolutely no ego. He comes in and if he has to play on the fourth line, he plays on the fourth line. If he has to sit, he sits.
“He’s a 100-point guy but he’s also a world-class penalty killer and he is such a great leader and great Canadian that it’s no surprise that when the guys needed that goal, he’s the one that ended up getting it.”
Burke admitted Thomas is one of his all-time favourites.
“I love all the guys we had but Akil is certainly different,” he said. “He’s front and centre on my Mount Rushmore.”
Burke said Thomas is expected back with the IceDogs Tuesday. The IceDogs are home to Hamilton Thursday.
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