Canada Defeats Finland to Claim World Cup Championship

Team Canada’s checking line of Shane Doan, Kris Draper and Joe Thornton produced two goals and held Finland’s top line to none as Canada claimed the 2004 World Cup with a 3-2 win. The eventual game-winner was scored by Doan just 34 seconds into the third period.

Canada’s top linescored the game’s first goal 52 seconds into the first period, when Mario Lemieux fed Joe Sakic for a quick shot from the slot that beat Finnish goalie Miikka Kiprusoff.

Finland responded at 6:34 when a Toni Lydman shot was deflected by Riku Hahl past Canadian netminder Martin Brodeur.

Canada regained the lead when Kiprusoff let a “soft” goal by Scott Niedermayer into the net at 3:15 of the second. The goal, assisted by Draper and Thornton, came without a screen on an innocent-looking shot from along the left-side boards.

Finland bounced back again when Tuomo Ruutu slipped past three Canadian defenders and beat Brodeur at the 19-minute mark of the second period.

Doan’s game-winner came early in the third as he got the puck in front of the net and skated from one side of the crease to the other, finding an opening to the side of the sprawling Kiprusoff.

With the win, Canada is now the defending champion of the Olympics, World Championships and the World Cup.