The IIHF World Hockey Championship ended in agony once again for Canada.
“It’s deja vu,” general manager Kevin Lowe said after a 4-3 quarter-final loss to Slovakia on Thursday.
It’s the first time in history Canada has made an early exit from the tournament on three straight occasions. The country also suffered quarter-final losses in 2010 and 2011.
“It hurts like hell right now,” said captain Ryan Getzlaf. “I feel like I let the guys down. To be in a hard-fought game like that and play the tournament we did and lose in that fashion, it’s not easy to swallow as a group.
“The guys worked way too hard to be delivered something like that.”
WORLD JUNIORS: What do you think of Team Canada’s new (third) jersey?