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Trailing by a goal with 2:53 remaining in regulation time on Thursday, Team Canada scored twice to edge Team Europe 2-1 and claim the World Cup of Hockey 2016.
Brad Marchand capped the harder-than-expected come-from-behind win on a shorthanded goal with 43.1 seconds left. Patrice Bergeron had tied the game, the second in a best-of-three final series.
“They were tough to play against and they tested us big time,” said Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby, who was named the most valuable player and led the tournament with 10 points.
Marchand and Bergeron were his wingers, combining for 25 points in six games.
Mike Babcock said the Crosby line epitomized the Canadian team.
“In the biggest moments, they’re better,” he said. “They can’t help themselves. They’re addicted to winning.”
While Marchand had just come off the bench and scored with a wrist shot from the slot, it was Jonathan Toews who did most of the work to set him up.
“He (Toews) made a great play to open up space,and when I came in, I just wanted to get a shot on net,” noted Marchand. “Luckily the puck went in the net.”
Meanwhile, Bergeron scored Canada’s first goal on a powerplay with a nifty deflection that beat Europe’s goaltender Jaroslav Halak.
Defenceman Zdeno Chara scored for Team Europe, who had held on to a 1-0 lead since the first period.
Canada has won 16 straight games in a best-on-best competition. Its last loss was to the United States during pool play at the 2010 Olympics.
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Related: World Cup win maintains hockey order
Orioles pull even with Blue Jays in wild card race
The Baltimore Orioles moved into a tie for first place in the MLB’s American Division wild card race with a 4-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.
The two teams finished the day with a 1 1/2-game lead over the Detroit Tigers whose game against the Cleveland Indians was postponed until Monday, if necessary. The Seattle Mariners are two games back of the leaders.
Ubaldo Jimenez picked up the victory on the mound after he allowed just one hit over 6 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out five while walking three and had the Blue Jays. Chris Davis and Hyun Soo Kim both had a pair of hits, with J.J. Hardy adding a key double in the win.
Marcus Stroman, the Jays starting righthander, kept his team in it for most of the game, but a run in the seventh and another in the eighth spoiled an otherwise solid outing. He was charged with four runs on nine hits in seven-plus innings, and it marked the first time in six September starts that he allowed more than three runs.
The Jays open their final series of the regular season on Friday (4:10 p.m.) against the first-place Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Marco Estrada will start on the mound. Baltimore will travel to New York for a regular-season ending series with the Yankees.
Related story: Blue Jays on the brink of disaster?
Lady Gaga to headline Super Bowl halftime
Lady Gaga, a six-time Grammy Award winner, will headline the Super Bowl halftime show in February.
This will be the second consecutive year the Super Bowl has featured Lady Gaga, who sang the national anthem last year. Super Bowl 50’s halftime performance was Coldplay, who shared the stage with guest performers Beyonce and Bruno Mars.
Gaga will release a new album, "Joanne," on Oct. 21. The Grammy winner's hits include "Poker Face," "Bad Romance," "Born This Way" and "Applause."
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