"I actually moved early on the first one, and you never want to start that way," said Snider, who earned tournament MVP honors. Sunday he won 21 of 27 faceoffs in a 13-12 loss to the U.S. in round-robin play.

"If you can keep it in our end of the field, they are not going to score. I owed it to those guys and I was happy to play that role. It just so happens today was our day," Snider added.

Gary Gait added four goals in what was likely his final playing appearance, all in a decisive fourth quarter that saw Snider win its first eight faceoffs to help the Canadians turn a 9-8 lead into a commanding 15-9 advantage. The Canadians pulled away in part because of a stiffening defense anchored by Brodie Merrill, who won the tournament’s Best Defenseman award. The 10 goals represents the fewest Team USA has ever scored in ILF play.

"We’ve been talking about that [the 28 years in between Canadian championships] since we started up," said Merrill. "We knew we had the team to contend."

"We knew [our defense] was going to be the difference-maker. Canada’s never had a problem putting the ball in the net," Merrill added. "The key for us was not to get intimidated by the bigger-name players. Guys rose to the occasion."

Ahead 9-8 at the start of the fourth, Zywicki corralled a loose ball in front of U.S. goalie Trevor Tierney and started the championship-clinching run with his final tally of the game. Scott Urick (team-high three goals) then took a feed from Joe Walters and punched home an extra-man goal at 16:45 to pull the U.S. back within one, but that would be the closest the Americans would get. Gait picked up another loose ball (Canada finished with an unofficial 37-26 edge in ground balls) and stepped inside Nicky Polanco to beat Tierney at 12:45. About three minutes later, Gait scored on a pass from Ryan Ward, and the U.S. began to double the ball which led to more scoring opportunities for Canada.

"When you give a team with that much firepower that many possessions after every goal, that’s a tough way to play," said U.S. coach John Desko. "They a very dangerous team unsettled, and we had to pressure them or they were going to run the clock out. They took advantage of those opportunities."

Early on, in a steady rain, Michael Powell played a role in the U.S. jumping to a 2-0 lead with an assist and a goal. He assisted a Jay Jalbert (Best Midfielder award winner) rocket shot with 10:09 to play in the first half to put the Americans ahead, 5-3. But Zwicki responded during the half’s final five minutes, scoring twice – once on a rebound of a Tierney save – as Canada changed the momentum of the game for good with a 3-0 run into halftime.

The game was tied at 6 and 7 in the third quarter. Gavin Prout scored on a pass from Colin Doyle with 8:20 remaining in the period to put Canada ahead for good at 8-7. Chris Sanderson, the tournament’s Best Goalie award winner, made 14 saves and helped keep a U.S. team that had been averaging just under 19 goals per game at bay.

BOX SCORE

Score by Periods 1+2+3+4=F
(7-1) Canada 2+4+3+6=15
(6-1) United States 3+2+3+2=10

GOALS
CAN: Jeff Zywicki 5, Gary Gait 4, Colin Doyle 2, John Grant Jr. 2, Jordan Hall, Gavin Prout.
USA: Scott Urick 3, Ryan Powell 2, Jay Jalbert 2, Michael Powell, A.J. Haugen, Casey Powell

ASSISTS
CAN: John Grant Jr. 2, Jeff Zywicki, Gavin Prout, Steve Toll, Colin Doyle, Ryan Ward
USA: Michael Powell 2, Ryan Powell 2, Casey Powell, Joe Walters

GOALIES
CAN: Chris Sanderson 58 min., 10 GA, 14 svs.; Kyle Miller 2 min. 0 GA, 0 svs.
USA: Trevor Tierney 60 min., 12 GA, 8 svs.; Chris Garrity 20 min., 3 GA, 1 sv.

FACEOFFS
CAN: Geoff Snider 20-28
USA: Kyle Harrison 2-9, Doug Shanahan 6-19