Langley community is celebrating a huge victory as Zack Ostapchuk, captain of the Vancouver Giants, brings home a gold medal from the World Juniors tournament.
Ostapchuk played a key role in the tournament, registering two goals and an assist for a total of three points. This marks Ostapchuk’s second World Junior gold medal, making him and Giants trainer Mike Burnstein the only players in Giants history to have achieved this feat.
Team Canada’s Gold medal game against Czech Republic was held in front of 10,595 spectators at the Scotiabank Centre.
In Thursday’s highly anticipated gold medal game, Canada jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with goals from Dylan Guenther and Shane Wright. In the third period, Czechia made a comeback by scoring two goals within a minute, bringing the score to a tie at two.
The game headed into overtime, where a 3-on-3 matchup took place for 20 minutes of intense action. In the end, it was Dylan Guenther scored the goal for Canada, securing the team’s victory and the 2023 World Junior Championship gold medal.
Ostapchuk played a key role in the team’s success throughout the tournament, even though he did not score in the gold medal game.
As the Langley community celebrated this historic victory, the Vancouver Giants took to social media to share the news with their fans. Dozens of people took to the comments section to congratulate Ostapchuk on his role in helping Team Canada secure the gold medal at the World Junior Championship.
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