The Canadian national under-20 hockey team successfully defend their title at the 2006 IIHF World Junior Championship after blowing out Russia 5-0 at GM Place. It was the first time the national junior team won back-to-back gold medals since a string of five consecutive wins from 1993-1997. The win also came at the same rink Team Canada had once again beaten Russian to win gold 10 years earlier.
Michael Blunden scored two goals, Steve Downie, Blake Comeau and Kyle Chipchura each chipped in singles, and goalie Justin Pogge made 35 saves for the shutout. The victory also was part of yet another five-year streak for the national junior team that ended in 2009.
The tournament marked the second international playing experience for eventual Vancouver Canucks player Luc Bourdon, who led all defencemen in scoring with six points in six games and was named to the tournament's all-star team. Bourdon also played on the national U20 team the following year in Sweden, where he picked up two goals and two assists in six games. He died in 2008, aged 21, after crashing his motorcycle during the off-season near his hometown of Shippagan, N.B.
