Canada’s reign as Olympic men’s hockey champions ended in Korea Friday morning.
Germany upset Canada 4-3 in a semifinal and will face the Olympic Athletes from Russian for the gold medal.
Canada had won the last two Olympic gold medals.
Germany led 1-0 after one period and extended the lead to 3-0 early in the second before former Quesnel Millionaires forward Gilbert Brule got Canada on the board with a powerplay goal at 8:17.
Brule would then be assessed a five-minute major for a checking-to-the-head penalty and was given a game misconduct. The Germans scored on the powerplay to make it 4-1 after two periods.
Mat Robinson, at 2:42, and Derek Roy, on a powerplay at 10:18, got Canada back to within one in the third period but could not get the equalizer past German netminder Danny Aus den Birken, who finished with 28 saves.
Kevin Poulin, who had been brilliant for Canada at the Spengler Cup over the Christmas holidays, and who preserved a 1-0 quarterfinal win over Finland after stater Ben Scrivens left the game with an upper body injury early in the second period, had an off-game Friday, allowing four goals on just 15 shots.
Poulin did, however, stop a third-period penalty shot to give his team a chance to come back.
Canada outshot Germany 15-1 in third period and 31-15 for game.
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It was only Germany’s second victory in 30 meetings with Canada in Olympic and world championship play. The first was a 5-1 win at the 1996 world championships.
The Canadian men had won the last 11 meetings, outscoring the Germans 58-15, and had gone 11-0-1 against the Germans since the 1996 loss.
The Germans, who didn’t even qualify for the last Olympics, won their only other Olympic hockey medal — a bronze — as West Germany in 1976.
Vernon native Andrew Ebbett, a former Salmon Arm Silverback, and former Vernon Vipers defenceman Chay Genoway were held off the Canada scoresheet.
Former Vernon Lakers forward Scott Salmond is Hockey Canada’s vice-president of operations and helped put the Canadian squad together.
The Olympic Athletes from Russia blanked the Czech Republic 3-0 in the other semifinal.
Canada will play the Czechs for bronze, looking to avenge a 3-2 shootout loss in the preliminary round.
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