Alicia

After a long, hard-fought week of games between teams from five different nations, the United States walked away with the gold medal victory thanks to a dominating performance in the championship game.

It’s a little odd looking back on the event now and seeing that the two tournament finalists actually lost their opening games against teams most predicted to be fodder for the traditional power house clubs.

The small rural prairie city of Camrose has a rich history of hosting international hockey events dating back nearly three decades with the Viking Cup, so the community knows how to welcome foreign visitors. Although there were plenty of tickets available throughout the week, the crowds were grew thicker with each game at the still new and top-notch Edgeworth Centre.

NHL teams were well represented by scouts and executives, as were several NCAA programs and CHL clubs. With two Canadian teams consisting almost entirely of NCAA bound players (some committed and some still being recruited) as well as an American side representing the best of the USHL, tier I junior hockey in North America was showcased for eight full days.

Here's how they finished:

6th - Germany
5th - Russia
4th - Belaruse
3rd - Canada East
2nd - Canada West
1st - USA