Sudbury captures gold at Junior Club World Cup

Josh Leivo and Frank Corrado scored unassisted goals in the third period to send the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League to a 2-0 victory against the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League in the gold-medal game of the 2012 Junior Club World Cup on Sunday at Omsk Arena in Russia.

The Junior Club World Cup was in its second year. It featured teams from eight countries this year, and for the first time, a USHL and OHL franchise. The tournament is designed to match top teams from the best junior hockey leagues from around the world.

Leivo, a third-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2011, scored 7:55 into the third off a breakaway to snap a scoreless tie. The Wolves then struck 35 seconds later on the power play to extend the lead to 2-0 when Corrado, a defenseman, unleashed a wrist shot from the slot that beat Waterloo goalie Eamon McAdam (22 saves). Leivo, 19, finished the tournament with six goals and 11 points in six games.

"To win here was a real challenge for us," Sudbury owner Mark Burgess told R-Sport. "We really want to come back here next year to defend our title."

Corrado was chosen in the fifth round of the 2011 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. He was given a one-game suspension earlier in the tournament after being assessed a kneeing infraction during his team's second game against Latvia.

Sudbury goalie Joel Vienneau turned aside 29 shots, including all 12 shots faced in the third period when Waterloo turned on the heat. Vienneau finished 13-13-5 with a 3.26 goals-against average and .899 save percentage last season for Sudbury.

Waterloo and Sudbury each concluded the tournament with identical 4-2 records. Sudbury suffered a 2-1 loss to Lativa following a shootout.

For Waterloo, Justin Kloos, Vince Hinostroza and Taylor Cammarata each topped the team with six points apiece, while McAdam was named the best goaltender of the competition with four victories.

Follow Mike Morreale on Twitter: @mike_morreale