'Always An Honour'

PRAGUE, Czechia - Andrew Mangiapane will not, unfortunately, have anything to declare when he returns home.

Except, maybe, his disappointment.

Mangiapane, who won gold with Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Championship three years ago, is empty-handed in his second go-round on the international stage in Prague after falling 4-2 to Sweden in the bronze medal match at the 2024 tournament.

"It's tough, right?" Mangiapane said. "I thought it felt like our guys were still a little bit down. Our goal was to obviously win gold. Tough to get up for this game, but I liked the way we battled all game and it was there for us. I think we just came up a little short again.

"We didn't have that extra push at the end."

Canada, less than 24 hours after losing a heartbreaker in a shootout to Switzerland, was relegated to try to find the silver lining in a bronze medal.

They found no solace, thanks to the Swedes.

"Yeah, it's tough," offered Mangiapane, who ends the tournament with seven points (1G, 6A) in 10 twirls - Canada's fifth-most productive forward. "But then again, I think all the guys kind of wanted to walk away with something here.

"It's tough, even tougher now, that we didn't walk away with anything. This one kind of stings. We put in the work. We've been here for four weeks or whatever it is.

"And to come away with nothing hurts."

Canada, which entered as the defending world champion after a golden effort a year ago that saw MacKenzie Weegar named top defenceman land on the tournament's all-star team, officially exits fourth in 2024.

Mangiapane and his mates fell behind Sweden 1-0 midway through the first period on a Carl Grundstrom shot from the slot, but Canada pulled even 1-1 early in the second when the 28-year-old Flames forward caused some havoc to the right of the crease before linemate Dylan Cozens knotted things up.

He himself had an opportunity to put Canada ahead with five minutes left in the frame, a net-drive on a partial breakaway that saw Mangiapane pull up, hesitate, and lift a backhand over the crossbar.

Pierre-Luc Dubois did stake the Canadians to a 2-1 lead four minutes into the third period, but that was matched - and surprised - by back-to-back goals four minutes apart from Erik Karlsson and Grundstrom.

An empty-netter by Marcus Johansson sent Canada packing.

"It's really tough," said Canada coach Andre Tourigny, Utah's bench boss back home. "You see the commitment of our players for a month and play 10 games, and played it so hard. They laid a lot on the line with the sacrifice they made and the effort they put in.

"It's tough."

It stings, too, according to Mangiapane.

But medal or not, the trip has its own rewards.

"It's always a fun tournament," said Mangiapane, who will take just one week off before ramping right back up in preparation for next season.

"You meet new guys, and to represent your country is always an honour. Me wearing a letter, too, that helps my confidence and can propel me into next season a little bit here. I think there were multiple things that helped me and helped my personal game.

"But it sucks not winning, and not placing at all.

"It was a good tournament all around by the guys.

"It's tough."