World Juniors: Eberle's Iconic Goal vs Russia

No matter how many times Jordan Eberle has seen, been asked about or signed a picture of his iconic last-second goal in the 2009 World Junior semi-finals, he can't help but grin.
Can you blame him though?
Canada was down 5-4 to Russia in the final minute of the semi-final game, with their four-year gold medal streak hanging in the balance. With 8.6 seconds to play, John Tavares flipped a backhand on net from the half wall. Dmitry Kulikov dropped down to block it, but the puck deflected to Eberle in front of the net. Eberle pulled the puck to his backhand and tied the score 5-5 with six seconds left, which sent Canadian Tire Centre (then Scotiabank Place) into a frenzy.

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The game eventually went to a shootout with Eberle and Tavares scoring back-to-back goals to send Canada to the gold medal game and fittingly, it was Eberle who was credited with the game-decider. Canada dispatched Sweden 5-1 to win their fifth straight gold medal and on home soil no less. Tavares was named MVP of the tournament with 15 points (8G, 7A) in six games. Eberle had 13 points (6G, 7A) in the tournament.
It's arguably the biggest goal Eberle's scored in his hockey career and to get a sense of how impactful it was in Canada just ask Mathew Barzal, who watched it as an 11-year-old and cited it as one of his two favorite hockey fan moments - the other being Sidney Crosby's golden goal at the 2010 Olympics.
Three Islanders - Eberle, Tavares and Team Canada captain Thomas Hickey - were on the 2009 Canadian junior team and shared their memories of Eberle's last-second goal.

TAVARES:
"It was just a scramble really. Everything felt like it was happening so fast and on that play it felt like things kind of slowed down. I just knew there wasn't much time and there were some great plays along the wall by our teammates, [Ryan] Ellis and [Cody] Hodgson keeping pucks alive that led to me having the ability to get it to the net."
EBERLE:
"There's lots I remember. You watch the Russians icing the puck and kind of laughing. The biggest thing that goes under the radar is Ryan Ellis keeping the puck in along the wall. He made a really good play. John just threw it at the net and I was lucky enough to be there."
HICKEY:
"It was one of the most exciting stretches of hockey that I've ever played in. That goal, I was on the bench, but we were all on our feet watching, hoping, praying. We'd won four years in a row, so there were a lot of expectations."
EBERLE:
"It was just really loud and you're really excited. It's not really until later on in the night that it settles in how big it was. It kept us alive, gave us a chance to win the game and ultimately win the tournament like we did."

TAVARES:
"Obviously a moment like that brought it to another level. I remember personally just trying to catch my breath, it all happened so fast, you realize after once the game is tied how tired you are after that shift. We were just trying to regroup and get ready for overtime. The atmosphere was electric."
HICKEY:
"I think we knew we were going to win when that happened. It was pretty obvious. When you have that much momentum going in the right direction, we just knew we were going to get that win."
EBERLE:
"That tournament was kind of cool for moments like that. We didn't really play our best hockey until the final game. We played really well against Sweden, but against Russia we were battling back and forth all game. A lot of people remember the New Year's game, Johnny had a hat trick and we were down 3-0 to the Americans and Johnny took us over."
"There was just so much energy in the building every game. It was one of the louder atmospheres I've every played in and just how fun it was to be able to do it with all the pressure on you and win a gold medal."

TAVARES:
"You go through a lot in that tournament, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of pressure as well, especially being on home ice. Just having the gold medal around your neck and hearing the anthem. It's a special feeling, especially at home with that full building, 20,000 Canadians singing the anthem with you."
HICKEY:
"I think until the day I'm finished playing hockey, those memories will stand out in my head."
EBERLE:
"They took the gold medal ticket and made it into a gold bar and that was pretty cool. I have my jersey and my medal and it's all framed up."
"It's definitely up there [for my favorite goal]. It's hard to rank. I think everyone remembers their first NHL goal. Any time there's a goal that goes along with your team winning - and in that case winning a gold medal - it's pretty special."