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Team Europe ready to continue proving World Cup doubters wrong vs. Canada

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 25: Tomas Tatar #21 of Team Europe is congratulated by his teammates after scoring the game winning goal in overtime against Team Sweden at the semifinal game during the World Cup of Hockey tournament at Air Canada Centre on September 25, 2016 in Toronto, Canada. Team Europe defeated Team Sweden 3-2. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)

TORONTO – Canada vs. Team Europe isn’t your traditional international hockey tournament final, nor is it the matchup that nearly every hockey fan, writer and talking head thought we’d see before the World Cup of Hockey began earlier this month.

But here we are, one day away from the two teams squaring off at Air Canada Centre in a best-of-three series.

Canada is the expected heavy favorite (-2000 on Bovada), but Team Europe isn’t entering this final only looking to have a good time. They want to keep their run of good fortune going and end this tournament with two more wins, despite their underdog status.

“I’m sure the experience the guys have and also our coaching staff and everybody has been in this position of underdog for most of the time in international tournaments with their teams, so now these best players from these different federations, now they combine into one team and let’s see what they can do together,” said Team Europe general manager Miroslav Satan on Tuesday.

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The journey began by being outscored by Team North America 11-4 in their first two pre-tournament games. Three days later, with time to absorb that wakeup call and gel together, Team Europe downed Sweden in their final tune up before the puck dropped for the World Cup’s round robin stage.

Wins in their first two games over the U.S. and Czech Republic set them up nicely to advance to the semifinals where they would upset Sweden in overtime. As Team Europe’s success continued, the disbelief in what they were doing dissipated in many minds. Prior to the tournament some thought they would have issues winning a single game — like this dope from Yahoo — but the players kept all of those doubts from entering their dressing room.

“From my experience as a player, it always mattered what you think as a player, what can happen, what you can influence on the ice and not what somebody’s writing or expecting up in the press box or in the stands,” Satan said. “I was hoping for this to happen, even though I don’t think I could talk about it out loud before the tournament because everybody would think I’m crazy. I was hoping this would happen and I knew that we had strong players, accomplished in the NHL, winners on international level, winners of Stanley Cup. I knew if they buy into the system that coaching staff put up and they unite as a team and gel quickly, I thought they could combine into the team that represent European hockey. So far, it just happened.

“I think the main reason is that guys in the dressing room they didn’t believe what was written before the tournament and they saw each other as great players and great competitors that they could combine into a great team and so far they’ve proven everybody wrong. I’m very pleased to see that and be part of it.”

Eight countries are represented on Team Europe, but the impact of their success is being felt beyond that. Team president Frans Reindl said he’s received messages from non-traditional hockey countries like Georgia, Mexico and Portugal, among others, rooting them on in the World Cup. They see this as an opportunity for other countries that “you can reach it if you work hard.”

What would a World Cup of Hockey victory mean for Team Europe? Blowing away those low expectations even further despite, in Satan’s eyes, this tournament already being considered a success.

“Canada will be favored and under the pressure and they’re supposed to win, everybody expects that,” he said. “We are here to prove we can do more than everybody expects from us and I think that’s what we will want to do in the finals also.”

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!