The new year started out with a bang on TSN, which generated an eye-popping 5.3 million viewers for Tuesday’s highly anticipated Canada/U.S. final in the IIHF World Junior Championships.

The game, which ended with a thrilling 6-5 overtime win by the U.S. team, peaked at 7.5 million viewers and set an all-time record for the network. TSN says the final, airing at 8 p.m. ET, was also the largest audience recorded on Canadian television since 2005 — though BBM’s new Portable People Meters, in use since September, is likely a big contributing factor. (All numbers 2+.)

Last year’s final generated 3.7 million viewers on TSN without the new measurement system.

‘This one will go down as one of the most exciting and emotional games we have ever broadcast,’ commented TSN president Phil King in a release.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s semifinal between Canada and Switzerland topped three million viewers on TSN.

More surprising were the Sunday numbers on secondary channel TSN2, which nabbed 902,000 for the semifinal match between the U.S. and Sweden at 9 p.m. It marks the highest audience ever for a digital channel, according to the sportscaster. The previous record was 413,000 viewers for a pre-season NHL game featuring Toronto and Boston, also on TSN2.

Still with hockey, nearly four million viewers tuned in at some point for the Dec. 30 announcement of the 23-man hockey squad for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. The event, airing 12 to 1 p.m. ET, was carried live from Saskatoon and was broadcast in English and French by 13 TV channels. TSN’s one-hour special of the announcement averaged 752,000 viewers.

______________________________ This story has been updated to include the Canada/U.S. final.