The United States upset intensely favored and undefeated Canada 2-0 in Edmonton, Alberta, on Tuesday to win the gold medal in the principal world junior ice hockey title played in an bubble.
In a defensive special, Boston College goaltender and Florida Panthers prospect Spencer Knight halted every one of the 34 shots he looked to make sure about Team USA’s first gold since 2017.
Knight recorded his third shutout of the occasion, the most for an American goaltender in the competition. Forward and Anaheim Ducks draft pick Trevor Zegras drove the competition in scoring with 18 focuses and was named most important player of the competition. The 18 focuses were the second most by an American part in competition history. Zegras additionally tied the record for most focuses by an American in his reality junior vocation with 27 in the course of the last two competitions.
The U.S. started to lead the pack in the primary time frame off a redirection at the front of the net from Los Angeles Kings prospect Alex Turcotte. That objective was the initial 5-on-5 objective Canada had permitted in the World Junior Championship and the first occasion when it had followed anytime in the competition.
“That was by far the biggest goal I’ve ever scored in my life,” said Turcotte, who was the No. 5 generally draft decision of Los Angeles in 2019 and was essential for a year ago’s U.S. crew that was dispensed with in the quarterfinals.
The U.S. overpowered Canada for stretches of the primary time frame and held a 13-9 shots-on-objective bit of leeway notwithstanding the 1-0 lead.
Zegras extended the Americans’ lead 32 seconds into the second time frame when he gathered the puck and slipped it past Canadian goalie Devon Levi, who was inclining the incorrect way.
That goal gave Zegras a bind with previous NHL player Jordan Schroeder for USA Hockey’s record-breaking scoring lead at the World Junior Championship with his 27th point gathered in the course of the last two competitions. He positions fifth among players who have showed up in numerous World Junior Championships with 2.25 focuses per game, a rundown that is driven by Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg.
Zegras additionally got second put on the Americans’ single-competition scoring list, assembling 18 focuses to lead all major parts in the 2021 competition. He moved past Jeremy Roenick and fell one short of Doug Weight’s record of 19, set in 1991. He was the lone U.S. player to be named to the competition top pick group, joining Canada’s Levi, Dylan Cozens and Bowen Byram, Finland’s Ville Heinola and Germany’s Tim Stuetzle.
Canada had outscored rivals 41-4 preceding Tuesday night’s last in its offer to rehash as world junior boss.
“This is the first team that really pushed back in the first period. We were not used to it and it took a little bit of time to get back at it. After we adjusted, we were really good, but we didn’t score,” Canada coach Andre Tourigny said.
The U.S. ended up shielding for a significant part of the second 50% of the game. Canada outshot Team USA 25-8 over the last two time frames, remembering a 15-1 shots-for objective favorable position in the last edge.
“We had our looks, but Knight played great. We didn’t get the bounces,” said Cozens, who led Canada and finished second among all players with 16 points in the tournament.
Knight, who was chosen thirteenth by and large by the Panthers in the 2019 NHL draft, made a few major recoveries in his third and last outing to the World Junior Championship. In the wake of gathering shutouts in games against the Czech Republic and Sweden in the fundamental round, he turned into the lone U.S. goalie to record three shutouts in a solitary competition and the simply American to gather three shutouts in his reality junior vocation. He was named U.S. player of the game.
Notwithstanding records set by U.S. players, Team USA video mentor Theresa Feaster turned into the principal lady to fill in as an associate mentor for a gold award winning group at the competition. Feaster has been on lead trainer Nate Leaman’s staff at Providence College for as far back as seven seasons, including the previous four as organizer of men’s hockey activities, separating video and measurements for the instructing staff.
“I told the guys after the game, I was going to be proud whether we won or lost this game,” said Leaman, who won the NCAA men’s hockey championship with Providence in 2015. “This was a group that cared about each other. They had good character. The team came together and they cared more about a team than anything individually.”
The success gave USA Hockey its fourth back to back triumph over Canada in a World Junior Championship last, having procured wins in 2004, 2010, 2017 and 2021. USA is 4-1 in gold-decoration games against Canada, which claims 18 golds in the competition’s set of experiences.