World Junior Championship | Americans defeat Finland 4-3 to win gold

(Ottawa) The United States once again covered itself with gold at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Teddy Stiga scored his first goal of the tournament at 8:04 of overtime and the Americans erased a two-goal deficit to defeat Finland 4-3 and retain their championship title.

Cole Hutson, with a goal and an assist, James Hagens and Brandon Svoboda also contributed to the offensive efforts of the Americans, who are crowned champions two years in a row for the first time in history.

Trey Augustine made 20 saves for the United States, which triumphed at the World Juniors for the seventh time. They will host the next edition of the tournament in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Ryan Leonard set up two goals.

Jesse Kiiskinen, Tuomas Uronen and Emil Pieniniemi responded for Finland, whose last gold medal dates back to Vancouver in 2019. Petteri Rimpinen stopped 36 pucks. Emil Hemming was complicit in two goals.

Rimpinen made important saves against Zeev Buium, Leonard and Hagens in the extra period before Augustine did the same in front of Benjamin Rautainen, scorer of the overtime victory in the semi-final against Sweden .

Despite the defeat, this is Finland’s first medal since silver in 2022 in Edmonton.

Finland won the first duel between the two teams 4-3 in overtime during the preliminary round, while the United States counted on the return of nine players from the last edition.

The Finns opened the scoring on a power play at 7:37 in the first period when Kiiskinen scored his sixth goal of the tournament.

Expected to be one of the first selections in the next National Hockey League (NHL) draft, Haggens tied the game at 12:04 with his fifth goal. Uronen restored the Finn’s lead just 59 seconds later, then Pieniniemi made it 3-1 at 4:52 of the second period.

The Americans seemed to be in trouble, then took advantage of a favorable jump to close the gap when Svoboda’s point shot deflected off a Finnish player and found its way to the back of the net.

Hutson then brought the two countries back to even footing with a pinpoint pick from the slot with 28.7 seconds left in the second.

Czechia defeats Sweden to win bronze

The Czechs will return home with a new World Junior Hockey Championship medal.

Eduard Sale scored in the 14^e round of the shootout to help Czechia defeat Sweden 3-2 and win the bronze medal on Sunday.

The captain of the Czech team thwarted Swedish goalkeeper Marcus Gidlof on his fifth attempt with a backhand feint. He also extended the session in 13^e round when he responded to Otto Stenberg’s goal.

“He’s the player you want on your team, not as an opponent,” Czech goalkeeper Michael Hrabal said. He’s a born scorer. He showed throughout the tournament how good he is. »

It was the longest shootout in the history of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

Sale and Jakub Stancl scored in regulation time for the Czech Republic. Hrabal stopped 32 pucks in 65 minutes of action.

David Edstrom scored a double in the loss. Gidlof made 30 saves.

“It’s tough,” Edstrom said. The margins are thin. They scored one more goal, and it sucks because we wanted this medal. »

The Czech Republic also won the silver medal following a defeat against Canada in the final in Halifax during the 2023 edition, then the bronze last year in Sweden. This is the first time that the nation has reached three consecutive podiums since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992.

“It’s huge,” Harbal said. Great players are coming, but they still have to work hard. The future looks bright. »

The Czechs, who eliminated Canada in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row, opened the scoring on a power play at 3:47 of the first period. Stancl scored his seventh goal of the tournament with a one-timer.

Sweden, who lost at home in the final to the United States last year, responded with a power play at 12:31 through Edstrom.

Sale made it 2-1 at 9:27 of the second period, then Edstrom tied the game again by redirecting a shot at 15:40 of the period.