The US Hockey Team faced Canada at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in IIHF World Junior Championship Gold Medal Game. Finland had beaten Russia in the Bronze Medal Game 4-1 after losing to the US 4-3 the night before. Russia had lost to Canada 5-0 the night before. Canada had shut out the competition heading into the final. They outscored the competition 41-4 heading into the final. The host country was the country that had won in the previous tournament. The Czech Republic hosted the 2020 tournament in which Canada won. Group A consisted of Canada, Slovakia, Germany, Finland, and Switzerland. Group B consisted of Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic, the USA, and Austria. The biggest wins for the US and Canada came against Germany for Canada in which they won 16-2. USA’s biggest win came against Austria in which they won 11-0. Coming into the final, Canada was undefeated and the US had one loss which was to Russia in a 5-3 final. To get to the final, Canada beat the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, 3-0. The US knocked off Slovakia 5-2 in the quarters to move to the Semis. Canada beat Russia 5-0 to make the final. Russia had beaten Germany 2-1 to make the semis. The US beat Finland 4-3 in a thriller. Finland had beaten Sweden 3-2 to make the semis. Canada came into the final heavily favored. They showed it in the first 10 minutes dominating the US. The US then scored on their 7th shot of the game when Alex Turcotte scored on a nice pass from Trevor Zegras. Spencer Wright dominated at the goalie position for the US. The US opened the 2nd period with a goal from Trevor Zegras. The US and Canada both played shutdown defense and played extremely great on offense. Trevor Zegras played awesomely all tournament. Spencer Wright and Devon Levi both played awesomely at goalie. Canada was just shut down by the US in the 3rd Period. The US celebrated with great joy as the clock ticked out. They cleared the bench. The team stood on the lines as they received their medals. Canada first, and the US second. Captain Bowman Byram and Canada’s team executive gave out Canada’s medals and accepted the 2nd place trophy. Captain Cam York and the US’s team executive gave out the USA's medals and accepted the championship trophy. It was York’s birthday and he turned 20 as he held up the trophy. The US players hoisted the trophy as the Star Spangled Banner played. We will see most of these young players in the NHL in the coming years. These players will become the future and the rising stars of the NHL and the Olympics. Some are coming to San Jose. GO SHARKS!!!!!!!
