The U.S. National Junior Team won the gold medal against the Canadian National Junior team in an incredible finish.
The journey for the U.S. National team first began with an exhibition game against Finland as it was a tune up before the main event. The main player for the U.S. was Cole Caufield, who scored twice and played a pivotal role in helping the U.S secure a 3-2 victory. It was then met with the struggles of a loss from Russia in the first preliminary round which saw a tough fought game from both sides but the U.S. lost steam in the end.
From there, it was all U.S. as they seemed to have learned from that loss and went on to win every game after that. They steamed rolled past other countries which included Austria, Czech Republic, Sweden, and Slovakia. The U.S. National Team outscored each country by a grand total of 27 goals and held their opponents to a whopping 2 goals (both scored by Slovakia). This incredible feat was performed by goaltender, Spencer Knight, who had a total of 140 saves and a GAA(Goals Against Average) of 1.63 .
They’re outstanding performance throughout the tournament led them to another match against Finland in which it saw them win in a close 4-3 finish. The huge game winning shot came from forward Arthur Kaliyev, who made the shot with 1:16 left in regulation. This earned them a date for the championship against Canada, who was another powerhouse team that had gone undefeated throughout the tournament, outscoring their opponents 41 goals to 4 goals. It was an incredible championship game that saw great defense from the U.S. and goals from U.S. forward’s Trevor Zegras & Alex Turcotte that proved vital to the team’s win.
There was no doubt that the player of the game was U.S. goalkeeper Spencer Knight, who made 34 saves which led to the shutout of team Canada and helped earn the U.S. the gold medal and the championship victory. While this was no doubt a team effort all around, credit should be given to Trevor Zegras who was one of the top performers throughout the tournament with 18 goals and 11 assists. He was one of the cornerstone pieces in the U.S. Team’s roster and should be a threat in the NHL if he plays like this in the future for the Anaheim Ducks. Another key player for them was Alex Turcotte who scored 8 goals and had 5 assists throughout the tournament and should also be a key piece for the L.A. Kings in the near future.
Overall, this was an incredible tournament for the United States and helps prove that they have some of the best young hockey players in the world. While every player should be recognized for their skills and battling obstacles such as COVID-19 while playing in this tournament with such uncertainty. This tournament shines a light on the future of hockey as the NHL is getting ready for their 2021 season that will be shortened due to the pandemic and look different as the scars of the pandemic linger for most sports across the country.