Team USA Edges Canada 5-4 In Shootout To Win Gold At 2017 World Junior Championship

The U.S. Men’s Hockey Team is starting 2017 on a high note.

Team USA Edges Canada 5-4 In Shootout To Win Gold At 2017 World Junior Championship

Tory Terry and Tyler Parsons helped lead Team USA to the IIHF U20 World Junior Championship game against Canada on Thursday, and then again helped carry the Americans to a thrilling 5-4 shootout victory over Canada at Bell Centre in Montreal to take gold in the tournament.

Parsons made 44 saves in regulation and overtime, and then four more in the five-round shootout. Terry, who went 3-for-3 in the semifinal win against Russia, netted the lone goal in the shootout.

Terry’s goal in the fourth round of the shootout beat goalkeeper Carter Hart through his five-hole, just like the three goals that Russian goalie Ilya Samsonov had allowed just one night earlier.

Parsons, for his part, made a spectacular save on Canada’s Anthony Cirelli after Terry’s goal, and then kept blocking as the puck rolled off Nicolas Roy’s stick on the Canadians’ final attempt.

Canada gained a 2-0 lead in the opening period on goals by Thomas Chabot and Jeremy Lauzon, but USA quickly countered with goals from Charlie McAvoy and Kieffer Bellows (a power-play goal) in the second.

The Canadians retook the lead early in the third period on the power play, with Bellows in the penalty box. Roy capitalized on the man-advantage and fired a shot past Parsons to give the hosts a 3-2 lead.

That lead increased to 4-2 when Mathieu Joseph split the defense to chase a loose puck and tap it into the net at 4:05 of the third.

The Americans hadn’t given up just yet at that point, however. Just 39 seconds later, McAvoy fed Bellows for a one-timer that slipped past Hart and trimmed the lead to 4-3.

Boston College’s Colin White tied the game 2:24 later with a tight-angled shot from just outside the left part of the crease:

White scored on a deflection of an Adam Fox shot.

The extra session was just as exciting, even though no goals were scored. The best chance was a Canada power play. With 13:16 remaining in overtime, Team USA was called for too many men on the ice, a negligent and costly error during a championship final.

However, Parsons’ sharp saves in the shootout ultimately helped seal the victory for the Americans, who piled onto each other on the ice in celebration after their goalie’s final save.

The win marks Team USA’s fourth gold medal finish at the WJC and their third in the last seven years. It is also the second time they’ve gone undefeated in the tournament, ending with a perfect 7-0 record this year.

MONTREAL, QC – JANUARY 05: Goaltender Tyler Parsons #1 of Team United States stops the puck with his shoulder as Taylor Raddysh #16 of Team Canada skates in during the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal game at the Bell Centre on January 5, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena