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The United States upset highly favored and undefeated Canada 2-0 in Edmonton, Alta., To win the gold medal Tuesday in the first world junior ice hockey championship played in a bubble.
In a defensive special, Boston College goaltender and Florida Panthers prospect Spencer Knight stopped all 34 shots he faced to clinch the United States’ first gold since 2017.
Knight recorded his third shutout of the event, most for an American goaltender in the tournament. Anaheim forward and Ducks pick Trevor Zegras led the tournament with 18 points, the second most points by an American player in tournament history. Zegras also tied the record for most points by an American in his world junior career with 27 in the last two tournaments.
The United States took the lead in the first period on a redirection in goal of Los Angeles Kings prospect Alex Turcotte. The goal was the first 5v5 goal that Canada had allowed throughout the World Junior Championship and the first time it was lagging behind at any point in the tournament.
Zegras extended the Americans’ lead 32 seconds into the second period when he picked up the puck and passed it past Canadian goaltender Devon Levi, who was leaning the wrong way.
The goal tied Zegras with former NHL player Jordan Schroeder for USA Hockey’s all-time lead at the World Junior Championship with his 27th point in the last two tournaments.
Zegras also landed second on the Americans’ single tournament scorers list, posting 18 points to lead all players in the 2021 tournament. He passed Jeremy Roenick and dropped a shy of Doug Weight’s record of 19, set in 1991.
Canada had beaten their opponents 41-4 before Tuesday night’s final in their attempt to repeat as the world junior champion.
The victory gave USA Hockey its fourth straight victory over Canada in a World Junior Championship final, having claimed victories in 2004, 2010, 2017 and 2021 in tournament history.
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