U.S. tops Canada in OT
Americans end Canadians’ junior hockey title run
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan – John Carlson scored in overtime to give the United States a 6-5 victory over Canada in the world junior hockey championship on Tuesday night.
Carlson beat goaltender Martin Jones on a 3-on-1 after U.S. goalie Jack Campbell made a save at the other end.
It was the second goal of the game for Carlson, on loan to the U.S. team by his American Hockey League team in Hershey, Pa.
“It feels pretty good,” said U.S. player Tyler Johnson (Spokane Chiefs/Liberty Lake), who was twice selected as player of the game during the tournament. “I’m sure tomorrow I’ll be wondering what the heck I just did but it’s pretty cool.”
Canada was trying to win the tournament for a record sixth consecutive time. The final was the first between the countries since 2004, when the U.S. rallied in Helsinki, Finland, for its first gold medal in the tournament.
Chris Kreider, Jordan Schroeder, Jerry D’Amigo and team captain Derek Stepan also scored for the U.S., which had underachieved in this tournament in recent years with bigger names and more first-round NHL draft picks in the lineup.
Canada never led in the championship, but Jordan Eberle scored a pair of goals in the final three minutes to force overtime.
Luke Adam, Greg Nemisz and Taylor Hall also scored for Canada in front of a sellout crowd of 15,171 at Credit Union Centre.