For the first time since 1933, the United States male hockey team won the IIHF world championship tournament.
USA team Beat Switzerland 1-0 in overtime on Sunday in Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, to win the gold medal.
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The Americans played for the first time in a gold medal match IIHF in more than 90 years and found themselves locked up in a defensive fight against a faithful Swiss team. Although it has a significant advantage in penalties, the United States could not pass the washer in front of the goalkeeper of Switzerland Leonardo Genoni up to 60 minutes of regulatory play.
But barely two minutes after the start of the extension period, the center of Buffalo Sabers Tage Thompson slipped a Wister in front of Genoni for the sudden death winner. The objective was assisted by Logan Cooley of the Mammoth of Utah and Brady Skjei of the Nashville Predators.
The United States goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman of Boston Bruins stopped the 25 shots he faced to eliminate the Swiss team.
While Thompson was invaded by his jubilant teammates after marking the winner of the match, many Swiss players could be seen to suspend his head in disappointment after the heartbreaking loss.
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But Switzerland was graceful in defeat while shaking hands with the Americans before the medal ceremony.
After receiving their gold medals, the American national anthem was played as the American flag raised in Avicii Arena. The stars and stripes were straddling the Swiss flag and the Sweden flag, which won the bronze medal with a 6-2 victory against Denmark earlier on Sunday.
During the presentation of the trophy, the United States team accepted the equipment while holding jersey n ° 13 Johnny GaudreauThe former United States and NHL player who died tragically last year with his brother Matthew after the couple was fatally struck by an alleged drunk driver while bicycle on a road to New Jersey.
The importance of ending a drought in the IIHF world championship of nine decades was not lost for American players.
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“It’s great. I mean, it’s been so long for the United States, it’s great to put this jersey, it was long for me, and to be able to go out with a gold medal, it’s quite fantastic,” the United States striker Michael McCarron told Reuters. “And in overtime, there is no better way to win a match.”
“Obviously, we have known for how long,” the American striker Drew O’Connor told Reuters. “And, you know, we can’t wait to try to do it, and I’m so excited that we did it with this group.”
The triumph could represent good things to come for the United States team before next year winter games in Milan and Cortina in Ampezzo, Italy, where NHL players will participate in the Games for the first time since 2014.
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