USA Wins IIHF World Championship for First Time Since 1933

The American men’s hockey team has won the IIHF World Championship event for the first time since 1933.

At the Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, on Sunday, Team USA won the gold medal after defeating Switzerland 1-0 in overtime.

The Swiss team was involved in a defensive struggle with the Americans, who were participating in an IIHF gold medal game for the first time in more than 90 years. The United States failed to get a puck past Switzerland’s goaltender Leonardo Genoni during the 60 minutes of regulation play, even though they had a sizable advantage in shots on goal.

However, Tage Thompson, a center for the Buffalo Sabres, stole the game-winning wrister from Genoni only two minutes into extra. Brady Skjei of the Nashville Predators and Logan Cooley of the Utah Mammoth both contributed to the goal.

The Boston Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman shut out the Swiss squad by stopping all 25 shots he faced.

Following the heartbreaking loss, many of the Swiss players were seen hanging their heads in dismay as Thompson was surrounded by his jubilant teammates after reaching the game-winning goal.

However, before the gold presentation, Switzerland shook hands with the Americans, demonstrating their kindness in defeat.

The American flag was raised at Avicii Arena as the US national anthem was played following their gold medal win. The flags of Sweden, which won the bronze medal with a 6-2 victory against Denmark earlier on Sunday, and Switzerland were straddled by the Stars and Stripes.

Team USA accepted the trophy while displaying the No. 13 jersey of former USA and NHL player Johnny Gaudreau, who and his brother Matthew were killed last year when they were hit by a suspected drunk driver while riding bicycles on a New Jersey road.

The American players understood the significance of bringing an end to a nine-decade IIHF World Championship drought.

“It feels awesome. I mean, it’s been so long for the U.S. It feels great putting this jersey back on, it’s been a long time for me, and to be able to come out with a gold medal, it’s pretty fantastic,” USA forward Michael McCarron told Reuters. “And in overtime fashion, there’s no better way to win a game.”

“Obviously, we know how long it’s been,” American forward Drew O’Connor told Reuters. “And, you know, we’ve been looking forward to finally trying to get it done, and I’m so excited that we did it with this group.”

Before NHL players compete in the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, next year for the first time since 2014, the victory might portend well for Team USA.