They were right there in the 80s, 90s, and turn of the century.
They won gold at the Olympics in 1998.
They won back-to-back gold medals at the World Juniors in 2000 and 2001.
But after 2001, they went 20+ years where all they won was a single bronze medal in 2005.
They’d still produce great players, but the national program just went to shit for some reason.
But then they won silver at the 2023 World Juniors.
They won a gold medal at the 2024 World Championships.
They won bronze at the 2024 World Juniors.
This team is looking to become the first US team to win back-to-back gold medals at the World Juniors.
Over that span, Canada has 4 golds but only 6 total medals.
So there’s a lot on the line with this one tonight.
Meanwhile, the Americans just got to coast the entire 3rd period after shit pumping Switzerland 7-2.
But that was the exact key in of game Team USA needed to really heat up in this tournament.
It’s going to be tight for a full 60 minutes.
5v5 hockey is going to be an advantage for the Americans.
Obviously if you take penalties against Team USA, you die.
So stay out of the box, win the game.
With that in mind, let’s activate the live blog.
I’ll be back in between periods to update as the game goes along.
Also feel free to follow on Twitter@JordieBarstoolfor more updates.
USA needed to do everything they could to crush that momentum as soon as possible.
Good news for the Americans is that they brought the best top line to the tournament.
No other team in this tournament has built-in chemistry like that, and it shows.
What a play from Ryan Leonard.
What a finish from Perreault.
There’s simply no stopping that.
It’s a cheat code.
Forwards slow to get back into the zone.
This kid can rip the shit out of the puck.
20 minutes down, and we’re right back where we started from.
Them’s the rules.
So when Czechia takes a high sticking penalty to give the Americans a little extra space to work with?
You just can’t afford to play 4v5 against Team USA and live to tell about it.
40 minutes down and that’s the difference right now.
20 more to go.
But if I had to guess, 2 goals doesn’t get the job done tonight.
More work to be done here, boys.
But not Team USA.
Because Trey Augustine saves more than Jesus himself.
That was the Czechs' best chance to tie this game up and make it interesting in the 3rd.
But Trey Augustine shut the door, and opened another for USA to start building up a little insurance.
Ryan Leonard made a great pass to led to a Gabe Perreault goal earlier in the night.
So it was only right for Perreault to return the favor for Leonard in the 3rd.
These kids are unreal.
It’s not every year that your big dawgs go out there and actually deliver.
The BC line delivers, then they deliver some more.
And now it’s back to another gold medal game for USA Hockey.
They’re looking to become the first US team to win back-to-back golds.
They’ll have another chance against the Finns tomorrow night.
OHHHHHH MAMA DON’T YOU CRYYYYYYY.
