USA rallies to beat Finland in OT for 2nd straight WJHC gold

The United States scored three unanswered goals, including Teddy Stiga's OT winner, to defeat Finland 4-3 on Sunday for its second straight gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Defenseman Zeev Buium sprung Stiga on a breakaway with a beautiful saucer pass before the forward slipped one through Petteri Rimpinen's five-hole.

USA thoroughly dominated the three-on-three overtime, outshooting Finland 6-2. Rimpinen robbed tournament MVP Ryan Leonard on a breakaway and James Hagens on the doorstep to keep the Finns in it. The Finnish netminder totaled 36 saves.

Finland started much stronger than it finished, building a 3-1 lead with goals from Jesse Kiiskinen, Tuomas Uronen, and Emil Pieniniemi in the first half of the game. But it was all USA the rest of the way.

Brandon Svoboda and Cole Hutson - the first defenseman ever to lead the tournament outright in points - scored 1:53 apart in the final three minutes of the second period to even the contest heading into the third, where neither team could end it. But the Americans controlled possession and built momentum before a convincing effort in OT.

The Americans have won the tournament in consecutive years for the first time. It's their seventh gold medal in the tournament's history and third in the last five years. Only Canada (20) and Russia/Soviet Union (13) have won more times.

The U.S. will get a chance to three-peat on home ice at the 2026 tournament in Minnesota, where it'll be pitted against Sweden and Canada in a loaded Group A.

The silver medal for Finland marks its first time at the podium since it finished as the runner-up in 2022. Finland has won gold five times, including thrice in a five-year span from 2014-19.