The United States defeated favorite and undefeated Canada 2-0 in Edmonton, Alberta, to win the gold medal on Tuesday at the first junior world championship on ice hockey played in a bubble.
In a defensive special, Boston College goalkeeper and Florida Panthers contender Spencer Knight stopped all 34 shots he faced to secure U.S. first gold since 2017.
Knight recorded his third shutout at the event, mostly for an American goalkeeper at the tournament. Trevor Zegras led the tournament with 18 points, the second highest number for an American player in tournament history. Zegras also tied the record for most points for an American in his junior world career, with 27 in the last two tournaments.
The United States took the lead in the first period after a redirect in front of the Los Angeles Kings’ Alex Turcotte network. That goal was Canada’s first 5-on-5 goal during the Junior World Championship and the first time they lost anywhere in the tournament.
Zegras extended the Americans’ lead by 32 seconds in the second period, when he received the puck and passed over Canadian goalkeeper Devon Levi, who was leaning the wrong way.
This goal gave Zegras a draw with former NHL player Jordan Schroeder for the highest score ever for USA Hockey in the Junior World Championship, with his 27th point won in the last two tournaments.
Zegras also took second place on the Americans’ scoring list in a single tournament, with 18 points to lead all players in the 2021 tournament. He passed Jeremy Roenick and fell a shy of the Doug Weight record of 19, set in 1991.
Canada defeated opponents 41-4 ahead of Tuesday night’s final in its attempt to repeat itself as a junior world champion.
The win gave US Hockey their fourth consecutive victory over Canada in a Junior World Championship final, having won victories in 2004, 2010, 2017 and 2021. The USA is 4-1 in all games for the gold medal against Canada, which has 18 gold medals in the tournament.