photo: Matt Zambonin/IIHF
Teddy Stiga took a breakaway pass from Zeev Buium and beat Petteri Rimpinen between the pads at 8:04 of overtime to give the United States the gold medal at the 2025 World Junior Championship. This is the first time the Americans have won back-to-back gold.
"They had a better start; there's no excuse there, but you saw the way we played in the last ten minutes the second," said captain Ryan Leonard, who was named tournament MVP. "The ice was tilted and they didn't really have the puck, and we tied it up. In the third, the puck didn't go in but all the chances were there. We knew if we stuck to our game, good things would happen."
Finland looked entirely passive in the unlimited overtime while the Americans time and again moved the puck up ice and created scoring chances. Rimpinen made incredible, medal-saving stops on Leonard and James Hagens in quick succession, but he couldn't stop Stiga. It was Stiga's first goal of the tournament.
"I'm so happy for the kid," said Leonard. "He was scratched at the start and fought his way into the lineup. He's a hell of a player. You see why he's in the lineup at the end."
Shots favoured the Americans, 40-24, but Rimpinen held his team in the game when they were most vulnerable.
"It was awesome throughout the tournament," Rimpinen said. "I have a good feeling about how our team played, the way I played, and stuff. It's, of course, kind of sad to lose, but I think we played [in a way] people didn't expect from us. So I'm really proud of the team, how we grew during this tournament. Yeah, just a great experience."
"They played really well, but we stuck with it," said American goalie Trey Augustine, who tied two IIHF records for most career U20 medals for a goalie (three) and most career gold medals (two). "We were down 3-1, which isn't ideal, but we capitalized in overtime. It's unbelievable. There's no better feeling. They took it to us in the first period, but the last 40 and overtime, we handled the play."
"I can't be anything but proud of the team," said Finn Jesse Kiiskinen, one of the goalscorers. "Great battle, great guys, great group. The whole time we were here, we were ready for this. Maybe nobody else trusted us, but we trusted ourselves, and we knew we would play in the final if we played as a group."
The Finns came out full of confidence and energy while the Americans, surprisingly, looked a little tight and uncomfortable with the situation at hand. Finland spent the period going hard to the net, showing no fear in crashing the crease and making Trey Augustine work for his saves.
Suomi drew first blood at 7:13 on a power play when Emil Hemming made a great pass from the corner to Kiiskinen in front. Kiiskinen wired a shot under the glove of Augustine to send the Finns to an early and well-deserved lead.
Finland kept pressing and had several long forays into the U.S. end, the Americans clearly on their heels and the Finns moving the puck around effectively, keeping possession for long stretches.
The Americans tied the game, however, after Finland failed to clear the zone and managed a quick shot on goal. Rimpinen was a little lax with it. He made a glove save, but the puck bounced free and James Hagens banged it home from close range.
But the Finns stormed right back. Tuomas Uronen came in over the U.S. line with speed, made a little move inside and cut back outside beyond the reach of defender Colin Ralph, and then snapped a wicked shot past the shoulder of Augustine for a 2-1 lead.
The second period could neatly be divided into two parts. The first part was dominated by Finland. They continued to play keepaway and moved freely inside the offensive end, and at 4:52 they doubled their lead thanks to a smart play by defender Emil Pieniniemi. He had the puck at the blue line when two Americans in front of him collided, creating an opening, which he took. He walked in and beat Augustine with a clean shot.
But just when it seemed Finland would overpower the Americans, they seemed to realize the game was slipping away and they needed to do something about it. They found their mojo, got the puck into the Finland zone, and forced the play for the first time. They got one goal back on a lucky play. Brandon Svoboda’s long shot hit the shoulder of Finnish defender Daniel Nieminen in front, and the puck bounced the opposite way, past a helpless Rimpinen.
And then, with 28.7 seconds remaining, the U.S. tied it thanks to another Leonard feed. This was a back pass along the right-wing boards to Cole Hutson, and Hutson walked in and beat Rimpinen with a nice shot. Now, with 40 minutes in the books, we had a 3-3 tie, but the Americans had the momentum.
The third was a mixture of nerves and caution and the occasional flurry, but teams knew what was at stake and weren't going to do anything crazy. The referees followed suit, putting their whistles away as the players gave them no reason to issue a penalty either way. That set the stage for overtime, one dominated by the defending champions who will now go home to Minnesota next year as two-time defenders of the gold.
"I think the boys played their hearts out tonight," said Kasper Halttunen. "It's hockey. We played a good Team USA. Respect for them. Great team, a lot of good players. It's hockey. But we're really proud of this."
"They had a better start; there's no excuse there, but you saw the way we played in the last ten minutes the second," said captain Ryan Leonard, who was named tournament MVP. "The ice was tilted and they didn't really have the puck, and we tied it up. In the third, the puck didn't go in but all the chances were there. We knew if we stuck to our game, good things would happen."
Finland looked entirely passive in the unlimited overtime while the Americans time and again moved the puck up ice and created scoring chances. Rimpinen made incredible, medal-saving stops on Leonard and James Hagens in quick succession, but he couldn't stop Stiga. It was Stiga's first goal of the tournament.
"I'm so happy for the kid," said Leonard. "He was scratched at the start and fought his way into the lineup. He's a hell of a player. You see why he's in the lineup at the end."
Shots favoured the Americans, 40-24, but Rimpinen held his team in the game when they were most vulnerable.
"It was awesome throughout the tournament," Rimpinen said. "I have a good feeling about how our team played, the way I played, and stuff. It's, of course, kind of sad to lose, but I think we played [in a way] people didn't expect from us. So I'm really proud of the team, how we grew during this tournament. Yeah, just a great experience."
"They played really well, but we stuck with it," said American goalie Trey Augustine, who tied two IIHF records for most career U20 medals for a goalie (three) and most career gold medals (two). "We were down 3-1, which isn't ideal, but we capitalized in overtime. It's unbelievable. There's no better feeling. They took it to us in the first period, but the last 40 and overtime, we handled the play."
"I can't be anything but proud of the team," said Finn Jesse Kiiskinen, one of the goalscorers. "Great battle, great guys, great group. The whole time we were here, we were ready for this. Maybe nobody else trusted us, but we trusted ourselves, and we knew we would play in the final if we played as a group."
The Finns came out full of confidence and energy while the Americans, surprisingly, looked a little tight and uncomfortable with the situation at hand. Finland spent the period going hard to the net, showing no fear in crashing the crease and making Trey Augustine work for his saves.
Suomi drew first blood at 7:13 on a power play when Emil Hemming made a great pass from the corner to Kiiskinen in front. Kiiskinen wired a shot under the glove of Augustine to send the Finns to an early and well-deserved lead.
Finland kept pressing and had several long forays into the U.S. end, the Americans clearly on their heels and the Finns moving the puck around effectively, keeping possession for long stretches.
The Americans tied the game, however, after Finland failed to clear the zone and managed a quick shot on goal. Rimpinen was a little lax with it. He made a glove save, but the puck bounced free and James Hagens banged it home from close range.
But the Finns stormed right back. Tuomas Uronen came in over the U.S. line with speed, made a little move inside and cut back outside beyond the reach of defender Colin Ralph, and then snapped a wicked shot past the shoulder of Augustine for a 2-1 lead.
The second period could neatly be divided into two parts. The first part was dominated by Finland. They continued to play keepaway and moved freely inside the offensive end, and at 4:52 they doubled their lead thanks to a smart play by defender Emil Pieniniemi. He had the puck at the blue line when two Americans in front of him collided, creating an opening, which he took. He walked in and beat Augustine with a clean shot.
But just when it seemed Finland would overpower the Americans, they seemed to realize the game was slipping away and they needed to do something about it. They found their mojo, got the puck into the Finland zone, and forced the play for the first time. They got one goal back on a lucky play. Brandon Svoboda’s long shot hit the shoulder of Finnish defender Daniel Nieminen in front, and the puck bounced the opposite way, past a helpless Rimpinen.
And then, with 28.7 seconds remaining, the U.S. tied it thanks to another Leonard feed. This was a back pass along the right-wing boards to Cole Hutson, and Hutson walked in and beat Rimpinen with a nice shot. Now, with 40 minutes in the books, we had a 3-3 tie, but the Americans had the momentum.
The third was a mixture of nerves and caution and the occasional flurry, but teams knew what was at stake and weren't going to do anything crazy. The referees followed suit, putting their whistles away as the players gave them no reason to issue a penalty either way. That set the stage for overtime, one dominated by the defending champions who will now go home to Minnesota next year as two-time defenders of the gold.
"I think the boys played their hearts out tonight," said Kasper Halttunen. "It's hockey. We played a good Team USA. Respect for them. Great team, a lot of good players. It's hockey. But we're really proud of this."
Gold Medal Game: United States vs Finland - 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship
OF