CNN
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For the first time since 1933, the United States men’s hockey team has won the IIHF World Championship tournament.
Team USA defeated Switzerland 1-0 in overtime Sunday at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, to win the gold medal.
The Americans were playing in an IIHF gold medal game for the first time in over 90 years and found themselves locked in a defensive struggle against a stalwart Swiss squad. Despite having a significant advantage in shots on goal, the US could not get a puck past Switzerland’s goaltender Leonardo Genoni through 60 minutes of regulation play.
But just two minutes into the overtime period, Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson snuck a wrister past Genoni for the sudden death winner. The goal was assisted by Logan Cooley of the Utah Mammoth and Brady Skjei of the Nashville Predators.
USA goalie Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins stopped all 25 shots he faced to shut out the Swiss team.
As Thompson was swarmed by his jubilant teammates after scoring the game-winner, many of the Swiss players could be seen hanging their heads in disappointment following the heartbreaking loss.
But Switzerland was gracious in defeat as they shook hands with the Americans before the medal ceremony.
After receiving their gold medals, the US national anthem was played as the American flag raised at Avicii Arena. The Stars and Stripes was straddled by the Swiss flag and the flag of Sweden, who won the bronze medal with a 6-2 victory against Denmark earlier on Sunday.
Your 2025 IIHF #MensWorlds CHAMPIONS 🇺🇸🏆 pic.twitter.com/D10K79wk8d
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) May 25, 2025
During the trophy presentation, Team USA accepted the hardware while holding up the No. 13 jersey of Johnny Gaudreau, the former USA and NHL player who died tragically last year along with his brother Matthew after the pair was fatally struck by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles on a New Jersey roadway.
The importance of ending a nine-decade IIHF World Championship drought was not lost on the American players.
“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.”
The triumph may represent good things to come for Team USA ahead of next year’s Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, where NHL players will participate in the Games for the first time since 2014.
