A 92-Year ‘Weight’ is Off the Shoulders of the U.S. After Winning Gold at the World Championship

Coming into the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship, the U.S. hadn’t won a gold medal in 92 years.

Thanks to Tage Thompson’s overtime goal in the gold-medal game against Switzerland, the Americans don’t have to hear any more about the long drought.

“We took that to heart,” said Ryan Warsofsky, head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team. “We were embarrassed … truly embarrassed that we hadn’t won this tournament, and now we don’t have to have that weight on our shoulders anymore.”

The U.S. won the gold medal at the World Championship for the first time since 1933. Sunday’s win against Switzerland was the third time the U.S. ever played in the gold-medal game, as the Americans dropped a 2-1 decision in 1934 after beating Canada the year before, 2-1, in the championship.

In 1939 and 1950, the U.S. won a silver medal, but it was determined by standings and not a single championship game played.

In 1933, when the Americans last won gold, the price of gas in the U.S. was 18 cents per gallon.

“It just goes to show how far USA Hockey has come,” goaltender Jeremy Swayman said. “Our staff put together a great gameplan for us. We were building every single game, and we knew there was something special in the room.”

Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau were with the Americans, too.

After the game, team captains brought Johnny Gaudreau’s red, white and blue No. 13 jersey onto the ice for the celebration. They draped his jersey in front of the World Championship trophy while accepting the title in a photo that will echo throughout the ages.

“The biggest thing was having Johnny Gaudreau in our room,” Swayman said. “This gold goes to him and the legacy he paved for all the USA Hockey players. Every single game we knew he was with us, so this gold’s for him.”

During last year’s World Championship, Johnny Gaudreau broke the all-time American career points and assists records in the tournament with a five-point game against Kazakhstan.

Gaudreau recorded 30 assists and 43 points during his five appearances in worlds, helping the U.S. win a bronze medal in 2018.

“He was up there watching, for sure,” Warsofsky said.

Thompson made history for the Americans this year at 2:02 of overtime. He beat Switzerland goaltender Leonardo Genoni with a blocker-side wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

Thompson, who scored his second overtime goal of the tournament, finished with six goals and nine points. He earned his third medal at a World Championship, tying Allen Van (two silver, one bronze) as the most decorated player in U.S. history at the event. Van played in the late 1930s through the early 1950s.

Frank Nazar and Logan Cooley each tallied a team-high 12 points during the tournament.

Swayman recorded a 25-save shutout and earned his 10th career win at worlds, with seven of them coming this year.

“The skill level these young players have and the swagger they play with is incredible,” Warsofsky said. “The confidence and respect they have for each other and the respect they have for the game … they’re winners.”

Despite having the youngest team in the tournament, the U.S. won the 14th medal in program history and became the first American team to win nine games in a single World Championship. The team’s lone loss of the tournament was a 3-0 setback against Switzerland in the preliminary round, but the Americans extracted revenge in a big way on Sunday.

“We bought in on day one,” Warsofsky said. “Guys had an understanding that we needed to break this long drought.”

The U.S. finished second in its group and advanced to the quarterfinals for the 14th consecutive year. The Americans, who won five bronze medals since 2004, snapped a 12-game losing streak in the semifinals with a 6-2 win against host Sweden on Saturday.

“I get goosebumps just thinking about it,” Warsofsky said. “When the tournament started, we talked about it in our first meeting … 1933, right? That was addressed. That’s not good enough for USA Hockey.”

This win continues off a golden year for the U.S. at international tournaments, as the Americans won gold at the Women’s World Championship in April and won their second straight title at the World Junior Championship back in January.

The U.S. National Sled Hockey Team is currently pursuing a gold medal at the 2025 World Para Hockey Championship in Buffalo.

John Vanbiesbrouck, the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, commended the U.S. Men’s National Team for getting the job done in Sweden.

“It’s quite an accomplishment and probably one of the toughest tournaments to win,” Vanbiesbrouck said. “We had a tough quarterfinal, played an almost near-perfect game against Sweden and capped it off with a thriller against Switzerland. I couldn’t be prouder to be an American.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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Source: usahockey.com