World Junior Championship roundup: U.S. tops Finland in OT for 2nd gold in row

The championship and third-place game of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship were played in Ottawa on Sunday, the final day of the tournament.

OTTAWA -- Teddy Stiga (Nashville Predators) scored on a breakaway at 8:04 of overtime to give the United States a thrilling 4-3 win against Finland in the gold-medal game of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship before 16,822 at Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday.

Stiga took an outlet pass from Zeev Buium (Minnesota Wild) at the offensive blue line and broke in before slipping a shot under the pad of goalie Petteri Rimpinen (2025 NHL Draft eligible).

It was Stiga's only shot of the tournament.

"They were kind of changing and I think I saw their guy kind of slow up, so I skated by him and Zeev had a nice sauce pass," Stiga said. "I kind of lost it behind the Finnish player so almost lost it in the corner, but luckily recovered it ... and I don't really remember scoring. I just shot the puck, honestly."

Cole Hutson (Washington Capitals) had a goal and an assist, Buium and Ryan Leonard (Capitals) each had two assists, and Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) made 21 saves for the United States, which has won back-to-back championships at the WJC for the first time.

"We're really proud of the fact that we're able to win back to back and be the first team to do that in USA Hockey history, but I think for us it's keeping on this path and making sure that we continue to raise the bar and have that standard," United States coach David Carle said.

It is the seventh championship for the United States in the past 21 years (also 2004, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2021, 2024).

"Winning back to back is something that's never been done before for our country," Augustine said. "We've always been talking about that throughout this whole 3 1/2 weeks and, I mean, there's just no better feeling."

In the first 27 years of the WJC (1977-2003) the U.S. won just three medals (silver in 1997; bronze in 1986 and 1992).

Emil Hemming (Dallas Stars) had two assists, and Rimpinen made 36 saves for Finland, which was seeking its sixth WJC championship (1987, 1998, 2014, 2016, 2019).

Jesse Kiiskinen (Red Wings) gave Finland a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal at 7:13 of the first period, scoring on a snap shot from the high slot inside the right post.

It was his sixth straight game with a goal.

James Hagens (2025 eligible) tied it 1-1 at 12:04 on a rebound. Leonard took the initial shot from the point, and Hagens stood his ground in front before muscling the puck into the net at the right post.

Finland regained the lead 59 seconds later when Tuomas Uronen (Vegas Golden Knights) scored on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

Emil Pieniniemi (Pittsburgh Penguins) pushed it to 3-1 at 4:52 of the second period. After Buium and Oliver Moore of the United States collided, Pieniniemi picked up the loose puck at the right point, skated in untouched and scored on a snap shot from the high slot.

"Heading into the third period, if we would have led by two goals, things would have been totally different," said Finland captain Aron Kiviharju (Wild).

Said Carle: "They played a great first period, outpossessed us, generated things off the rush, and we just sat back too much," Carle said. "We needed to get up ice, we needed to pressure, skate more, make them uncomfortable, and it would start to pay off. They went up 3-1, but we just needed to start skating a little bit more. I thought we were on our heels and little too passive in the first period."

Brandon Svoboda (San Jose Sharks) pulled the United States to within 3-2 at 17:38 of the second when his shot from the left point deflected off the left shoulder of defenseman Daniel Nieminen (2025 draft eligible) into the net.

Hutson tied it 3-3 at 19:31. He controlled a pass from Leonard at the top of the right circle and cut between two Finland players before sending a wrist shot inside the right post from the slot.

"The second wave was open all game, and earlier in the second I had a chance to get the puck and [Leonard] took a shot, so I told him on the bench that I'll be open on the second wave and I was screaming for it," Hutson said. "He put it right on my tape, and good things happen when you join the rush."

Hutson is the first defenseman in WJC history to lead the tournament in scoring (11 points; three goals, eight assists).

The United States outscored its opposition 20-7 in four straight wins following a 4-3 overtime loss to Finland in Group A pool play on Dec. 29. The Americans are 16-4-1-18 and have tied Finland once in 40 games at World Juniors.

"Our first period was very good. We played tight units, attacking together and the defense was very tight," Finland coach Lauri Mikkola said. "The U.S. didn't have so much space to attack, and then in the second, the game changed a little bit because there's a longer change and we gave the them the chance to play their game, and they did it very well."

The United States is 7-2 all-time in the gold-medal game of the WJC, including 1-1 against Finland.

NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman contributed to this report

Czechia 3, Sweden 2 (SO) -- Eduard Sale (Seattle Kraken) scored in the 14th round of the shootout, and Czechia won the bronze medal at Canadian Tire Centre.

Sale skated in on Sweden goalie Marcus Gidlof (New York Islanders) and lifted a backhand under the crossbar.

It was Sale's fifth attempt. He missed his first three but scored in the 13th round after Sweden forward Otto Stenberg (St. Louis Blues) scored.

"The biggest pressure on me was when Sweden scored a goal, and I need to score then," said Sale, Czechia's captain. "And after I scored a goal, I knew it I would score another one, so I was very confident."

Sale and Jakub Stancl (St. Louis Blues) scored in the second period for Czechia, which won a medal at the World Juniors for the third straight year for the first time. It won the bronze medal at the 2024 WJC and the silver medal at the 2023 WJC. Michal Hrabal made 32 saves.

Sale is the only player to be part of all three teams.

"I told him before the game, he had a chance to be the only Czech player to win three medals in a row with the under-20 World Junior Championship," Czechia coach Patrik Augusta said. "And now maybe they can build him a statue."

David Edstrom (Nashville Predators) scored two goals for Sweden, and Felix Unger Sorum (Carolina Hurricanes) had two assists. Gidlof made 30 saves.

Sweden finished fourth after winning the silver medal at the 2023 WJC.

The game was a rematch of their preliminary-round game Dec. 31, which Sweden won 4-2.

"I felt like we didn't have the same energy," Edstrom said. "Felt like in the group stage we had a lot of energy and everybody was moving. We were not as good as we could be tonight."

Stancl put Czechia up 1-0 with a power-play goal at 3:47 of the first period. Adam Jecho (St. Louis Blues) made a seam pass that Edstrom knocked down, but it landed on Stancl's stick, and he beat Gidlof with a one-timer from the right face-off circle for his tournament-high seventh goal.

Edstrom tied it with a power-play goal at 12:31. He tipped a shot from the blue line by Unger Sorum between his feet and off Hrabal's pads, but corralled the rebound and scored from a sharp angle.

Sale put Czechia ahead 2-1 at 9:27 of the second period. Miroslav Holinka (Toronto Maple Leafs) intercepted a Sweden pass inside the offensive zone and pushed the puck ahead to Sale, who lifted a backhand over Gidlof's glove.

Edstrom tied it 2-2 at 15:40 when he skated to the net and tipped Unger Sorum's pass between Hrabal's arm and the post.

NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman contributed to this report.