photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andre Ringuette
Team USA beat Sweden 6-2 and is through to their first-ever IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship final. The IIHF adopted a full playoff format in 1992. This will also be the first time the U.S. has played in a senior men's IIHF final since its 3-2 overtime loss to Canada in the 2010 Olympic gold medal game in Vancouver.
Shane Pinto scored one and added two assists for the U.S,, Brady Skjei scored one and added an assist, as did Jackson LaCombe.
“We played well as a team, we had some guys play awesome, [Jeremy] Swayman was good in goal, Pinto was real good. We're just excited about the opportunity we’ve got,” said Team USA's Conor Garland who scored the team's third goal. “We’re locked in, we’re playing our game."
The first period was all Team USA. They carried the play for most of the period, thanks to their relentless forecheck – and backcheck. Even when Sweden could take the puck into the US zone in a controlled fashion, they found themselves outmanned and surrounded by Americans.
No surprise then that the US took the lead in the game. Shane Pinto won a faceoff in the Swedish zone, sent the puck to Brady Skjei on the blueline, and his wrister went through some traffic and beat Markstrom high on the glove side at 6:52.
"I liked our start. We were simple . We knew how we had to start the game and how we had to play. So I thought everyone chipped in and made an impact on the game oday. We stuck to our game plan," American forward Clayton Keller said.
With three minutes remaining in the period, the Americans doubled their lead. Markstrom denied Pinto’s shot from close range, but Cutter Gauthier grabbed the rebound and his shot slipped through the Swedish netminder’s five-hole at 17:13.
“It’s disappointing that I couldn’t play at a level that was needed. There were a couple of loose pucks I could’ve held on to, I have to be better in an important game like this, that would've given us a better chance to win,” Markstrom said.
USA outshot the team in yellow 13-3 in the period.
Sweden was in the ropes, but they came back from the dressing room regrouped and pushed the Americans on their heels. However, Team USA scored the goals.
With nine minutes remaining in the period, Emil Heineman had the puck in the US zone He sent it to a teammate on the blueline, only to see him make a line change and the puck glide back the full length of the ice. After a battle behind the net, the puck came to Skjei who passed it to Logan Cooley. Markstrom made the initial save on Cooley’s one-timer but couldn’t control the puck and Conor Garland banged it in from the crease to make it 3-0 for USA at 11:07.
Mikey Eyssimont’s goal six minutes later really pushed the Swedes against the wall. He beat Markstrom with a wrister from the right faceoff circle and while the Swedish goaltender got a piece of it, but it wasn’t enough.
Sweden made a goalie change to the third period, desperate to rally back. Samuel Ersson replaced Markstrom.
The Swedes got some hope from William Nylander’s goal at 6.32, off a gorgeous feed from Rasmus Andersson. Nylander was wide open in front of the net and could slam it into an empty US net. William Karlsson also collected an assist.
The soldout arena came truly alive just 41 seconds later when Elias Lindholm’s slapper from the slot beat Swayman cleanly to make it a two-goal game. Team USA took a timeout.
"We were playing a little too timid. We were up for nothing, so we were kind of just trying to let the time pass. But that's not how you have to play to win. [After the timeout], we got our legs going and I thought we played much better," Pinto said.
In the middle of the Swedes’ push for a third goal, LaCombe found a wide-open lane through the neutral zone, and his wrister from the top of the circle beat Ersson on the short side at 11:09 to make give the Americans a three-goal buffer again.
“Obviously, LaCombe's goal really quieted the arena. And a great timeout by us, kind of slowed it down. Big goal by LaCombe,” Garland said.
Pinto sealed the final score, 6-2, into an empty net at 15:53.
"It's a good feeling. There's one more game to win. We're going to focus on tomorrow," Keller said.
Shane Pinto scored one and added two assists for the U.S,, Brady Skjei scored one and added an assist, as did Jackson LaCombe.
“We played well as a team, we had some guys play awesome, [Jeremy] Swayman was good in goal, Pinto was real good. We're just excited about the opportunity we’ve got,” said Team USA's Conor Garland who scored the team's third goal. “We’re locked in, we’re playing our game."
The first period was all Team USA. They carried the play for most of the period, thanks to their relentless forecheck – and backcheck. Even when Sweden could take the puck into the US zone in a controlled fashion, they found themselves outmanned and surrounded by Americans.
No surprise then that the US took the lead in the game. Shane Pinto won a faceoff in the Swedish zone, sent the puck to Brady Skjei on the blueline, and his wrister went through some traffic and beat Markstrom high on the glove side at 6:52.
"I liked our start. We were simple . We knew how we had to start the game and how we had to play. So I thought everyone chipped in and made an impact on the game oday. We stuck to our game plan," American forward Clayton Keller said.
With three minutes remaining in the period, the Americans doubled their lead. Markstrom denied Pinto’s shot from close range, but Cutter Gauthier grabbed the rebound and his shot slipped through the Swedish netminder’s five-hole at 17:13.
“It’s disappointing that I couldn’t play at a level that was needed. There were a couple of loose pucks I could’ve held on to, I have to be better in an important game like this, that would've given us a better chance to win,” Markstrom said.
USA outshot the team in yellow 13-3 in the period.
Sweden was in the ropes, but they came back from the dressing room regrouped and pushed the Americans on their heels. However, Team USA scored the goals.
With nine minutes remaining in the period, Emil Heineman had the puck in the US zone He sent it to a teammate on the blueline, only to see him make a line change and the puck glide back the full length of the ice. After a battle behind the net, the puck came to Skjei who passed it to Logan Cooley. Markstrom made the initial save on Cooley’s one-timer but couldn’t control the puck and Conor Garland banged it in from the crease to make it 3-0 for USA at 11:07.
Mikey Eyssimont’s goal six minutes later really pushed the Swedes against the wall. He beat Markstrom with a wrister from the right faceoff circle and while the Swedish goaltender got a piece of it, but it wasn’t enough.
Sweden made a goalie change to the third period, desperate to rally back. Samuel Ersson replaced Markstrom.
The Swedes got some hope from William Nylander’s goal at 6.32, off a gorgeous feed from Rasmus Andersson. Nylander was wide open in front of the net and could slam it into an empty US net. William Karlsson also collected an assist.
The soldout arena came truly alive just 41 seconds later when Elias Lindholm’s slapper from the slot beat Swayman cleanly to make it a two-goal game. Team USA took a timeout.
"We were playing a little too timid. We were up for nothing, so we were kind of just trying to let the time pass. But that's not how you have to play to win. [After the timeout], we got our legs going and I thought we played much better," Pinto said.
In the middle of the Swedes’ push for a third goal, LaCombe found a wide-open lane through the neutral zone, and his wrister from the top of the circle beat Ersson on the short side at 11:09 to make give the Americans a three-goal buffer again.
“Obviously, LaCombe's goal really quieted the arena. And a great timeout by us, kind of slowed it down. Big goal by LaCombe,” Garland said.
Pinto sealed the final score, 6-2, into an empty net at 15:53.
"It's a good feeling. There's one more game to win. We're going to focus on tomorrow," Keller said.
Sweden vs. United States - 2025 IIHF WM
OF