USA Hockey Wins Bronze

It wasn’t the back to back golds they had been hoping for, but the US World Junior team won back to back medals for the first time in history. They also won a medal for the first time on home soil in history. Honestly I thought Sweden was the best team in the tournament, so I am pretty surprised that the US pulled this one out.

Jack Campbell was phenomenal yet again, stopping 32 of Sweden’s 34 shots, and was named the best goalie in the tournament. Boston College’s Chris Krieder had two goals for the Americans, and former Notre Damer Kyle Palmieri had a pair of helpers. Chris Brown, who had a great tournament, had the other goal.

The US is definitely getting better at this level, as evidenced by their 4th medal in the last 8 years, and I would call them the early favorite for next year’s tourney. Campbell will be eligible again (though assuming Dallas signs him it is unclear whether they will release him for the tournament) as are 12 (I believe) players from the team.

I’ll be back to normal college hockey coverage tomorrow, with a recap of some holiday tournaments.

Oh and one last note: The US had the best record in the tournament. Just saying.