USA beats Finland in overtime to win 2025 World Junior Championship
OTTAWA – The United States trailed 3-1 at one point, but it didn’t stop them from coming back to beat Finland 4-3 in overtime to win gold at the 2025 World Junior Championship.
With the win, USA has won gold in consecutive years for the first time in tournament history. It’s also their third gold medal in five years and fifth dating back back to 2013. Finland, meanwhile, gets silver for the first time since 2022.
The Finns scored first on the power play, with Jesse Kiiskinen beating Trey Augustine glove side on the power play at 7:13. The Americans would tie things up at 12:04 when James Hagens – one of the top prospects for the 2025 NHL Draft – crashed the net and converted on a feed from Ryan Leonard.
Finland was in control over the next 20 minutes, taking a 3-1 lead before the halfway point. It started when Tuomas Uronen beat Augustine with a wrister at 13:03 and continued when Emil Pieniniemi scored at 24:52 after dancing in from the point.
The Americans needed to get desperate, and two goals near the end of the second period switched everything around. Brandon Svoboda barely played, but he scored the 3-2 goal after his shot bounced off a Finnish defender and in at 37:38. Two minutes later, Cole Hutson scored to make it 3-3, giving USA all the momentum heading into the third period.
The game needed overtime, with the Americans dominating the puck possession. After numerous high-quality chances, Teddy Stiga would score on a breakaway, using his speed to get deep on the rush before beating Rimpinen to clinch it.
Finland
#32 Emil Hemming, RW (Minnesota Wild): Hemming had two assists in the first period, including a primary feed on Jesse Kiiskinen’s goal. He also back-checked hard and was engaged physically, as we’re used to seeing from him. I had my doubts about Hemming in the first half of the tournament, but he was one of the team’s top players when it mattered.
#30 Petteri Rimpinen, G (Undrafted): Rimpinen was fantastic yet again. He allowed two goals in quick succession midway through the second, but the Americans were rolling – it could have easily been another 1-2 goals. His overtime performance was outstanding, especially. Rimpinen was so dialed in today and, hopefully, he can use this tournament to earn himself some love from NHL teams after winning top goalie honors.
#38 Jesse Kiiskinen, RW (Detroit Red Wings): Kiiskinen was everywhere early in the game, and it started by scoring the 1-0 goal. He had two other good looks in that period, but wasn’t able to extend Finland’s advantage, Still, it was an excellent medal round for Kiiskinen, who finished as one of Finland’s top three players at the WJCs.
USA
#12 James Hagens, C (2025 NHL Draft): Hagens scored the 1-1 goal and then continuously tried to create in the offensive zone. I felt like this was one of his better games of the tournament – he was engaged at both ends of the ice.
#24 Cole Hutson, D (Washington Capitals): With a goal and an assist, Hutson now holds the single-tournament record for points among an American defenseman at 11. He assisted on the 3-2 goal and then scored the game-tying marker late in the second to give the Americans some much-needed energy. It was a fantastic way to close out an impressive tournament for the Capitals prospect.
#9 Ryan Leonard, RW (Washington Capitals): Leonard got jeered every time he touched the puck, and that’s partly because he was caught embellishing shoves a couple of times. But he also had two assists, including the first and third goal, to give his team some life. Even though Leonard was often found getting involved a bit too much physically, I liked how he was always so engaged in the game in different facets.