USA wins gold at 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship after beating Switzerland
It required overtime, but the United States won gold at the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship with a 1-0 victory on Sunday afternoon in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Americans last won gold at this tournament back in 1933. USA won the 1960 Olympics, which counted as a World Championship victory at the time, but It was not a standalone event like 1933 was.
Switzerland had never won gold at the World Championship, but did take home silver three times dating back to 2013. The silver medal this year is Switzerland’s 13th in tournament history
The first 40 minutes were quite close, with neither team able to find a way to get on the scoresheet. The shots were 11-11 in the opening frame, with USA outshooting the Swiss 17-9 in the second to separate themselves in terms of possession.
The goaltenders took the spotlight in this game, with Swiss goaltender Leonardo Genoni playing one of the best games he has ever had on the international stage. Jeremy Swayman was no slouch at the other end, especially in the first period.
The team traded high-quality chances in the third period, but the goaltenders continued to look strong. With no goals after 60 minutes, the two teams headed to 3-on-3 overtime to decide the champion. Tage Thompson had a dominant game with the puck, and at 62:02, he finally scored to win the game 1-0, beating Genoni with a wrist shot to give USA the victory.
Here’s a look at the top performers from Sunday’s final:
Switzerland
#63 Leonardo Genoni, G: This was as good of a game as we’ve seen from Genoni. It wasn’t surprising, though, given that the 37-year-old entered the game with a .946 SV percentage with four shutouts. Sure, he had some quiet games, especially the six-save shutout against Hungary. But he was tested often and early in the first half in particular and didn’t look fazed. He finished regulation with 39 saves, including many high-quality chances late in the second and early in the third
#22 Nino Niederreiter, RW (Winnipeg Jets): El Nino had three shots in the first period as he tried to lead Switzerland early on. He couldn’t score, but he did an excellent job of fighting back and helping out defensively. Niederreiter gave the Swiss a massive boost midway through the tournament, making his mark as one of the best late additions of anyone at this tournament. He didn’t have a single bad game.
USA
#1 Jeremy Swayman, G (Boston Bruins): Swayman saved his best two games for last. He went toe-to-toe with Genoni all game long, and while he didn’t face a ton of super tough chances, he still looked excellent through traffic. It felt like Swayman just got shaped with every period he played after nearly losing to Norway earlier in the tournament.
#91 Frank Nazar, C (Chicago Blackhawks): Nazar didn’t score in this one but he was exceptionally strong at both ends of the ice. He had a breakaway that he was tripped on, but wasn’t chosen to take the penalty shot. He then had a high-end scoring chance in the closing stages of the second period for good measure. He had three shots in the second period alone but couldn’t figure out Genoni.
#72 Tage Thompson, RW (Buffalo Sabres): Thompson REALLY wanted to get the puck on net. He had six shots in regulation as the Americans continued to ramp up their scoring efforts. Finally, after his seventh shot, he finally beat Genoni with a blocker-side shot to win the game. Thompson started the tournament hot and got overshadowed a bit over the past few games, but tonight was the big-game player we were hoping to see.
#8 Zach Werenski, D (Columbus Blue Jackets): Werenski played 26:15 in regulation, and then was relied on heavily in overtime, as expected. USA’s defense looked amateur at points compared to Werenski, who could finish the season off with the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman. The Swiss just couldn’t figure out how to break past him.
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