With Team USA’s 4-1 win over Czechia in Ottawa on Saturday night, the United States has provided themselves the opportunity they’ve craved since lifting last season’s trophy – the program’s inaugural back-to-back World Junior Championship (WJC) gold medals. Ten players returned to Team USA, including forwards Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard, who have dominated the 2024 edition of the tournament. Meanwhile, goaltender Trey Augustine has provided precisely what United States General Manager John Vanbiesbrouck envisioned to backstop a medal contender when putting together the Team USA roster in 2024.
Different Boston College Trio Impacts Scoring
While the forward combo of Gabe Perreault, Ryan Leonard, and James Hagens has electrified the Ottawa crowds over the last week, a slightly different trio from Boston College impacted the final score on Saturday. While Perreault and Leonard were well involved in the goal-scoring, American defenseman Aram Minnetian replaced Hagens in the secondary assists column on the second- and third-period goals for the dominant U.S. first line.
The New Jersey-born blueliner‘s first two points of the tournament came at a very opportune time. The Dallas Stars selected Minnetian in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, but he has not yet signed an entry-level contract with the club.
Trey Augustine Claims All-Time Wins Lead
United States goaltender Trey Augustine stopped 25 of 26 shots in the 4-1 win over Czechia, sending his team to the Gold Medal Game for the second year in a row. With the win, Augustine set a new all-time record for wins at the World Juniors for the program with 11. He passed Jack Campbell’s 10 wins over three years between 2010 and 2012. Augustine was well aware of the lineage of Team USA goaltenders that he surpassed. “It’s so special, just the whole list of goalies that have played for our country,” Augustine said. “Obviously, looking to get another gold medal tomorrow, and that’s what I’m focused on” (from ‘World Juniors Today: Previewing USA-Finland and Sweden-Czechia,’ The Athletic, 1/5/25).
Related: United States Powers Past Czechia 4-1 to Advance to Gold Medal Game
Augustine, an unsigned 2023 second-round pick by the Detroit Red Wings, has been excellent in this tournament with a 3-1 record, a 2.48 goals-against average, and a .924 save percentage. He has stopped 122 shots in 241 minutes of game action. It will feel like a long wait for Augustine and his teammates before hitting the ice for the Gold Medal Game between the United States and Finland at 7:30 p.m. EST at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Sunday.
United States Ready to Seize WJC Destiny
Team USA Head Coach David Carle has his team on the doorstep of history, needing just one win to lift back-to-back trophies at the World Juniors. The bench boss preached the possibility of the program’s first back-to-back celebrations with his team early on:
“We spoke about [the possibility of winning back-to-back] at our first meeting in the summer, that our country has never done that, and a lot goes into getting back to that opportunity,” Carle said. “So you start with the end in mind, and then you kind of build your process out from there. Our guys have believed and been on board throughout, and we’ve continued to get better and better. I think it’s what we’re most proud of … to put ourselves in that situation. We’ve earned it, and we get to go lay it out all on the line [Sunday] evening.”
Independent of Sunday’s outcome, the United States will claim its eighth medal in ten years. The streak dates back to the Zach Werenski-led team that won a bronze medal in 2016. Over the last decade of USA Hockey, the program has captured three gold medals, one silver, and three bronzes. If they can find one more victory in Ottawa, Team USA will win its fourth gold medal in the last ten years.
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