Sophomore Pioneer Troy Terry (Denver) buried the lone goal in a five-round shootout to secure an American victory (5-4) over international arch-rival Canada in the U-20 IIHF World Junior Championship on Jan. 5.
Only 24 hours before, Terry’s perfect three-for-three performance in the semi-final shootout advanced the U.S. to the gold medal game. His clutch, sublime execution has garnered him an everlasting slot in the vault of U.S.A hockey history.
From the opening stanza, the gold medal game overflowed with drama. Canada’s quick-strike offense appeared in the first period, as the Canadiens opened up a two goal lead in the game’s first 10 minutes. The Americans countered with two in the second period, sending the two powerhouses tied heading into the final frame.
Only four minutes into the third period, a wicked wrister from Nicholas Roy on the powerplay and a sweet deke from Mathieu Joseph built a 4-2 Canadian lead.
The Americans miraculously answered with two lightning-quick goals of their own, tying the match 4-4 at the 7:07 mark. First rounders Kieffer Bellows and Colin White were credited with the tallies, putting a stamp on one of the greatest World Junior Championship games of all-time.
Despite great chances from top-10 draft picks Pierre-Luc Dubois (Canada) and Clayton Keller (U.S.) in the final moments of regulation and the 20-minute overtime period, both teams failed to capitalize. The gold-medal game turned to a five-round shootout to crown a champion.
With red-hot goaltenders Carter Hart (Canada) and Tyler Parsons (U.S.A) stonewalling each team’s first three snipers, fans’ hearts beat faster and screams grew louder as the lineups of uber-talented skaters continued to narrow.
Terry leaped off the bench before skating to the puck at center ice as the seventh participant. Gliding down the left wing, eyes locked on the Canadian netminder, the right-hander slowly slithered his way between the faceoff dots and deftly released a smooth wrister through the five-hole and into the back of the net.
Making the miraculous look ordinary, Terry’s stick slid down his hand at the hip, like a sword into a sheath. With a pump of the arms, he rallied back to his bench with the confidence of a teenager who’d just breathed life into an entire nation.
“That was pretty special for me to be able to do that again but I couldn’t be more proud of this group of guys because I’ve been with a lot of them for three years now, they’re my best friends. It’s a pretty surreal feeling right now,” Terry told the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). “This is definitely something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. The shootouts just made it even better.”
Parsons and Hart traded two more saves before the American goalie made one final stop, securing the gold and the team’s irrevocable place amongst the greatest United States World Junior teams of all-time.
Terry, with a gold medal, some newly earned nicknames and several Twitter conversations with Toronto Maple Leafs prodigy Auston Matthews in tow, will return soon to the DU, who hosts Arizona State for two games, on Jan. 6 and 7.
