USA beats Canada 6-5 in shootout to advance to ice hockey gold medal game

Goalkeeper Xavier Wendt The United States shined as it defeated perennial rival Canada 6-5 after a penalty shootout Ice hockey Semi-final in Gangwon 2024 On Tuesday (January 30).

Wendt made 37 saves in regulation play and blocked all three Canadian penalty kick attempts to end the thrilling game on a high note and punch Team USA's ticket to the gold medal game against the Czechs.

Afterward, American coach Joe Bonnett said his team was “rewarded” for its perseverance in a game they were outscored 42-17.

“It's an exhilarating feeling,” Bonnett told Olympics.com.

“We've had three ties here, but, you know, it's a great tournament. It's also at this age level. These kids are only 15, they make a lot of mistakes and you tend to have high-scoring matches, but it's a lot of fun, They remain there today and have been rewarded for their efforts.

“They played with a lot of passion and certainly played for a lot of American pride. They hung in there and it was a great result for us.”

A close but scoreless opening period was followed by a goal explosion in the second half led by the USA captain Parker Trottier The first strike for the United States of America was only 1 minute and 39 seconds after the start of the first half.

It only took 40 seconds for the Canadian spell Alessandro Di Iorio To answer before JB Hurlbert Then he scored another goal less than a minute later, giving the American team a 2-1 lead.