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U.S. wins gold at 2017 World Juniors; perfect shootout performance from Tyler Parsons

MiHockey Staff
Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey
Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey

 

By @MichaelCaples –

They overcame two different two-goal deficits, and nobody could find the back of the net in overtime.

But by the end of the night, Team USA was celebrating on hallowed ice of their most bitter rival.

A shootout victory over Canada gave the U.S. a 5-4 victory in the title game of the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-20 World Junior Championship.

Tyler Parsons was tending to the U.S. goal, and while the Chesterfield, Mich., native allowed more goals than he surely wanted to during regulation, he was perfect between the pipes in the shootout, stopping all five Canadian shooters to help his squad to a 1-0 win in the penalty shot session. Troy Terry, a native of Highlands Ranch, Colo., scored the decisive goal in the shootout for Team USA. He and Parsons were the shootout heroes in the semifinals against Russia, as well.

“We went out there, played for gold, so when Troy buried that goal, so I knew what I had to do, and I did it,” Parsons said on the NHL Network broadcast last night. “I honestly can’t explain it.

“I think coming together, I never played with any of these guys growing up, so I think coming into this tournament, we’ve been here for three weeks, we all got brought together, thanks to Brazz – he brought us all together. It was unbelievable. These boys are one of a kind. This is unbelievable.”

Parsons was the lone Michigan native on the roster, while one Michigan university was represented by Wolverines defenseman Joe Cecconi.

Seventeen of the 23 players on the roster played for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor/Plymouth.

Kieffer Bellows scored twice, while Charlie McAvoy and Colin White both recorded goals for the U.S. team, as well.

“These guys are unbelievable,” Bellows said. “It’s an unbelievable group of guys. We worked so hard to get here and we were down both times in the game by two goals and we bounced back hard, and I can’t believe it. The group of guys, we’re champions forever.”

The team’s motto for the tournament was, “no daylight between us.”

Stay tuned for more…