US men's hockey team make world championship final in best result since 1950
In Sunday's final, the US will play Switzerland or Denmark, who meet in the late semi-final.
Jeremy Swayman stopped 27 shots and the US remained on course to win the worlds for the first time since 1933.
The Americans were also formally awarded the title in 1960 and 1980 when they won the Olympic tournaments and the worlds did not take place.
By reaching the final, the US achieved its best result since the silver medal in 1950.
'It's a good feeling,' captain Clayton Keller said. 'There's one more game to win. We're going to focus on tomorrow.'
The US jumped to 2-0 in the opening period, outshooting the Swedes 13-3.
Brady Skjei scored 6:52 in with a shot from the blue line that went through heavy traffic in front of goaltender Jacob Markstrom. Cutter Gauthier doubled the advantage with 2:47 remaining, picking up the puck after a shot by Shane Pinto was blocked and directed it into the net between Makstrom's pads.
Gauthier was born in Skelleftea, Sweden, in 2004 when his father, a goaltender, played for a local team.
Conor Garland added the third with 8:53 to go in the second, knocking in a rebound. Mikey Eyssimont made it 4-0 on a 4-on-2 rush from the right circle.
Samuel Ersson replaced Markstrom in the Swedish net at the start of the final period.
William Nylander scored the first for Sweden 6:32 into the the third period, and Elias Lindholm scored another 41 seconds later to give Sweden some hope at 4-2.
But defenseman Jackson LaCombe beat Ersson for the fifth with 8:51 to go. Shane Pinto finished it off into an empty net to complete a three-point game after assisting on the opening two goals.
'Every single guy contributed and I couldn't be more proud of our group,' US coach Ryan Warsofsky said.
Sweden have to settle for the bronze medal game for the second straight worlds.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
32 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Chess: Aronian takes big top prize in Las Vegas as Niemann celebrates Carlsen's downfall
Levon Aronian, at 42 the oldest in the tournament, scored what he described as 'one of the crown jewels' of his career to win the $200,000 (£148,000) first prize at the Las Vegas leg of the Freestyle Grand Slam last weekend. Aronian did it in style, winning matches against the world No 1, Magnus Carlsen, the No 2, Hikaru Nakamura and the No 5, Arjun Erigaisi en route to victory. Carlsen had to settle for the third prize of $100,000, plus the further indignity of finishing behind his arch enemy, Hans Niemann, whose game with the Norwegian at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup led to allegations of cheating and a $100m lawsuit, which was eventually settled out of court. Niemann was invited to join the commentary team for the final stages of Aronian v Carlsen and made the most of his triumph and a post-game reunion with the former. Carlsen blamed his defeat on a 'complete collapse' of his nervous system. Besides his failure against Aronian, he also allowed Wesley So a mate in four moves. In fairness, he recovered well from his expensive early errors, scored five successive wins before defeating Nakamura in the third-place match, and still leads the overall Tour standings going into the next multi-hub leg in September and the final in Cape Town in December. Niemann showed commanding form when he defeated the US champion, Fabiano Caruana, against whom he had previously had poor results, by 2.5-1.5. In their third game, Caruana settled for a draw by threefold repetition when he had an edge, prompting Niemann to say he was not surprised: 'I think that my nerves, when there's low time, are clearly better than his. I play a lot more blitz, I'm younger, and I also play much faster.' Niemann finally met his match in the final for the $200,000 top prize, which Aronian won 1.5-0.5, but only after a double blunder where the former could have won a pawn race to queen but missed a simple deciding move. Nakamura also failed to clinch a winning sequence against Carlsen before losing 0.5-1.5. It seems that the psychological burden of playing for a total of half a million dollars proved difficult for all of them. The Freestyle Tour's future is unclear. Its huge $3.75m prize fund dwarfs even the $1.5m for chess in the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia next week, but is related to a $12m investment by the venture capital firm Left Lane Capital, which was made on the apparent assumption that the Tour would attract major television coverage. That does not appear to be the case so far, even though the event was a sell-out for the hundreds of spectators, who were allowed to bring in mobile phones and could talk loudly, with the players protected from the noise by earphones. The time controls, which were originally slow classical to satisfy Carlsen, were speeded up to one hour rapid in the interest of a fast-paced event. The Tour suffers in the eyes of the majority of grandmasters because entry is in effect restricted to the top 25-30 players in the world, with ratings above Fide 2725. Beyond that, there remains the troubling problem that, although Freestyle Chess sparks creativity and greatly reduces the need for opening preparation, it also makes it harder for even strong players viewing the games to relate the positions to their previous experience. One of the more easily understandable games, and an elegant victory, was Nakamura v So, where the world No 2 trapped his opponent's queen in just 17 moves. Elsewhere, last weekend's English Championship at Kenilworth, Warwickshire, turned into a trial of strength between the country's top two grandmasters, the world senior champion, Michael Adams, and the former Russian champion Nikita Vitiugov, which continued right into a tie-break for first prize which Adams edged 2.5-1.5. It was an impressive performance by Adams, the 53-year-old from Taunton, Somerset, whose wins over the defending champion, Gawain Jones, and England's youngest grandmaster, 16-year-old Shreyas Royal, were both of the highest class. Adams's tie-break strategy against Vitiugov, keeping a tight grip on the position until his opponent lost patience, was also very effective. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Vitiugov lost little in defeat. He is a strong grandmaster in the Soviet tradition, and showed his quality by a fine attacking win against Ameet Ghasi in the final round. Royal had the best tie-break of those tied for third, played an excellent attack against John Emms, and appeared a potential 2600 player. Matthew Wadsworth, whose GM title has just been confirmed by Fide, looked the part. Final leading scores were Adams and Vitiugov 6/7, Royal, Wadsworth, Peter Roberson, and Jones 5.5. Elmira Mirzoeva retained the English Women's title. The old hands triumphed, while the losers were the ambitious amateurs and the teen or sub-teen juniors, groups that lacked outstanding performers. They will not have to wait long for another opportunity, though, because the British Championship starts at Liverpool next Thursday. Meanwhile Dan Fernandez, the 30-year-old England No 16, who is ambitious to break into the Olympiad team, has just scored a career-best result at the Ghent Open in Belgium, winning first prize with a spectacular 7.5/9, two points clear of the field and with a 2645 tournament performance rating. India's 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh defeated China's Tan Zhongyi 1.5-0.5 to reach Saturday's final of the Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia. Deshmukh will meet her compatriot Humpy Koneru, who won 5-3 against China's Lei Tingjie in the second semi-final. Finally, a word on American Chess Magazine, which is one of the best of its kind. The latest issue includes a rare account by Boris Spassky of his first meeting with Bobby Fischer, an analysis of the best queen sacrifices in chess history, advice on openings, and much more. 3982 1 Rxe8+! Rxe8 2 Nxf6+ gxf6 3 Bb5! Resigns. White wins the e8 rook or mates by Qg4+ and Qg7.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Meet the BABS! Lionesses' 'Brothers and Boyfriends' group ready to roar England to glory
The boys have bonded over many years of supporting the Lionesses at major tournaments - and even have a special group chat to keep in touch After a rollercoaster tournament, the Lionesses are now a mere 90 minutes from glory - if their nerves can hold out in the Euros final. England will take on Spain inside the sold-out St Jakob's Park stadium in Basel on Sunday night at 5pm BST. Fans have flocked to the Swiss city on packed out planes after bagging last minute tickets, with many heading straight for the fan zone on Friday to soak up the atmosphere. And after two miraculous knockout victories, players' families believe the Lionesses ' mantra 'never say die' will see them bring it home again. Georgia Stanway's older brother, John-Paul said: "After the last couple of games I just can't see them losing, they're just too relentless." Speaking of the nerves at the semi-final against Italy, he added: "Even at the last second, you still felt at 94 minutes that they still weren't going to go home. It's a weird feeling, at one-nil down and you still don't feel they're ready to go home. "It's a credit to the team and everyone involved." Ranked first in the world, the Spaniards left the Lionesses heartbroken with a 1-0 victory in the Australian World Cup final of 2023. On Sunday the superstitious Lionesses wear their white shirts to play Spain - the same colour they wore when they clinched the European Championship title three years ago. And after two nail-biting games, which saw the Lionesses on the brink of eviction from the tournament, the nation, the players and their families are all hoping they can win inside 90 minutes. Stanway's dad Paul said his 'nerves were shot' after the 120 minute semi-final against Italy, while Ella Toone admitted she felt 'physically sick' watching the penalty shootout with Sweden in the quarters. But the rollercoaster of emotion has only served to bring the tight-knit players families even closer together. Ella, 25, from Tyldesley said: "We've sent them on a rollercoaster this tournament. Sometimes when you're in the moment and you're playing, you forget about how it's making your family feel and when you see them after games and you hear all the stories about how they're all jumping on each other and celebrating together, it's amazing. They've really bonded this trip." She added: "It really reminds you of why you're here and who you're here for and why you do what you do. Hopefully we can kick on in this last game and make it one for them to remember too." And so close are some of the lads following the Lionesses, that they've even got a group chat dubbing themselves 'the BABs' AKA 'the brothers and boyfriends'. John-Paul Stanway explained: "The name of our group chat which we've had for a few years is the BABs, which is the brothers and boyfriends. We've coined that phrase over the past few years and we now have a fair few of us in it, we try to keep adding to it." On Friday night the BABs enjoyed one last blowout together in Zurich as they gathered for a pub crawl before heading to Basel for the final tomorrow. Ella's boyfriend Joe Bunney, her brother Joe Toone, were pictured sinking the pints with Georgia's brothers John Paul and Sol Stanway at the Big Ben Pub. John Paul also posed up alongside the Russo clan, including Alessia's dad Mario and brothers Giorgio and Luca. When they've not been roaring the Lionesses on in the dugouts the boys have been sightseeing together and working out together. Posing topless from their early morning gym sessions, Alex Greenwood's boyfriend Jack O'Connell has also been invited into the fold of BABs this tournament. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
NFL first-round draft pick Treylon Burks fractures collar bone in crushing blow to Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans have been hit with a disappointing setback with wide receiver Treylon Burks reportedly breaking his collar bone in practice. The 25-year-old Burks, a first-round pick by the Titans in 2022 NFL Draft, is said to have sustained the injury making a catch on Saturday. Tests are still being carried out on Burks, multiple reports said Saturday afternoon, but at the very least he is expected to miss the start of the season. The move sparked Titans head coach Brian Callahan into immediate action. The team swooped for Ramal Keyton, who played for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2024 after going undrafted that same year.. With the Titans having a day off on Sunday, Keyton is expected to meet his new teammates on Monday morning. It represents another frustrating injury for Burks. He tore his ACL in 2024, missing the back end of a difficult season for his team and during his first two campaigns, missed a total of 12 games. But 2025 represents a new season of optimism after drafting a new quarterback in Cam Ward with the first pick earlier this year. Burks has been looking to prove himself as a valuable weapon to his new teammate. When he has been healthy, Burks has recorded 53 catches to his name for 699 yards, scoring one touchdown. According to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport, Burks had reported to Titans camp in 'great shape' but got hurt taking a diving catch on the sidelines. After playing at college level for the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Titans took Burks with the 18th pick of the draft. The pick came their way as part of the deal that saw AJ Brown join the current Super Bowl champions, Philadelphia Eagles. The Titans, who ended last season with a miserable 3-14 record in the AFC South, start the new season on the road to the Denver Broncos on September 7.
