VIDEO: Conor Garland Has ‘An Opportunity To Win A Gold Medal'
With a convincing 6-2 win over host Sweden on Saturday, the USA ended its semifinal curse at the IIHF World Championship, advancing to the final for the first time since the tournament adopted a playoff format in 1992.
'I've been to three of these and lost in the semis both (previous) times, so I decided to give myself an opportunity to win a gold medal and we'd love to do it for our country and for USA Hockey,' said winger Conor Garland, who has scored the game-wining goal in each of the team's last two games.
While Garland consistently produces between 46 and 50 points per season for the Vancouver Canucks, his production at the World Championships has been over a point per game – in nearly three full tournaments, he now has 31 points in 29 games.
In the following video from Hokej.cz, Garland talks about the semifinal game against Sweden, the U.S. team and looks ahead a bit to the final.
Obviously, at the time of the interview following the first semifinal, Garland didn't know the USA's opponent in the final but it's now known that it will be Switzerland. While the USA will be gunning for its first gold medal at a stand-alone World Championship since 1933, the Swiss will be looking for their first-ever gold in what will be veteran Andres Ambühl's last career game.
Andres Ambühl Can End His Career With Switzerland's First-Ever World Championship Gold Last year, following Switzerland's 2-0 loss to Czechia at the World Championship final in Prague,
Andres Ambühl spoke barely above a whisper. There was a feeling that the 40-year-old might have missed his last chance to win a gold medal.
For more reaction to the USA's semifinal victory over Sweden, read:
Clayton Keller, Jackson LaCombe, Cutter Gauthier React To USA Semifinal Win Over Sweden On the lucky 13th try,
the semifinal curse is dead. For the first time since the IIHF adopted a playoff format for the World Championship in 1992, the USA is in the final, following a 6-2 win over Sweden in Stockholm.
Zibanejad, Nylander, Markström, Andersson Disappointed After Swedish Semifinal Loss To USA They assembled a strong roster to try to win gold on home ice, and the path to victory seemed to grow a little wider when
Canada got knocked out in the quarterfinals, but following a disappointing 6-2 loss to the USA in the semifinals, the best the Swedes can now do is bronze.
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