The United States will not repeat as IIHF World Junior champions.
Following four wins in four preliminary group-play games, Team USA fell to the Czech Republic (Czechia), 4-2, in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday night in Edmonton, and was eliminated from medal contention.
Logan Cooley (Minnesota) and Carter Mazur (Denver) scored for the Americans, but three Czech goals in-between which spanned the first and second period proved to be the difference. The U.S. also had to kill off two five-minute power plays in the third period, while trailing by two goals at the time.
Czechia finally iced the contest on an empty-net tally with 32 seconds remaining in regulation, after U.S. goaltender Kaidan Mbereko (Colorado College) had been pulled for an extra attacker. Mbereko finished with 20 saves on the night.
Team USA, which had outscored its opposition by a 22-4 margin through its first four games, was seeking to win consecutive WJC gold medals for the first time ever, having claimed gold in 2021 in Edmonton. The Czechs will now play host Canada, a 6-1 winner over Switzerland last night, in the semifinals.
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