Filed under: College Hockey, Junior Hockey
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Nick Bjugstad just put the puck on net, hoping something good would happen, and he was shocked to see his teammates raise their arms in the air to celebrate the winning goal in a 3-2 overtime victory by the United States over Finland at the World Junior Championship on Sunday.
"It was awesome," said Bjugstad of his floater that trickled past goalie Joni Ortio and spoiled a superb performance by the Finnish teenager. "I had no idea it went in. I looked up and saw the guys celebrating."
The win prevented the United States from opening its defense of the World Junior title with what would have been an embarrassing outcome.
With eight players back from the team that mined gold a year ago in Saskatoon, Canada, the United States is favored to defend its title.
Finland isn't expected to win a medal at the best-on-best tournament but they should not be taken lightly. The Finns are tenacious workers who play a hybrid brand of hockey that combines the finesse of the Europeans along with the North American grinding style.
U.S. coach Keith Allain was as happy as anyone that his team eked out the win.
"You have to find ways to win when you are not at your best and we did that tonight," he said. "I think there are a lot of things we have to do better."
Source: http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2010/12/27/usa-needs-overtime-to-finnish-off-fins-in-world-juniors-opener/
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