U.S. slays Russian demon with shootout win
Move over, Jonathan Toews and T.J. Oshie. There’s another shootout specialist on the scene.
Ten years after Toews went three-for-three in a semifinal overtime shootout win against the United States at the world junior championship, U.S. forward Troy Terry pulled the same feat in a 4-3 win against Russia to advance to the goldmedal game.
Of course, for an Americanborn forward, it was Oshie’s shootout success against Russia in the 2014 Olympics — where he went four-for-six in a preliminary round game — that seemed a more appropriate comparison.
“I don’t know if you could put me in the same league as him, but it’s definitely an honour to be put in the same sentence as him,” Terry, an Anaheim Ducks prospect, said of Oshie. “I’m just trying to gather my words here. I’m still shaking.”
It was a rare show of nerves for the 19-year-old, who teammates said had ice water in his veins after coming up big three times with the game on the line.
“It was unbelievable,” said Clayton Keller, the U.S. leading scorer, who had two assists in the game. “He’s actually my roommate here and I knew him before coming here, so he’s a great kid. He’s great to be around. He’s got great hands.”
It was a crazy ending to an even crazier game. This one had it all: breakaways, highlight-reel saves, a penalty shot and even a scary incident where U.S. goalie Tyler Parsons’ helmet flew off after he took an elbow to the head.
In the end, the U.S. finally slew a demon and beat Russia, an opponent that had previously won all seven of their meetings in the medal round.
“To me, it was more than a win,” said Ottawa Senators prospect Colin White, who scored twice for the U.S. “Last year getting knocked out (2-1 in the semifinal to Russia) hurt a lot and to get that back this year, especially in this fashion, was unbelievable.”