Sweden and USA have Ugly End to a Great Gold Medal Game
The World Junior Championship was another classic tournament for 2024 with plenty of great matches, memorable moments and upsets. The gold medal game came down to the home squad Sweden versus, arguably, the tournament favourites.
A controversial ending to the gold medal game
The USA ended up running away in the game late in the third period after scoring the 5-2 goal with five minutes remaining, and then the 6-2 empty netter 40 seconds later.
The fifth goal from the USA may have caused the later issues in the game as forward Ryan Leonard blew a kiss to the crowd
It was an intense affair as both teams wanted gold and were all battling quite hard. It lead to a fight between the two teams with around 30 seconds left in the game.
Once the teams were separated the USA celebrated the teams win properly.
Issues in the handshake line as animosity was still abound
Once the teams were in the handshake line two prospects got in to a heated exchange at it is clear Jonathan Lekkerimäki was unhappy about something Cutter Gauthier did.
«I just said great game, wished him the best with the rest of his career, and for whatever reason, he gave me the cold shoulder»
The video of the incident is here:
It is clear something was wrong, or perhaps it was just the sting of losing in front of the home crowd. It would be mainly assumed that the Sweden players were not happy with how the USA players taunted the crowd too.
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