The U.S. National Junior Team went a perfect 6-0-0 (W-L-T) and captured its first-ever gold medal with a 4-3 victory over Canada in the gold-medal game of the 2004 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Helsinki and Hameenlinna, Finland. This marked the first time the U.S. finished tournament play undefeated.
Captained by Mark Stuart, Team USA included forward Zach Parise, who became the first American player ever selected as Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Parise, who finished with 11 points (5-6), was named Best Forward, as chosen by the directorate, while Al Montoya was named Best Goaltender, marking the first time the U.S. had two players receive Directorate Awards in one tournament. Additionally, Parise and Montoya were named to the All-Star Team.
DATE | OPPONENT | RESULT |
---|---|---|
Dec. 26 | Austria | W, 8-0 |
Dec. 28 | Slovakia | W, 5-0 |
Dec. 30 | Sweden | W, 4-3 |
Dec. 31 | Russia | W, 4-1 |
Jan. 3 | Finland Semifinals |
W, 2-1 |
Jan. 5 | Canada Gold Medal Game |
W, 4-3 |
Award | Player(s) |
---|---|
Most Valuable Player | Zach Parise |
Directorate Award(s) | Zach Parise (Best Forward) Al Montoya (Best Goaltender) |
All-Star Team | Zach Parise (Forward) Al Montoya (Goaltender) |
RANK | COUNTRY | RECORD |
---|---|---|
1. | United States | 6-0-0 |
2. | Canada | 5-1-0 |
3. | Finland | 5-2-0 |
4. | Czech Republic | 3-4-0 |
5. | Russia | 2-2-1 |
6. | Slovakia | 2-2-1 |
7. | Sweden | 4-3-0 |
8. | Switzerland | 3-4-0 |
9. | Austria | 0-6-1 |
10. | Ukraine | 0-6-1 |