With a convincing 6-2 win over host Sweden on Saturday, the USA ended its semifinal curse at the IIHF World Championship, advancing to the final for the first time since the tournament adopted a playoff format in 1992.
“I’ve been to three of these and lost in the semis both (previous) times, so I decided to give myself an opportunity to win a gold medal and we’d love to do it for our country and for USA Hockey,” said winger Conor Garland, who has scored the game-wining goal in each of the team’s last two games.
While Garland consistently produces between 46 and 50 points per season for the Vancouver Canucks, his production at the World Championships has been over a point per game – in nearly three full tournaments, he now has 31 points in 29 games.
In the following video from Hokej.cz, Garland talks about the semifinal game against Sweden, the U.S. team and looks ahead a bit to the final.
Obviously, at the time of the interview following the first semifinal, Garland didn’t know the USA’s opponent in the final but it’s now known that it will be Switzerland. While the USA will be gunning for its first gold medal at a stand-alone World Championship since 1933, the Swiss will be looking for their first-ever gold in what will be veteran Andres Ambühl’s last career game.
For more reaction to the USA's semifinal victory over Sweden, read:
