For the first time since 1934, Team USA has won a semi-final game at the World Championships, and they will play for a Gold Medal. They defeated Sweden 6-2 on Saturday. This is an incredible feat for the Americans. There has been a lot of heartbreak over the years, including 12 straight semi-final losses, that have kept them from playing in the big game. With all of the talent that USA Hockey produces these days, they were bound to break through soon. They are back-to-back World Junior Champions, the 4-Nations Face-Off runner-up, and are now guaranteed at least a Silver Medal at Worlds. Doing this without the Hughes brothers, the Tkachuk brothers, Auston Matthews, and Jack Eichel makes this even more interesting. They are the youngest team at the tournament, but the youth has proved to be an asset this time around. Two Chicago Blackhawks stars are a part of this wonderful team. Alex Vlasic plays a key defensive role on the blue line, and Frank Nazar is one of their most productive offensive forwards. Nazar earned an assist in this game. Once it was over, they announced the three best players of the tournament for either team, and Nazar was one of the three. The Chicago Blackhawks forward was honored alongside Logan Cooley of the Utah Mammoth and Conor Garland of the Vancouver Canucks. Nazar is leading Team USA in scoring with six goals and six assists for 12 points in 9 games played so far. He isn't even on their top line and doesn't play as many minutes as some of the other top forwards on the team, which makes this even more impressive. To say that the young Nazar has picked up where he left off to end the NHL season would be an understatement. He has elevated his game on this stage. His team might not be where they are without his contributions. The Gold Medal Game between Team USA and the winner of the Switzerland-Denmark matchup will take place on Sunday at 1:20 PM CT. Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/] team site to stay updated on the latest news [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/latest-newshttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/latest-news], game-day [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/game-dayhttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/game-day] coverage, player features [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/playershttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/players], and more.
