Team USA came back from a 3-1 deficit against Finland to earn its second straight gold medal at the World Juniors.

Depth and experience had carried Team USA through the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa.

That depth and experience was put to the test Sunday night in the gold medal game against Finland, who wanted to prove their overtime victory against the Americans in group play was no fluke.

When the final horn sounded, it was the Americans who emerged victorious in a 4-3 overtime thriller after being down 3-1 in the second period.

Teddy Stiga, who didn't have a goal in the tournament and was a healthy scratch in the opener against Germany, scored on a breakaway in overtime. It was the only shot the Nashville Predators prospect and former NTDP forward took in the entire tournament, but it will be talked about for years to come.

The U.S. captured its second consecutive gold medal at the WJC for the first time in the country’s history and third in the last five tournaments.

Unlike their 6-2 victory in last year’s gold medal game, this one wouldn’t be easy. The Finns, who scored nine goals in their previous two games, got on the scoreboard first at 7:13 on a power play.

Jesse Kiiskinen, who led the team with six points (5-1-6) entering the contest, scored on a beautiful setup by Emil Hemming. Kiiskinen got a shot under Team USA goaltender Trey Augustine’s glove to put Suomi on top 1-0.

James Hagens (NTDP) knotted things up 1-1 after an initial shot from team captain Ryan Leonard was stopped by Finland goalie Petteri Rimpinen. Hagens fired home the loose puck from close range for a 1-1 score.

Finland reclaimed the lead 2-1 at the 13:03 mark of the first. Tuomas Uronen raced across the U.S. line and rifled a shot past Augustine’s shoulder for a 2-1 lead heading into the middle frame.

The lead increased to 3-1 at 4:52 of the second. Emil Pieniniemi took advantage of a collision between two American players and beat Augustine.

The Americans, who looked like they were running low on fuel, needed a spark to keep their hopes of a second consecutive gold medal alive. Former Fargo Force and Youngstown Phantom forward Brandon Svoboda provided it on an unlikely shot that somehow found the back of the net after hitting the shoulder of a Finnish defender to cut Finland’s lead to 3-2.

With 28 seconds remaining in the second, Cole Hutson (NTDP) tied the game 3-3 after taking a feed from Leonard from the right-wing boards.

The Americans were reenergized, but neither team could mount an aggressive attack in the third, sending the game into overtime.

That’s when Team USA went to work, outplaying the Finns and creating numerous scoring opportunities.

Finally, Stiga broke through. He took a pass from Zeev Buium on a breakaway and knew exactly what to do with it.

Stiga beat Rimpinen between the pads at 8:04 of overtime, scoring the golden goal and making history for Team USA.

The referees let the players play for the most part. Team USA didn't have a single power-play opportunity, while Finland scored on their only man advantage. The U.S. outshot the Finns 40-24.

Stiga was voted U.S. Player of the Game, while Leonard, who had five goals and five assists for 10 points, was named tournament MVP.

The Americans are now 7-2 in gold medal games in the World Juniors. They not only avenged the overtime loss in group play earlier in the tournament, but a 3-2 defeat at the 2019 WJC gold medal game in Vancouver.