The United States defeated Sweden by a score of 4-3 in overtime to capture their third straight gold medal at the World U18 Championships. Miami recruit Connor Murphy scored in overtime to give the US the gold.
Of the three straight gold medals, this one may be the most impressive, if only because this group of players was by far the least impressive coming in. This was the first group to play both years in the USHL, and at the beginning, they got absolutely embarrassed by the older USHL teams. But it's really a credit to the development that takes place in that program that they were able to develop those players and earn a gold medal without even needing to add any players from outside of their program. The World U18s are the final test for this program, and the NTDP continues to pass with flying colors.