(WGR Sports Radio 550) - Tage Thompson and Team USA advanced to the semifinal round of the 2025 World Championship with a 5-2 win over Finland on Thursday.
In the second period and with the Americans trailing 2-1, Finland had a delayed penalty. The U.S. got goalie Jeremy Swayman (Boston Bruins) out of the net and had a lengthy 6-on-5. It eventually resulted in the game-tying goal from defenseman Zeev Buium (Minnesota Wild).
As it turned out, there were two delayed penalties, so Team USA scored to cancel out the one call, but still receive a power play on the other.
Just 1:11 later, Thompson set up Conor Garland (Vancouver Canucks) for his second goal of the game, and the U.S had a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes.
In the third period, Shane Pinto (Ottawa Senators) found himself open down the slot to give the U.S. a two-goal lead. U.S. captain Clayton Keller (Utah Mammoth) scored into an empty-netter to secure the win.
Finland doesn’t give you much room, and Thompson was bottled up for much of this game. The U.S. only had 28 shots on netminder Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators).
At the other end, Swayman has won all five of his starts, making 20 saves to secure the U.S. a win Thursday. Overall in this tournament, he has a 1.97 goals-against average and an .897 save percentage.
In eight games this tournament, Thompson is stuck on five goals, which is still second on Team USA and seventh overall. The Buffalo Sabres forward also has three assists for eight points, which is fifth on the American team.
In Thursday’s game, Thompson played 17:16 and had three shots on goal. He had 39 shots overall after the game, which still leads the tournament.
Up next for the U.S. will be a matchup with Sweden in the semifinal round after they beat Czechia, 5-2. That game saw both Leo Carlsson (Anaheim Ducks) and Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings) net two goals for the Swedes.
In the other semifinal matchup, it will be Switzerland taking on Denmark, who shocked the tournament with a 2-1 win over Canada. Danish forward Nick Olesen lifted his country to victory with a go-ahead goal with just 49 seconds remaining in regulation.
As for the Swiss, they shut out Austria, 6-0, behind a 13-save effort from goalie Leonardo Genoni.
The puck drops between the U.S. and Sweden at 8:20 a.m. ET on Saturday, while faceoff between Switzerland and Denmark comes at 12:20 p.m. ET.