FORMER AMERK THOMPSON SCORES GOLDEN GOAL AT 2025 WORLDS
Thompson clinched the Americans' first World Championship title since 1933
May 28, 2025
By Justin Alpert for Sabres.com
Tage Thompson swapped his Sabres sweater for stars and stripes at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, which concluded May 25 at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.
He saved his best for last, scoring the golden goal in overtime of Sunday's championship game versus Switzerland. The epic 3-on-3 tally, a snipe from the right circle, gave the United States its first World Championship title since 1933.
Overall, the superstar forward followed his 44-goal, 72-point regular season for the Buffalo Sabres with a highly productive showing for Team USA, totaling nine points (6+3) and a plus-seven rating in 10 tournament games. His 46 shots on goal led all skaters by a wide margin – Canada's Nathan MacKinnon finished second with 36.
Here's Thompson's overtime winner, along with recaps of the United States' 10-game journey to a gold medal.
Championship: Sunday, May 25 | United States 1 – Switzerland 0 | Thompson: 18:32 TOI, 1 G, 7 SOG, +1
Thompson's seven shots led all skaters, and the last one was golden. Logan Cooley and Brady Skjei tallied the assists.
Switzerland had gone 11 straight periods without allowing a goal, dating back to its final group game versus Kazakhstan, until Thompson finally beat goaltender Leonardo Genoni. The Swiss netminder made 39 saves in the finale, while the United States' Jeremy Swayman made 25.
Previous results
Friday, May 9 | United States 5 - Denmark 0 | Thompson: 17:31 TOI, 1 A, 8 SOG
The Americans had their way with the hosting Danes, outshooting them 48-26 in the tournament opener; Thompson's eight shots led all skaters.
On an early second-period power play, Thompson's wrister from the left circle produced a rebound and chaos around Danish goaltender Frederick Dichow. Utah's Logan Cooley buried it, netting Thompson a secondary assist and extending the United States' lead to 2-0.
Sunday, May 11 | United States 6 - Hungary 0 | Thompson: 16:09 TOI, 4 SOG, +1
Thompson is up to 12 shots through two games, both blowout wins, and remains hungry for his first goal at this year's tournament. In Sunday's third period, the 6-foot-6 forward posted up at the net front while Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley connected for the Americans' sixth goal.
Monday, May 12 | Switzerland 3 - United States 0 | Thompson: 14:38 TOI
After totaling an assist and 12 shots between the first two contests, Thompson was held off the scoresheet as the Americans suffered their first loss of the tournament.
Wednesday, May 14 | United States 6 - Norway 5 (OT) | Thompson: 18:36 TOI, 3 G, 7 SOG, +1
Thompson's hat trick, completed with an overtime winner, led the United States to its third win of the tournament. His seven shots on goal led all skaters.
First, midway through the opening period, he extended the Americans' lead to 3-1. Thompson weaved into the slot, had his shot attempt blocked, collected the loose puck and ripped it past Norwegian netminder Tobias Normann.
Then, 2:55 into the second, he settled Clayton Keller's cross-slot pass and snapped in a power-play goal from the left dot to put the United States up 5-1.
Norway stormed back with four unanswered goals, including the game-tying tally with 1:27 remaining in regulation. Finally, 4:09 into overtime on another power play, Thompson ended it with a signature, top-corner one-timer from the left dot.
Saturday, May 17 | United States 6 - Germany 3 | Thompson: 19:58 TOI, 1 G, 1 A, 7 SOG, +1
Thompson buried a shot from the left circle on the power play for his fourth goal of the tournament, which opened the scoring just 1:42 into the contest. Later in the first period, he sliced through traffic in the neutral zone to carry the puck over the offensive blue line and put a shot on net, creating a rebound for Drew O'Connor to bury the United States' third goal.
Germany stormed back from the 3-0 deficit in the second period, but the United States scored three unanswered goals to regain control in the third. Thompson had a team-high seven shots for the second straight game.
Sunday, May 18 | United States 6 - Kazakhstan 1 | Thompson: 14:41 TOI, 1 G, 4 SOG, +2
Thompson skated into a loose puck in the slot and buried a wrist shot for the United States' third goal. The goal moved him into a tie for fifth in the tournament, while his 30 shots were alone for the tournament lead.
Tuesday, May 20 | United States 5 – Czechia 2 | Thompson: 19:12 TOI, 6 SOG
Thompson’s three-game point streak was snapped in the victory, although he recorded the second-most ice time among American forwards and finished the game with the third-most shots.
The U.S. pulled away from Czechia in the third period, scoring four goals to come back from a one-goal deficit. Team USA clinched the second seed in Group B with the victory, setting up a quarterfinal matchup with the third-place finisher from Group A on Thursday.
Quarterfinals: Thursday, May 22 | United States 5 – Finland 2 | Thompson: 17:16 TOI, 1 A, 3 SOG, +1
Thompson earned the primary assist on Conor Garland's game-winning goal with 3:56 remaining in the second period. Stationed on the left flank during a U.S. power play, Thompson dished a pass low to Garland, who turned toward the net and jammed in a shot for his second goal of the game. The assist was Thompson's eighth point of the tournament.
The U.S. trailed 2-1 early in the second period before stringing together four unanswered goals.
Semifinals: Saturday, May 24 | United States 6 – Sweden 2 | Thompson: 16:24 TOI, +1
Thompson was held off the scoresheet, but the Americans routed the hosting Swedes to clinch a spot in Sunday's championship game. They'll play Switerland, which beat Denmark 7-0 in Saturday's other semifinal matchup.
Sweden scored two early third-period goals to pull within 4-2, but the U.S. matched those tallies to stave off the comeback bid. Shane Pinto (1+2), Brady Skjei (1+1) and Jackson LaCombe (1+1) led the way with multi-point performances.
