The U.S. blew a 5-1 lead but pulled off a 6-5 overtime win against underdog Norway at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Group B action in Herning, Denmark.
photo: PHOTO: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN
Talk about wild drama. Tage Thompson completed his hat trick at 4:09 of overtime to lift the U.S. to a 6-5 victory over Norway on Wednesday. The Norwegians rallied from a 5-1 deficit and earned their first point in Herning through four Group B games.
Thompson pounded home a one-timer on the power play with Norwegian captain Emil Lilleberg in the box for holding.
Coach Ryan Warsofsky’s American players weren’t satisfied with their performance in Monday's 3-0 loss to Switzerland. Despite getting two points, this outing also raises concerns.
"It was closer than we would have liked," Thompson said. "I think the Swiss game was a tough one, and Norway made another tough one. Honestly, I don't think there's going to be any easy games moving forward. So you've got to do the right things every shift you're out there, or other teams are going to make you pay."
Captain Clayton Keller, Cutter Gauthier, and Michael McCarron also scored for the Americans.
Stian Solberg starred with three goals for the Norwegians. The Anaheim Ducks prospect now leads all defenceman in goals at this tournament (four). Solberg becomes just the third 19-year-old Norwegian defenceman to record three or more career goals, joining Per Vogt, who had five in 1949 and 1950 combined, and Mattias Norstebo, who had three in 2015.
"It was fun to play," said Solberg. "We battled hard. We battled all the way. Never gave up. The U.S. is a great hockey team compared to Norway, but we just had to compete hard. We never gave up and we got lucky a little bit, and then it's a tight hockey game. Things can turn fast in hockey."
Martin Ronnild and Noah Steen had the other Norwegian goals.
U.S. goalie Jeremy Swayman recorded the win against his Norwegian counterpart Tobias Normann. Both netminders would like to have had some of the goals back that they allowed. Final shots favoured America 39-18, including a 20-5 gap in the first period.
Norway's big comeback was reminiscent of Austria's rally last year from a 6-1 deficit against Canada, which ended 7-6 on Canadian captain John Tavares' overtime marker.
"The way it looked after the first, it could easily been 10-1," Norwegian veteran Andreas Martinsen admitted. "We weren't ready, and when you're not ready against a team like the U.S., it's going to be tough. But we managed to come back."
The Scandinavian underdogs didn’t get off on the right foot. With Sander Engebraten off for cross-checking, the Americans peppered Normann with shots. Just six seconds after that minor expired, Gauthier opened the scoring at 4:50 with one of his trademark one-timers from the hash marks, set up by Shane Pinto.
Gauthier is tied with Solberg, Canada's Bo Horvat, and Sweden's Mika Zibanejad for the goal-scoring lead (four) at this Ice Hockey World Championship. The Anaheim forward's previous high was seven goals in 2023.
"He's got one of the best shots I've seen," Thompson said of Gauthier. "Any time he's in open ice and he can get it on net, it's got a good chance of going in. I like watching him play. He's a pure goal-scorer. So I'm excited to see what he does the rest of the tournament."
At 7:18, Keller doubled the U.S. lead, cutting into the left faceoff circle and sailing a wrister past Normann’s glove side with the goalie on his knees.
The Norwegians struck back at 9:59. Solberg – the highest-drafted Norwegian defender ever (23rd overall in 2024) – danced along the blue line and lofted a wrister from the centre point that bulged the twine.
Thompson made it 3-1 at 12:34, capitalizing on a Norwegian defensive blunder. The Buffalo Sabres power forward misfired on his first attempt from the left side, but Engebraten handed it right back to him, and he made no mistake from the high slot.
At 17:50, the U.S.’s fourth line took advantage of a neutral zone turnover to pad the lead. Drew O’Connor sped into the Norwegian zone and slipped the puck over to McCarron, who charged to the crease and tipped it home.
In the second period, Thompson made it 5-1 with a power play wrister from the left faceoff circle. Everything seemed secure for the Americans. But not so fast.
The Norwegians had another chance to at least narrow the gap when they got a two-man advantage after Andrew Peeke flipped the puck over the glass in the U.S. end, taking a delay of game penalty. Solberg capitalized with a long wrister through traffic.
At 12:48, Ronnild got away on a break on the right side and sped in to beat Swayman with a snap shot to the stick side inside the post, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
Norway had renewed life now, and the teams began trading chances. After Normann foiled Frank Nazar on a breakaway, Martinsen rang one off the post at the other end.
In the third period, Steen stole the puck from veteran blueliner Alex Vlasic at the Norwegian blue line and outraced him to score on a breakaway at 11:08. Could the Norwegians find that tying goal? The answer was yes.
With 1:27 left in regulation time, Solberg stepped up yet again with Normann pulled for the extra attacker, sailing a shot through traffic to make it 5-5 and send the game to overtime.
"The point is huge for us," Solberg said. "It's tight in the end with us and Denmark and Kazakhstan and Hungary. So we've got to have every point we can get. I think every Norwegian is pretty happy with the tie against the U.S. today."
Next up, both teams get some time off. Norway is back at it on Friday versus 2024 silver medalist Switzerland, while the Americans face as-yet unbeaten Germany on Saturday.
"There's no easy teams," Thompson said. "They're all very good. Obviously we played Germany in the exhibition there [a 5-2 U.S. win], and they work extremely hard. They're fast. They battle hard. They're very physical. With that, and then adding a few more guys with a lot of skill and finishing ability, it's going to be a tough one for us. So we've just got to mentally get prepared for it."
Thompson pounded home a one-timer on the power play with Norwegian captain Emil Lilleberg in the box for holding.
Coach Ryan Warsofsky’s American players weren’t satisfied with their performance in Monday's 3-0 loss to Switzerland. Despite getting two points, this outing also raises concerns.
"It was closer than we would have liked," Thompson said. "I think the Swiss game was a tough one, and Norway made another tough one. Honestly, I don't think there's going to be any easy games moving forward. So you've got to do the right things every shift you're out there, or other teams are going to make you pay."
Captain Clayton Keller, Cutter Gauthier, and Michael McCarron also scored for the Americans.
Stian Solberg starred with three goals for the Norwegians. The Anaheim Ducks prospect now leads all defenceman in goals at this tournament (four). Solberg becomes just the third 19-year-old Norwegian defenceman to record three or more career goals, joining Per Vogt, who had five in 1949 and 1950 combined, and Mattias Norstebo, who had three in 2015.
"It was fun to play," said Solberg. "We battled hard. We battled all the way. Never gave up. The U.S. is a great hockey team compared to Norway, but we just had to compete hard. We never gave up and we got lucky a little bit, and then it's a tight hockey game. Things can turn fast in hockey."
Martin Ronnild and Noah Steen had the other Norwegian goals.
U.S. goalie Jeremy Swayman recorded the win against his Norwegian counterpart Tobias Normann. Both netminders would like to have had some of the goals back that they allowed. Final shots favoured America 39-18, including a 20-5 gap in the first period.
Norway's big comeback was reminiscent of Austria's rally last year from a 6-1 deficit against Canada, which ended 7-6 on Canadian captain John Tavares' overtime marker.
"The way it looked after the first, it could easily been 10-1," Norwegian veteran Andreas Martinsen admitted. "We weren't ready, and when you're not ready against a team like the U.S., it's going to be tough. But we managed to come back."
The Scandinavian underdogs didn’t get off on the right foot. With Sander Engebraten off for cross-checking, the Americans peppered Normann with shots. Just six seconds after that minor expired, Gauthier opened the scoring at 4:50 with one of his trademark one-timers from the hash marks, set up by Shane Pinto.
Gauthier is tied with Solberg, Canada's Bo Horvat, and Sweden's Mika Zibanejad for the goal-scoring lead (four) at this Ice Hockey World Championship. The Anaheim forward's previous high was seven goals in 2023.
"He's got one of the best shots I've seen," Thompson said of Gauthier. "Any time he's in open ice and he can get it on net, it's got a good chance of going in. I like watching him play. He's a pure goal-scorer. So I'm excited to see what he does the rest of the tournament."
At 7:18, Keller doubled the U.S. lead, cutting into the left faceoff circle and sailing a wrister past Normann’s glove side with the goalie on his knees.
The Norwegians struck back at 9:59. Solberg – the highest-drafted Norwegian defender ever (23rd overall in 2024) – danced along the blue line and lofted a wrister from the centre point that bulged the twine.
Thompson made it 3-1 at 12:34, capitalizing on a Norwegian defensive blunder. The Buffalo Sabres power forward misfired on his first attempt from the left side, but Engebraten handed it right back to him, and he made no mistake from the high slot.
At 17:50, the U.S.’s fourth line took advantage of a neutral zone turnover to pad the lead. Drew O’Connor sped into the Norwegian zone and slipped the puck over to McCarron, who charged to the crease and tipped it home.
In the second period, Thompson made it 5-1 with a power play wrister from the left faceoff circle. Everything seemed secure for the Americans. But not so fast.
The Norwegians had another chance to at least narrow the gap when they got a two-man advantage after Andrew Peeke flipped the puck over the glass in the U.S. end, taking a delay of game penalty. Solberg capitalized with a long wrister through traffic.
At 12:48, Ronnild got away on a break on the right side and sped in to beat Swayman with a snap shot to the stick side inside the post, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
Norway had renewed life now, and the teams began trading chances. After Normann foiled Frank Nazar on a breakaway, Martinsen rang one off the post at the other end.
In the third period, Steen stole the puck from veteran blueliner Alex Vlasic at the Norwegian blue line and outraced him to score on a breakaway at 11:08. Could the Norwegians find that tying goal? The answer was yes.
With 1:27 left in regulation time, Solberg stepped up yet again with Normann pulled for the extra attacker, sailing a shot through traffic to make it 5-5 and send the game to overtime.
"The point is huge for us," Solberg said. "It's tight in the end with us and Denmark and Kazakhstan and Hungary. So we've got to have every point we can get. I think every Norwegian is pretty happy with the tie against the U.S. today."
Next up, both teams get some time off. Norway is back at it on Friday versus 2024 silver medalist Switzerland, while the Americans face as-yet unbeaten Germany on Saturday.
"There's no easy teams," Thompson said. "They're all very good. Obviously we played Germany in the exhibition there [a 5-2 U.S. win], and they work extremely hard. They're fast. They battle hard. They're very physical. With that, and then adding a few more guys with a lot of skill and finishing ability, it's going to be a tough one for us. So we've just got to mentally get prepared for it."