Jake Sanderson's 2021 is picking up where 2020 ended, and through five days, the New Year has been plenty fruitful.
One day after tallying the game-winning assist for the U.S. National Junior Team against Finland, Sanderson and Co. defeated rival Canada 2-0 in the gold medal game of the 2021 World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Tuesday evening.
WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONS. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/uaOrPOTU1c
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) January 6, 2021
The win is the United States' first gold medal in the World Junior Championships since 2017 when that team also topped Canada.
Sanderson, a defenseman, led the U.S. players in time on the ice with 21 minutes, 41 seconds. Sanderson played in all seven games for the U.S., which went 6-0-0-1 at the World Junior Championships. Sanderson tallied two assists in the tournament.
The win with Team USA is another accomplishment for Sanderson, 18, as he continues to make hockey history for the state of Montana. A freshman at the University of North Dakota, Sanderson was selected fifth overall by the Ottawa Senators in the NHL Draft back in October. In just three games with UND, Sanderson has one goal and two assists.
