Seven Eagles Win Gold at IIHF World Junior Championship

Gold medals are coming back to the Heights

Seven members of the Boston College men’s hockey team won gold at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships on Friday night, as the United States defeated Sweden in a 6-2 rout. The last time the United States won gold at World Juniors was in 2021, when three Eagles — Spencer Knight, Matt Boldy, and Drew Helleson — were on the roster.

Freshmen Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, Gabe Perreault, Drew Fortescue, Jacob Fowler, & Aram Minnetian, and sophomore Cutter Gauthier were all named to the US National Junior Team in December, setting a USA Hockey record with seven players named to the roster from the same school.

In the gold medal game, Perreault started off the scoring towards the end of the first off a sweet pass from Smith (sound familiar?), sending the US into the intermission with the lead.

Sweden tied the game up in the second period, but Fortescue had a great assist on MSU’s Isaac Howard’s goal to put the States up 2-1.

After a bit of back and forth between the two teams, Leonard sealed the game for the US with a solo effort when he scored his third of the tournament to put them up 5-2, finishing it off with a goal celebration that can only be described as iconic.

The final score read 6-2, and the Eagles are returning to the Heights as champions.

Gauthier was tied for the tournament lead in points, scoring two goals and tallying 10 assists in seven games played. Notably, he scored the game-winning goal on the power play (does this also sound familiar?) in the United States’ semifinal against Finland, securing their spot in the gold medal game. He was also named to the All-Tournament team.

Photo by ADAM IHSE/TT/TT News Agency/TT NYHETSBYRÅN/AFP via Getty Images

Perreault had a number of clutch goals including his tally in the gold medal game, finishing the tournament with 10 points in seven games. Smith finished the tournament with nine points in seven games, Fortescue with four points in seven games, and Leonard with six points. Fowler started three games and had strong showings as the USA’s backup.

Gold Medal Highlights:

Semifinal Highlights:

Quarterfinal Highlights: