STOCKHOLM — The United States beat Sweden 6-2 to advance to the final of the ice hockey world championship Saturday.

In Sunday’s final, the U.S. will play Switzerland or Denmark, who meet in the late semifinal.

Jeremy Swayman stopped 27 shots and the U.S. remained on course to win the worlds for the first time since 1933.

The Americans were also formally awarded the title in 1960 and 1980 when they won the Olympic tournaments and the worlds did not take place.

By reaching the final, the U.S. achieved its best result since the silver medal in 1950.

“It’s a good feeling,” captain Clayton Keller said. “There’s one more game to win. We’re going to focus on tomorrow.”

The U.S. jumped out to 2-0 in the opening period, outshooting the Swedes 13-3.

Brady Skjei scored 6:52 in with a shot from the blue line that went through heavy traffic in front of goaltender Jacob Markstrom. The Ducks’ Cutter Gauthier doubled the advantage with 2:47 remaining, picking up the puck after a shot by Shane Pinto was blocked and directed it into the net between Makstrom’s pads.

Gauthier was born in Skelleftea, Sweden, in 2004 when his father, a goaltender, played for a local team.

Conor Garland added the third with 8:53 to go in the second, knocking in a rebound. Mikey Eyssimont made it 4-0 on a 4-on-2 rush from the right circle.

Samuel Ersson replaced Markstrom in the Swedish net at the start of the final period.

William Nylander scored the first for Sweden 6:32 into the the third period, and Elias Lindholm scored another 41 seconds later to give Sweden some hope at 4-2.

But Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe beat Ersson for the fifth with 8:51 to go. Shane Pinto finished it off into an empty net to complete a three-point game after assisting on the opening two goals.

“Every single guy contributed and I couldn’t be more proud of our group,” U.S. coach Ryan Warsofsky said.

Sweden has to settle for the bronze medal game for the second straight worlds.

by Randy Gore

Appearing in the WPIAL championship for an eighth consecutive season, and 32nd time overall, the North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team was looking for its first district title since 2022, when the Tigers earned a thrilling 3-2 win over Seneca Valley. After finishing as runners-up in Class 3A the last two seasons to Shaler, North Allegheny once again faced off against section rival Seneca Valley on Saturday at AHN Arena and emerged victorious, this time by a 3-1 decision. It was North Allegheny’s 23rd District 7 crown, far and away the most of any WPIAL school in the sport.

The Raiders, who were making their fifth WPIAL championship title match appearance, and first since losing to the Tigers in 2022, were eying their first-ever WPIAL championship. Hungry for a title, Seneca Valley stormed out of the gates in the first set and rode the hot hand of senior middle hitter Jordan Hoover to a convincing 25-17 win. Hoover totaled four of his team-high 17 kills in the opening set.

North Allegheny flipped the script in the second set and completely dominated Seneca Valley to the tune of a 25-15 win. Senior Garen White continued his torrid post-season play with three kills in a well-balanced set for the Tigers.

With the match tied at 1-1, the critical third set weighed in the balance with the score deadlocked, 19-19. Thanks in part to three blocks from White, the Tigers claimed six of the final seven points to earn a 25-20 victory. Geneva College commit Matthew LaMay, who finished with a game-high five aces, posted three in set three and capped the game from the service line.

Just one set away from a championship, North Allegheny overcame an early 6-3 deficit in set four and rolled to a 25-18 victory to secure WPIAL gold. In the decisive set, junior outside hitter Will Robertson punished the Raiders with a bombardment of big swings, belting out seven of his team-leading 17 kills. Adding seven digs and four blocks, Robertson was a consistent figure for the Tigers throughout the afternoon and was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Match.

In a complete team performance, a host of Tigers contributed to the victory. Junior Brendan Moore tallied 10 kills and senior Eli Braun totaled nine kills to help pace the offense. Setters Jackson Failla and Elliott Swierczynski dished out 25 and 16 assists, respectively. On defense, junior libero Emmett Morris delivered a team-best 17 digs. Senior Dominic Laswell provided a spark with his opportunity in the middle and delivered a team-leading five blocks. Moore, Robertson and White all totaled four blocks each.

The win, North Allegheny’s 10th in a row, improves the Tigers’ record to 15-1 overall, while Seneca Valley falls to 14-4. The Tigers will open the state playoffs at home on Tuesday, June 3, against the fifth-place finisher in District 3. The contest will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Seneca Valley, 5-24-25

235 high school seniors earned diplomas this weekend across four graduation ceremonies in Routt County. 

Yampa Valley High School
Per tradition, the Yampa Valley High School commencement ceremony took place at the Yampa River Botanic Park on Friday, beginning a new journey for the school’s 10 graduating seniors. 

During the commencement, Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue firefighter and paramedic, Marne Smith, gave an address to the students. Graduates Raven McLaughlin and Charlie Tegtmeyer also stepped to the lectern to address their classmates during the ceremony. 

Some of the school’s graduates will be furthering their education at the collegiate level with others interested in learning trades and will enter the workforce. 

School principal Kristyl Boies said students at Yampa Valley High School took advantage of a large number of internships offered by local community partners, got a taste of college by taking classes at Colorado Mountain College and found career opportunities through technical education programs that introduced students to their career path after graduation.

Hayden High School
Hayden School District staff described the Tigers’ Class of 2025 as a distinctive group of individuals who remained closely connected while also charting individual paths. 

The class completed a combined 154 college-level credits through concurrent enrollment and on Friday night, 18 seniors received diplomas during the school’s graduation ceremony in the gymnasium. 

The class’s integration with the broader community of Hayden stood out as a defining trait to the district staff. 

“They challenged everything,” said Katherine George, senior seminar instructor and capstone advisor. “Even if life is hard, and even if you have to work harder than you expected, you should follow your heart, your passions and your dreams, no matter where they lead you.” 

Steamboat Springs High School
With 186 seniors graduating Saturday morning at Gardner Field, the Steamboat Springs High School Class of 2025 includes students who have committed to attend universities across the nation — running from Dartmouth to Stanford. 

Graduates Jack Fisher and Hanna Hale were selected as student speakers at the graduation. Both Fisher and Hale will be attending the University of Colorado Boulder this fall. 

Brian Ripley, head coach of the 2024-25 Sailors ice hockey state championship team, gave the honorary presentation. He discussed the lessons learned from a state championship team and reminded the class to live by the set of values they find most important. 

Principal Jay Hamric took to the lectern as well, addressing the students and reminding them of the mountains that surround the town. 

“Whether they are standing tall, bathing in sunshine and glory, or enshrouded in clouds, rain or snow, we always sense their presence and power,” Hamric said. “Seniors, as you travel the world and go to far off places, I hope you can always find a mountain to look up to and be reminded of the power and loving connection of your Steamboat community.” 

Soroco High School
Soroco High School valedictorians Tim Bedell and Ruby Hill were filled with excitement, anticipation and a hint of nostalgia as they stood in front of the Class of 2025 at the commencement ceremony in the school’s gymnasium. 

Soroco graduated 18 students Saturday morning, 12 of which will be moving on to post-secondary studies at institutions across the country and six opting to enter the workforce with skills they have obtained in high school. 

Delivering the commencement address on Saturday was 1996 graduate Chad Bedell, Tim’s father. Chad spoke about his disappointment of not making the pilot academy, but how it enabled him to find his passion as a rodeo cowboy. 

He told graduates to “persevere through all of the disappointments and setbacks that you will experience, (and to) stay the course and keep your focus on the end goal.”

Editors Note: Steamboat Mountain School will host its commencement ceremony on June 1. The school will see 19 seniors graduate from the Class of 2025.

Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minn./Nashville Predators/University of Minnesota) opened the scoring for Team USA at 6:52 of the opening frame. He wristed a shot from that point that found the back of the net following an offensive-zone faceoff win from Pinto to give the U.S. the early lead.

A strong forecheck from Pinto and Will Smith (Lexington, Mass./San Jose Sharks/Boston College) forced a Swedish turnover that led to a chance for Cutter Gauthier (Scottsdale, Ariz./Anaheim Ducks/Boston College) to double the U.S. lead with 5:40 left in the first, but his chance was denied by Swedish netminder Jacob Markström.

Gauthier capitalized on another Swedish turnover generated by a strong presence in the offensive zone, as he forced a puck through Markström’s five-hole following shots from Pinto and Smith at 17:13.

U.S. netminder Jeremy Swayman (Anchorage, Alaska/Boston Bruins/University of Maine) made a stellar save with 10:56 remaining in the second to keep the U.S. ahead by two when he sprawled across the crease to deny a Swedish opportunity just in front of the net. Swayman finished with 27 saves to pick up his sixth win of the tournament.

Team USA extended its lead to 3-0 at 11:07, as Conor Garland (Scituate, Mass./Vancouver Canucks) powered home a rebound chance after a one-timer from Logan Cooley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Utah Mammoth/University of Minnesota).

Mikey Eyssimont (Littleton, Colo./Seattle Kraken/St. Cloud State University) added to the U.S. lead at 17:03 when he fired a wrister past Markström after a cross-ice pass from Matty Beniers (Hingham, Mass./Seattle Kraken/University of Michigan).

William Nylander put Sweden on the board at 6:32 of the third on a shot from just in front of Swayman’s crease. Elias Lindholm scored 42 seconds later on a one-timer from the slot to put the hosts to within two, resulting in a U.S. timeout.

Jackson LaCombe (Eden Prairie, Minn./Anaheim Ducks/University of Minnesota) responded with a goal at 11:09 firing a shot over Swedish goalie Samuel Ersson’s blocker to give the U.S. a 5-2 lead. Pinto added an empty-net goal from below his own goal-line at 15:53 to account for the 6-2 final.

The victory ended a 12-game losing streak in the men’s worlds semifinals and has the U.S. playing in its first gold-medal game in the event since 1934.

NOTES: Shane Pinto was named U.S. Player of the Game … Team USA was 0-1 on the power play, while Sweden finished 0-2 … Sweden outshot the U.S., 29-28 … Conor Garland, Frank Nazar and Logan Cooley were named the top three U.S. players of the tournament.