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

In Sunday’s final, the U.S. will play Switzerland. The Swiss blanked Denmark 7-0 to reach the gold medal game for the second straight year.

Switzerland shut out the U.S. 3-0 in the group stage, the Americans’ only defeat.

Jeremy Swayman stopped 27 shots against Sweden 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 1950 silver medal.

“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 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. 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 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.

Switzerland has never won the worlds.

Nino Niederreiter scored twice and Ken Jager added one in the first period for Switzerland to take command against Sweden. Denis Malgin added the fourth in the middle period and Sandro Schmid, Damien Riat and Tyler Moy completed the rout in the third.

Switzerland goalie Leonardo Genoni made 17 saves for a second straight shutout.

Denmark, which eliminated Canada 2-1 in the quarterfinals, will face Sweden for bronze. Denmark has never medaled at the worlds.

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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