World Juniors: Troy Terry single-handedly beats Russia in the semifinals (Video)

Troy Terry had a shootout for the ages, as he went three-for-three to send USA to the World Juniors Gold Medal game over Russia.

Move over Mike Eruzione and T.J. Oshie; Troy Terry has just added another chapter in the USA-Russia hockey rivalry in the 2017 World Junior tournament. Like his senior counterpart Oshie, Troy Terry had to be relied upon in the shootout to beat Russia. And even though he didn’t score as many times as Oshie, his moment was still more significant because it came in a semifinal, and because he was perfect.

In what is so far the game of the tournament, 70 minutes solved nothing between the United States and Russia. After five rounds, you’re allowed to choose the same player, which would explain why Terry got to shoot three times. While his first attempt was nice, people thought nothing of it, and couldn’t have foreseen what would happen next:

His second attempt came in the sixth round when he had to score to keep his country alive. Not only did he do that, he pulled off one of the prettiest moves you’ll ever see in a shootout.

After Alexander Polunin missed for Russia, Terry stepped up again, and delivered the shootout winner:

Of course, hockey Twitter had nothing but praise for Troy Terry. However, none was more noteworthy than one of the hottest players in the NHL right now, Auston Matthews. He rarely ever tweets, but Terry’s heroics made him take notice as he acknowledged his compatriot:

Troy Terry plays for the University of Denver and is more than just a shootout specialist there with 17 points in 18 games. As a fifth-round pick by the Anaheim Ducks back in 2015, they must feel like they’ve gotten a steal.

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Whoever the Americans play in the Gold Medal game, between Canada or Sweden, should make for an awesome match-up. The States already beat Canada in the group stage, but with the crowd against them and the gold medal on the line, that won’t matter. Sweden has the highest scoring player of the tournament in Alex Nylander and the second highest save percentage, so they’ll be a tough out.

But with the way they’ve played, USA fans should like their chances of winning their third gold medal in six years.