It wasn't pretty. But blown leads, defensive meltdowns, and B-list goaltending can make for a fun game (if you're not coaching it).
As it so often does, the World Junior Hockey Championship delivered the drama, as the United States beat Canada 6-5 (OT) in a thriller of a gold medal game.
This tournament will be remembered as the year the Americans simply out-skated the world. Nobody could catch the USA speedsters who came flying over the opposition blue line.
But in the end, they needed a heroic overtime goal from John Carlson of Natick, Massachusetts, after a late collapse in the third period of the biggest game.
Suffice to say, 2010 won't be remembered as a year of stellar defense, though the Swiss goalie managed to drag his team to fourth place.
It's the Americans' second gold medal in the history of the tournament, the other coming in 2004.
Next year's WJHC is in Buffalo, and with nine members of this year's team returning, the prospects for back-to-back USA gold look good.
(Photo: Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images).
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