Dating back to 1996, the first World Junior Tournament to feature a playoff round culminating in a gold-medal game, this game marked the first instance of two goaltenders drafted by the same NHL club facing each other in the championship game.
Both Knight and Levi each recorded three shutouts in the tournament, tying the World Junior Championship record for shutouts in a single tournament.
Panthers prospects forward Anton Lundell and defenseman Kasper Puutio earned Bronze Medals following Finland's 4-1 win against Russia.
Knight, 19, completed the tournament with a 5-1-0 record, 1.63 goals against average, .940 save percentage and three shutouts. He was named USA's Player of the Game for the Gold Medal Game, stopping all 34 shots faced to register his third shutout of the tournament. The shutout marked the first shutout in the championship game of the World Juniors since 2012. The shutout also marked the first shutout by a USA team in the World Junior Championship medal round.
Knight's three shutouts marked the most in a World Junior Championship career by a USA goaltender.
Selected by the Panthers in the first round (13th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, the 6-foot-3, 192-pound native of Stamford, Conn., earned consecutive shutouts against Sweden and the Czech Republic during the preliminary round of the tournament.
Knight entered the tournament with a 4-0-0 record, 1.50 goals against average, .922 save percentage and two shutouts over four games with Boston College in 2020-21.
Levi, 19, completed the tournament with a 6-1-0 record, 0.75 goals against average, .964 save percentage and three shutouts. Selected by the Panthers in the seventh round (212th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, the 6-foot, 184-pound native of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, was named the 2021 World Junior Championship Best Goaltender and tournament All-Star Team, leading the World Juniors in wins, goals against average and save percentage.
The Northeastern University goaltender set new tournament records for Canada in goals against average and save percentage, surpassing Justin Pogge and Carey Price, respectively.
Lundell, 19, served as captain for Finland, registering a team-leading six goals and 10 points over seven games. He scored twice in Finland's Bronze Medal-clinching contest against Russia.
Prior to the tournament, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound native of Espoo, Finland, produced a team-leading 20 points (12-8-20) through 17 games with HIFK (Liiga).
The Panthers selected Lundell in the first round (12th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Puutio, 18, recorded two assists over seven games with Finland.
Prior to the tournament, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound native if Vaasa, Finland, appeared in eight games with Kärpät (Liiga) and two games with Kärpät U20.
The Panthers selected Puutio in the fifth round (153rd overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
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\Photo courtesy of Andrea Leigh Cardin*
