Canada took a promising 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the opening period with eventual-tournament MVP Thomas Chabot and Adam Fox lightning the lamp after beating U.S. goaltender Tyler Parsons.
The Americans rallied in the second frame and scored back-to-back goals to tie the contest 2-2 going in the final stanza. The Canadians capitalized on an early power play in the third period to regain the lead at 1:52 with Jost assisting on a tally from Nicolas Roy.
Canada then recovered their two-goal advantage two minutes later with a marker from Mathieu Joseph, but a relentless Team USA persevered and tallied two quick goals to equalize the score and send the match to overtime.
The 20-minute, 5-on-5 OT period was thrilling as both team had several great opportunities to claim the championship, but no shots could get past Canada netminder Carter Hart and Parsons, including during a power-play chance for Team Canada early in the frame.
After 80 minutes of play, the gold medal would be decided by a best-of-five shootout. Jost was the third shooter for Canada but was unable to score on Parsons.
USA forward and Highlands Ranch, Colorado, native Troy Terry finally broke the stalemate in the fourth round of the shootout in what was the only goal scored in the tiebreaker. With Canada needing a tally to stay alive, Parsons stopped Roy in the fifth round and then raced to center ice to celebrate the United States' fourth World Junior title with his teammates.
Next year will be USA's turn to host and defend its gold against a Canada squad looking for revenge. The 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship will be held in Buffalo, New York, and will include an outdoor game between the North American rivals at New Era Field.
