Team USA is Bringing Home the Hardware!

PRAGUE, CZECHIA – The 2025 Ball Hockey World Junior Championships have come to a close, and Team USA has some hardware to show for their efforts!

U16 Boys – Silver Medal 🥈

Our boys earned a Silver medal in the U16 category, making it all the way to the finals but coming up just short against the Czech team. The USA vs Canada semifinal matchup was one for the history books as both teams lit up the scoreboard, ultimately ending in an 8-5 win for Team USA to send them to the Gold medal game! In the finals they jumped out to an early lead thanks to captain Ian Basilio, but the Czechs stormed back and were able to push their way to a 7-4 victory, leaving a bittersweet 2nd place for Team USA. Nevertheless, it was an incredible showing of grit, determination, and immense talent by our U16 Boys throughout the tournament to earn a silver medal that they can be very proud of.

#13 Ian Basilio finished the tournament with 13 points, good for 2nd in scoring among all U16 players! #4 Brady Gabriel led all players with 6 assists throughout the tournament. #22 Cayden Helwich was awarded the Best Defenseman in the U16 Boys category, a high honor for an incredible young player from Pittsburgh. Basilio and #7 Connor Lammi were also named to the U16 All Star Team for the tournament. Congratulations boys!!!

U20 Men – 3rd Place🥉

Our men earned 3rd place in the U20 category, narrowly edging out the hometown Slovakia team in an overtime thriller! The USA vs Czechia semifinal matchup was filled with drama, as an officiating error led to a late powerplay for the Czech team in a 2-2 game where they scored the go-ahead goal to ultimately win the game 4-2 on an empty netter. The penalty that was called was video reviewed by the officials after the play and called a 2-minute minor, however the rulebook states in the case of a review, the result must be either no penalty, a 5-minute major, or a match penalty, meaning the minor call was illegal. Team USA appealed the result of the game immediately upon its conclusion, but the ISBHF ruled that the game could not be reversed, and that USA would play for the Bronze.

In the Bronze medal game, the Slovaks came out strong and led by 1 goal for most of the game. With 10 seconds remaining in regulation at a 2-1 score and the goalie pulled, captain Jake Battista slammed home the game-tying goal for USA sending the game to overtime! Early in the OT period, PJ Biagetti carried the ball through the neutral zone after a breakout and fired a quick shot from the top of the circle to fool the goaltender and secure 3rd place for team USA! Watch the highlight here!

#81 Jake Battista was the 2nd leading scorer in the tournament with 10 points, and #85 Alex Thomas was tied for 3rd leading scorer with 9 points!

U23 Men and U20 Women – 4th Place

Our U23 Men and U20 Women came up just short of medals in this year’s WJC, but their performances were still something to be proud of. The U23 Men suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the Bronze medal game vs Slovakia, as they led by 1 late in the game. With the goalie pulled, the Slovaks were able to tie it with seconds remaining and ended the game early in OT, shocking the USA. The U20 Women were also engaged in a back and forth match with Slovakia, leading by 1 twice in the game thanks to 2 goals by Cara Honeywell and the save of the tournament by goaltender Jayden Elias! But Slovakia was able to take the lead in the 3rd period and hold on until the end.

In the U23 Men’s category, #16 Connor Callahan was named to the All-Star Team! In the U20 Women’s category, #27 Mya Kearns and #93 Jayden Elias were both named to the All-Star Team! Congratulations!!!

For full stats, results, and recaps from the tournament please visit isbhf.com or download the ISBHF app on the app store!