Swayman captures World Junior bronze with US hockey team

Goaltender Jeremy Swayman of Anchorage collected a bronze medal Friday when the U.S. hockey team claimed third place at the World Junior hockey championships in Buffalo, New York.

The Americans clubbed the Czech Republic 9-3 in the bronze-medal game. In the gold-medal game, Canada beat Sweden 3-1.

Swayman, the No. 3 goalie for the Americans, played the final 3 minutes, 19 seconds of the game. He allowed no goals and was on the ice for his team's final goal.

A 6-foot-3, 191-pound freshman at the University of Maine, Swayman is the third Alaskan to earn a medal at the World Juniors. Matt Carle was on the 2004 gold-medal team and B.J. Young was on the 1997 silver-medal team.

Five other Alaskans have played in the prestigious tournament – Joey Hope (2002), Barrett Heisten (1999 and 2000), Scott Gomez (1998 and 1999), Ty Jones (1998) and Brian Swanson (1996).

The Americans entered the tournament for players 20 and younger with gold-medal hopes but had to readjust after losing to Sweden in the semifinals, 4-2.

In the bronze-medal game, Kieffer Bellows of the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Hockey League scored two goals to finish the tournament with nine. That total broke Team USA's single-tournament record of eight set by Jeremy Roenick when the World Juniors came to Anchorage in 1989.