Logan Cooley #92 of Team United States celebrates his goal with teammates on the bench during the first period against Team Canada in the semifinal round of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship at Scotiabank Centre on January 4, 2023 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
(Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Mammoth continue to make things happen for Team USA as Logan Cooley and Josh Doan netted two behemoth goals against Karel Vejmelka and Czechia on Tuesday to claim the second spot in group B at the World Championships.
Closing out the prelims the right way 🇺🇸#MensWorlds, presented by @Discover pic.twitter.com/Jtuhlr7ys0
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) May 20, 2025
In true Josh Doan fashion, the young American forward registered his first ever goal for the red, white and blue as he opened the scoring against Czechia with a gritty performance near the crease.
After battling hard for position and screening Mammoth teammate Karel Vejmelka’s vision, Doan bested the Czech defenseman, cleaned up the rebound and beat his NHL goaltender low to light the lamp.
Josh Doan beats Vejmelka to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead over Czechia.
Doan wins a relentless battle in front of the net and then cleans up a rebound to light the lamp.
That’s his game and he does it so well.#TusksUppic.twitter.com/T1q4MnzjcX
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) May 20, 2025
Just as Doan did all year for both the Tucson Roadrunners and Utah Mammoth, he simply outworked his opponent with grit, effort and strength to find the back of the net.
Ironically, Doan’s goal also silenced a collection of “Veggie” chants from the Czechia faithful.
History often repeats itself and such was the case for the United States as Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley linked up to provide the Stars and Stripes with an insurance goal late in the third period.
After suffocating offensive zone pressure by the Americans, Keller demonstrated pure wizardry as he emerged from behind the net, used his body to protect the puck and then zipped a well-placed pass onto the stick of Cooley who then perfectly tipped the frozen biscuit over Vejmelka’s shoulder to light the lamp.
A MAMMOTH of a goal from Keller and Cooley here.
Elite puck protection from Keller, great vision, gorgeous pass, and one hell of a tip by Cooley.
4-2 for the U.S.#TusksUP pic.twitter.com/2VxFAYMveB
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) May 20, 2025
“It’s always fun going against guys you play with,” Cooley told IIHF.
“Obviously Veggie’s an unbelievable guy, unbelievable goalie. He’s obviously a guy that you know is awesome to have on your team. It kind of stinks going against him because of how good he is and how he plays!”
Following Team USA’s 5-2 victory over Czechia, the Americans will play in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship on Thursday.
“Playing a team like Czechia, it’s an unbelievable team. They play the right way and have a lot of skilled players. Obviously to beat them like that, it gives us a lot of confidence going into the next game too,” Cooley told the IIHF.
The time, location and opponent will be determined at the end of the preliminary round.
