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LA Kings: Cal Petersen Named Best Goaltender at 2021 Worlds

By Ryan Cowley

US' goalkeeper Calvin Petersen saves the puck during the IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championships semi-final match between the USA and Canada at the Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia, on June 5, 2021. (Photo by Gints IVUSKANS / AFP) (Photo by GINTS IVUSKANS/AFP via Getty Images)
US' goalkeeper Calvin Petersen saves the puck during the IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championships semi-final match between the USA and Canada at the Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia, on June 5, 2021. (Photo by Gints IVUSKANS / AFP) (Photo by GINTS IVUSKANS/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Capping off his solid tournament with a bronze-medal victory, Cal Petersen of the LA Kings was named the Best Goaltender at the 2021 World Championship.

Enough cannot be said about LA Kings‘ netminder Cal Petersen and what a stellar World Championship he had in Latvia. In addition to capping his tournament off with a bronze-medal victory, Petersen was given the honor of being named the Best Goaltender at the 2021 Worlds.

After missing the playoffs in the NHL, Petersen went to Latvia along with teammates Trevor Moore, Matt Roy, and Christian Wolanin to represent Team USA. The American squad pulled off seven straight wins, thanks in large part to Petersen’s solid play and despite falling short to  Team Canada in the semi-final, rebounded in the bronze-medal game to defeat Germany.

The 26-year-old finished the tournament with five wins and two shutouts — both tied for the tournament lead — while his 95.34 save percentage and 1.29 goals against average were both good enough for sole possession of first among all tournament goaltenders.

Related Story. LA Kings’ Cal Petersen: I’m Extremely Proud to Wear This Medal. light

In terms of his GAA, Petersen’s mark was actually second to Finland’s Jussi Olkinuora prior to Sunday’s gold-medal game. However, after allowing three goals against Team Canada, the Finnish netminder’s GAA went from 1.15 to 1.39, giving Petersen the category lead.

The native of Waterloo, IA, becomes just the fourth-ever U.S. player to receive Best Goaltender honors at the Worlds and the eighth-ever U.S. player to receive directorate honors. The latter has been awarded to a U.S. player for the first time since 2004 when Ty Conklin was given the honor.

Petersen has represented Team USA very well in Latvia but has also represented the LA Kings just as well.

Here are the contributions from the 10 LA Kings at the 2021 World Championship:

Cal Petersen (USA): 5-2-0, 1.29 GAA, .953 save percentage, 2 shutouts

Trevor Moore (USA): 5 goals, 4 assists, 9 points, +7

Matt Roy (USA): 1 assist

Christian Wolanin (USA): 1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points, +8

Sean Walker (CAN): 2 assists

Gabe Vilardi (CAN): 1 assist, -4

Jaret Anderson-Dolan (CAN): 2 assists, -1

Olli Maatta (FIN): 2 assists, +1

Kim Nousiainen (FIN): 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points, +1

Adrian Kempe (SWE): 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points

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