Troy Terry scored in a shootout to lift the United States to a 5-4 victory over Canada to win the world junior hockey championship on Thursday night.
It was Terry's three shootout goals in their semifinal against Russia on Wednesday that put the Americans into the final.
The U.S. erased a pair of two-goal Canadian leads to reach overtime, with Kieffer Bellows scoring twice and Charlie McAvoy and Colin White with singles.
Thomas Chabot, Jeremy Lauzon, Nicolas Roy and Mathieu Joseph scored for Canada.
The U.S. and Canada have faced each other four times in world junior finals, with Canada taking the first in 1997 and the Americans winning the next three, including 2004 and 2010.
It was the fourth world junior title overall for the Americans.
Canada outshot the Americans 31-28 in regulation time and 17-7 in the 20-minute overtime, when U.S. goalie Tyler Parsons was spectacular and Canada's Carter Hart survived some hairy scrambles around his crease.
Bouyed by the first near-sellout crowd at the more than 21,000-seat Bell Centre, Canada stormed out in the first period and took a two-goal lead.
Matt Barzal's pass on a three-man rush went off Joseph's stick to Chabot on the left side for a shot into an open net 4:38 into the game.
A long stretch of Canadian pressure led to Lauzon's goal at 9:02 as Adam Fox batted the puck into the slot with his hand and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies defenceman fired it to the top corner past Parsons.
The Americans bounced back to start the second as Canada left the centre of its zone wide open for McAvoy to cruise in, take a pass from Jordan Greenway and beat Hart glove side from the slot.
A too many men on the ice call against Canada allowed the U.S. to tie it at 9:30 as Bellows tipped a Fox point shot under the crossbar.
Bellows was sent off for kneeing Joseph 55 seconds into the third frame and Roy walked in on the left side and wired a high shot past Parsons at 1:52.
Joseph went briefly for treatment, but returned to take Michael McLeod's pass up the middle and score his first of the tournament on a breakaway at 4:05.
The Americans struck back 39 seconds later as Bellows one-timed a McAvoy pass from the right side and White evened the score at 7:07 when he redirected a Fox pass at the side of the net past Hart.
Pierre-Luc Dubois wasted a glorious chance to put Canada ahead when he whiffed on a pass at the doorstep on a power play.
The crowd was deafening through the overtime, but neither team could find the net.
In the shootout, all five Canadians failed to score while Hart stopped four of five Americans.