Good morning!
Revenge was a dish best served ice cold at Avicii Arena in Stockholm on Sunday, where Tage Thompson’s overtime goal in the Men’s World Ice Hockey championship ended a 92-year title drought for Team USA.

“I was watching him take that shot into the top corner during warmups,” said team doctor Doug Weiss of Bernardston, “and he never missed.”    

Thompson’s wrister nearly deflected off a Swiss defender’s knee before it sailed over Leonardo Genoni’s right shoulder and into the back of the net, snapping a scoreless tie and silencing the crowd’s “Yankee go home” mentality that could be a precursor of what to expect at the Winter Olympics in Italy.

“We had about 200 fans,” Weiss said of the U.S. contingent that included coach Ryan Warsofsky’s parents from North Marshfield. “The other 99.5 percent were against us, and they were [loud].”

The 27-year-old Thompson played two seasons at UConn and had two goals against UMass in a 3-1 win in December, 2016, the year UMass lost 17 straight games. He was drafted 26th overall by the Blues in 2016 but didn’t hit stride until he was in Buffalo, where he’s scored 158 goals the past four seasons. 

Beating the Reds would’ve been fun if Putin hadn’t invaded Ukraine, but vanquishing nine Nato countries in their backyard by an aggregate score of 46-18 was gratification enough.

Switzerland was no pushover. Other than a 5-4 overtime loss to the Czechs in the tourney opener, the cheeseheads won eight straight  by a combined 43-4 score including 3-0 versus the U.S. on May 12. Afterward Weiss texted, “They played well. We did not.”

Two days later the Americans blew a 5-1 lead to Norway, but Thompson’s hat trick including the game winner in overtime saved the day. The team’s letdown prompted Warsofsky, who coaches the San Jose Sharks and graduated from Curry College in Milton, to do his best Herb Brooks impersonation.

The U.S. regrouped and sensed opportunity when  Denmark became the mouse that roared against mighty Canada. Confident they’d beat the Danes in Denmark’s Boxen Arena, the Canadians left their luggage in Stockholm expecting to play in the final four but were beaten, 2-1, leaving Sidney Crosby and company to hitch a plane ride to Switzerland.

The U.S. meanwhile beat Finland in the quarterfinals, 5-2, routed Sweden, 6-2, and held on against Switzerland. Nineteen players scored at least once in the tourney and Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman stopped 96 shots in the final four games. After decades of futility, America had its revenge and the celebration ensued.

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There were two silver linings to the UMass softball team’s 14-33 record and ninth place finish in the A-10 where they were 6-17. They beat BC which is always a treat, and ended the season by sweeping two from Saint Louis, the eventual A-10 champion.

The Billikens subsequently traveled to Fayetteville for the NCAA Regionals and lost to Arkansas, 10-0, and Indiana, 4-2.

It’s on to the Mid-American Conference for coach Danielle Henderson’s team. The iron of the Rust Belt was Miami of Ohio. The first place RedHawks were 21-7 in the MAC, 36-26 overall and the MAC tourney champs. At the NCAA Regionals in Knoxville they lost to Ohio State, 11-1, beat North Carolina, 4-3, and were eliminated by Tennessee, 17-0.

Meanwhile women’s lacrosse remained the crown jewel of UMass spring sports under coach Jana Drummond. The lady laxers finished 15-4, won the A-10 tourney and lost to Princeton at the Regionals in Baltimore, 19-10.

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The thoroughbred industry this week mourned the passing of French-born trainer Christophe Clement. Seeing him in the paddock at Saratoga, he was handsomely dressed in a sport coat and tie and a hint of a grin conveyed his passion for the sport.

Clement who was 59 died of metastatic eye cancer. Aware of his fate, he wrote: “As I reflect on my journey, I realize I never worked a day in my life. Every morning, I woke up and did what I loved most surrounded by so much love… Being a racehorse trainer is far more than a profession; horses have brought me fulfillment, friends, and such wonderful memories.”

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The 100th anniversary issue of the New Yorker includes an article by Louisa Thomas about Juan Soto leaving the Yankees to sign with the Mets. Thomas characterized the typical Mets fan by quoting late NY Daily News columnist Jimmy Breslin:

“It is the team for every guy that has to get out of bed in the morning and go to work for short money on a job he does not like. And it is the team for every woman who looks up 10 years later and sees her husband eating dinner in a T-shirt and wonders how the hell she ever let this guy talk her into getting married.”

At this writing Soto was batting .224 with warning track power. You have to wonder if he pulled an A-Rod by taking chances with MLB testing until he was able to sign a long term contract.

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SQUIBBERS: Surprise surprise, ESPN says “WNBA can’t verify hateful comments toward Reese.” … Ron Darling on Juan Soto’s plate failures: “Soto is slow down in the strike zone, historically slow, for him. It tells you he’s not really handling that low pitch.” … BSJ’s Greg Bedard predicts the Patriots will go 11-6 and that Mike Vrabel will be named the coach of the year. Perhaps, but the over/under in Vegas for the Pats is 8.5 wins. …… UMass hockey opens at home on Oct. 4 and 5 with back-to-back games against Northern Michigan of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Wildcats were 5-27-2 last season. … Pete Alonso’s walk-up music is “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos. First time I heard that song was at Fat City in Wilmington, Vt., the home of the incomparable, barely clothed pianist Sweet Pea. …  Speaking of theme songs, the Red Sox oughtta change theirs from Sweet Caroline to Slip Sliding Away.  … Fourteen of the 32 teams that qualified for the NCAA softball tournament hailed from the SEC, nine advanced to the Super Regionals and five made it into the College World Series — Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Ole Miss. .… Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr.’s first game back from a torn ACL was against San Diego, and his first at bat resulted in a first pitch home run of former Boston gopher baller Nick Pivetta. … Seventy-one free throws during Knicks-Pacers on Tuesday was big ticket money for a lot of nothing. … During Sunday’s Indy 500 coverage a broadcaster said Kyle Larson’s backup driver Tony Kanaan was “starting to dialogue with specificity” which in plain English meant he was “seriously talking” about taking the wheel.

Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached at chipjet715@gmail.com