Boumedienne Wins Gold at 2026 World Junior Championship
January 6, 2026 | Men's Ice Hockey
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Sophomore Sascha Boumedienne of the Boston University men's ice hockey team won gold with Sweden at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship on Monday night.
Boumedienne scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in a 4-2 victory over Czechia to secure Sweden's first gold medal at this event since 2012. He finished the tournament with two goals and two assists for four points, including a goal in a quarterfinal win over Latvia and two primary assists in an 8-1 victory over Germany in the preliminary round. He also made a game-saving play with 2:28 remaining in overtime of Sweden's semifinal win over Finland, backchecking to break up a grade-A scoring chance. Playing a key role in all situations, Boumedienne averaged 22:13 of ice time, which was second on his squad.
This is the third straight year a Terrier has won gold at World Juniors; Cole Eiserman, Cole Hutson and Brandon Svoboda helped lead USA to gold last year while Lane Hutson claimed gold in 2024. Boumedienne is the second Swede in program history to medal at World Juniors, following Tom Willander in 2024. In total, Terriers have earned 38 medals at World Juniors.
A native of Stockholm, Boumedienne also shined at the 2025 IIHF World Under-18 Championship earlier this year. He was named the Best Defenseman at the tournament as he helped Sweden secure silver. Boumedienne set a record for points by a defenseman at the tournament with 14 points (1g, 13a) in seven games, leading all players in assists.
In addition to Boumedienne, Eiserman, Huston and sophomore Kamil Bednarik skated for the United States at World Juniors. Hutson totaled four points (1g, 3a) and was a plus-5 in three games, Eiserman scored two goals and added an assist for three points in five games while Bednarik notched two assists in four games. All three Americans recorded a point in the United States' quarterfinal game against Finland, with Bednarik setting up a Hutson goal and Hutson assisting on an Eiserman strike.
BU will return to action this weekend when the Terriers begin a home-and-home series with UMass on Friday night in Amherst.
