William Felicio (Holden, Mass.) added to the U.S. lead with a power-play goal at the two-minute mark. He lined up a wrist shot and fired the puck into the top corner of the net off a cross from Connelly and Zellers.

Team USA then took a 3-0 lead after Connelly weaved through Finnish defensemen on a hard drive to the net and flipped the puck past the goaltender.

Finland got on the board at 4:24 in the second period with a shorthanded goal from Heikki Ruohonen. They got within one goal of the U.S. lead minutes later off a shot from Roope Vesterinen.

The U.S responded with a shorthanded goal of their own at the 18-minute mark of the second period. JJ Monteiro (Hudson, Mass.) poked the puck away from a Finish defenseman on the blueline and shot up the ice on a two-on-one with Chase Stefanek (Yorba Linda, Calif.) on his wing. He threaded a pass across the slot to Stefanek who slipped the puck in the net on his backhand to give Team USA a 4-2 lead heading into the final third.

Team USA restored its three-goal lead on the power play at 8:11 in the third period. Aidan Park (Playa Vista, Calif.) walked the puck in off that half wall and fired a shot from the top of the circle, assisted by Zellers and Alex Bales (East Amherst, N.Y.)

With a final score of 5-3, Team USA claimed third place in the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup Tournament.

NOTES: Trevor Connelly (Tustin, Calif.) was named Team USA’s player of the game.