Finland opened the scoring 1:19 into the contest as an initial shot from Kalle Kangas at the point bounced off Emil Kuusla and into the net.

Chris Pelosi (Sewell, N.J.) tied the game for Team USA 1:52 later with a one-timer from the low slot off a feed from Noah Powell (Northbrook, Ill.). Adam Kleber (Chaska, Minn.) tallied an assist as well.

Kuusla put the Finns back ahead just 44 seconds later, finishing a two-on-one rush with Jesse Nurmi.

Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) knotted the game at 7:12, snapping home a shot from the right circle after James Hagens (Hauppauge, N.Y.) picked the puck off a Finnish defender’s stick at the top of the zone.

Topias Hynninen restored the Finnish lead just past the halfway mark of the middle frame with a one-timer on the doorstep to make it a 3-2 game.

Rasmus Kumpulainen put Finland up by two with a power-play tally that snuck by the right post 4:26 into the third.

The U.S. pulled goaltender Nick Kempf (Chicago, Ill.) with 4:27 left and got to within a goal with 3:01 to play when Max Plante (Hermantown, Minn.) sent a centering pass to Pelosi, who fed it back to Plante on the goal line for the finish. Nurmi’s empty-net tally with :23 left, however, sealed a 5-3 win for the visitors.

Nick Kempf (Chicago, Ill.) backed the U.S. in net, making 22 saves. Team USA outshot Finland, 42-26.

Games Continue Friday

Game action in the World Junior Summer Showcase resumes on Friday (Aug. 2) with Canada and Finland facing off at 1 p.m. ET before Team USA takes on Sweden at 4 p.m. Tickets are available online here or at the USA Hockey Arena box office. All games from the WJSS are streamed live and on-demand on USAHockeyTV.com.

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