EDMONTON, Alberta – Chase Jette (Lake Forest, Ill.), Ben Kevan (Fairfield, Calif.) and Matthew Lansing (Tonawanda, N.Y.)  each tallied a goal as the U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team skated to a 3-1 victory over Finland in its second preliminary round game of the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup at Rogers Place.

“We committed to a team game tonight. We challenged our group to get better every time we take the ice, and we feel they’ve done that,” said Garrett Raboin (Detroit Lakes, Minn.), head coach of the 2024 U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team. “It’s important we continue to grow our chemistry and rhythm, and we’ll get an opportunity to do that against a tough German team tomorrow.”

The U.S. took a 1-0 lead 8:17 into the contest when Nicolas Sykora (Roseland, N.J.) collected a loose puck in the offensive zone and lifted a wrist shot from the right half-wall that redirected off the leg of Jette into the back of the net. 

Kevan doubled Team USA’s lead with 7:57 to play in the first with a shorthanded tally. The forward couldn’t connect with Jette on a two-on-one opportunity as his saucer pass was blocked, but the puck bounced back to Kevan, who slid it five hole past Finnish goaltender Patrik Kerkola. 

GAME PHOTOS