skip navigation

U.S. Tops Finland 3-1 in Hlinka Gretzky Cup Preliminary Round

By USA Hockey, 08/06/24, 8:15PM EDT

Share

Team USA Will Take on Germany Tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. ET, Live on NHL Network

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

Finland got on the board with 4:11 remaining in the middle frame when Aapo Vanninen found Max Westergard on a two-on-one, who capitalized to make it a 2-1 game. 

Lansing responded at the 1:13 mark of the final stanza when he gathered a rebound off a shot from Carter Murphy (Conroe, Texas) and scored with a backhand finish to make it 3-1. 

Ryan Cameron (Berwyn, Pa.) picked up the win goal for Team USA, stopping 13 shots in a full 60 minutes of action. 

With the win, the U.S. moves to 1-0-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) for the tournament, with its final preliminary round contest against Germany on deck for tomorrow (Aug. 7). Puck drop is set for 5:30 p.m. ET, and the game will broadcast live on NHL Network. 

NOTES:  The U.S. outshot Finland 29-14 … Team USA was 0-6 on the power play, while Finland was 0-5 … Matthew Lansing was named U.S. Player of the Game

Team USA Roster

2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup

Hlinka Gretzky Cup History

More Team USA News

Noah Davidson 2024 Five Nations