Team USA capped off pre-tournament action at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship with a victory over Finland.
The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship is officially two days away, but teams have already begun play with pre-tournament action.
The U.S. Junior National Team downed Finland 5-2 Monday in front of a capacity crowd at the Cornwall Civic Complex.
It was the second and final pre-tournament contest for Team USA after a 6-2 victory over Slovakia on Saturday in Kingston.
Boston College teammates and former NTDP forwards Gabe Perreault and James Hagens led the U.S. attack against Finland with three assists apiece.
The U.S. took control of the game early, scoring the only goal in a defensive first period. Team captain Ryan Leonard, who tallied two goals in the pre-tournament win over Slovakia, cashed in again at the 14:54 mark, sending a wrist shot from between the circles to the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Hagens fed Perreault from the left point, and Perreault set up Leonard for the score.
At 5:25 of the second period, Joey Willis increased the U.S. lead to 2-0 after a shot from the high slot.
Finland scored its first goal with just five seconds left on their first power-play opportunity on a shot from Kasper Halttunen.
Team USA took back the momentum for good with three consecutive goals. Former NTDP forward Defenseman Zeev Buium scored just 31 seconds after Finland’s goal for a 3-1 lead on a tic-tac-toe play with Perreault and Hagens.
The U.S.’s next goal came from former Madison Capitol Austin Burnevik on a power play at 10:38 of the middle frame to make the score 4-1.
Carey Terrance found the back of the twine with 1:33 left in the period for a 5-1 Team USA lead. The goal was especially sweet for Terrance, who played for NTDP but grew up just 10 minutes from Cornwall Civic Complex, and the capacity crowd roared their approval.
Finland’s final goal came from Halttunen, who accounted for his team’s only two goals of the night. It came on a penalty shot at 12:26 of the final period, making the final score 5-2.
Former NTDP goaltender Trey Augustine started in net for Team USA, playing the first two periods and stopping 10 shots before giving way to former Fargo Force netminder Hampton Slukynsky, who made six saves in the final 20 minutes of play.
The U.S. went 1-for-2 with the man advantage, while Finland capitalized on one of their three power-play chances. Team USA had a 30-18 advantage in shots on goal.
The U.S. will take a day off before practicing on Christmas Day. It all starts for real on Dec. 26, when the U.S. takes on Germany in preliminary round action at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. Puck drop is set for 2:30 Pm ET, and all U.S. games can be viewed live on NHL Network.