The United States trailed for the first time in the world junior hockey championship.
But the way they came back to beat Slovakia on Monday, Dec. 29, bodes well for their chances in the rest of the tournament.
The Americans were down 2-0 after one period against their toughest opponent so far. But they rallied and were tied 4-4 after two periods, took a 6-4 lead early in the third and held on for a wild 6-5 victory.
The USA (3-0) were playing without injured defenseman Cole Hutson, but they finally connected on the power play, 2025 tournament standout James Hagens scored his first two goals and Will Zellers picked up his fourth goal and third game-winner.
The Americans will face 3-0 Sweden on New Year’s Eve, with the winner capturing the Group A title. Hutson is day-to-day, so he potentially could be available after leaving Saturday’s game on a stretcher.
USA TODAY provided live updates on the USA vs. Slovakia game. Here are the highlights:
The USA and Sweden (both 3-0) will face off on Wednesday, Dec. 31 (6 p.m. ET, NHL Network). The winner of that game will win Group A and face the fourth-place team in Group B. The loser would face the third-place team in Group B.
Adam Belusko (short-handed goal) is Slovakia’s player of the game. James Hagens is the U.S. player after he scored twice. Bill Guerin, general manager of the Minnesota Wild and the U.S. Olympic team, hands out the awards.
The USA rallies from a 2-0 deficit after one period to improve to 3-0. Will Zellers’ goal that made it 6-4 ends up being the game-winner. It’s his third of the tournament.
USA ices the puck. There’s 45 seconds left.
Tomas Chrenko scores with 1:54 left to pull Slovakia within one goal. It’s his second goal of the night and fifth of the tournament. USA 6, Slovakia 5
Slovakia has an extra skater.
Michal Svrcek has a wide-open net, but Heil reaches over and gets his blocker on it.
Lukas Tomka is called for slashing. Slovakia kills it off. We’re midway through the third period.
AJ Spellacy is called for roughing. The USA kills it off.
Will Zellers puts in the puck on the doorstep after some pinpoint passing. His fourth goal of the tournament goes in off his skate, but it survives a review. USA 6, Slovakia 4
Adam Goljer put the puck over the glass. Slovakia kills it off, but USA is on another power play as Adam Nemec is called for tripping.
The Bruins prospect scores his second goal of the game 18 seconds into the third period. The USA has its first lead of the game. USA 5, Slovakia 4.
4-4 tie.
What a wild period. The USA entered down by two goals and tied it 3-3 and 4-4. The period featured a short-handed goal by each team, one Slovakia power play goal and the USA’s first man-advantage goal of the tournament. The USA outshot Slovakia 23-10 in the period.
James Hagens scores from the slot with 44.1 seconds left in the second period to tie the game for the USA. It’s his first goal of the tournament. USA 4, Slovakia 4
Michal Pradel stops Cole Eiserman from in tight.
MIchal Svrcek scores on a goalmouth scramble to give Slovakia the lead. Slovakia 4, USA 3
Chase Reid is called for roughing. A little bit of embellishment?
Ryker Lee makes a perfectly placed shot over Michal Pradel’s shoulder to give the USA its first power-play goal and a tie game. USA 3, Slovakia 3
Michal Capos is called for tripping. The USA starts its second unit and nearly puts one in, but it’s stopped on the goal line.
Brendan McMorrow gets the goal on a rebound for his second point of the game. AJ Spellacy adds a secondary assist and also has two points. Slovakia 3, USA 2
Slovakia restores its two-goal lead after a USA turnover on the power play. Adam Belusko got a lot of speed on that short-handed shot. The USA gets some chances after but falls to 0-for-7 on the power play in the tournament. Slovakia 3, USA 1
Slovakia is called for too many men on the ice. The USA has yet to score a power-play goal in the tournament.
Big goal by the USA. The Americans block a shot and break down the ice. A.J. Spellacy reaches out and redirects a pass from Brendan McMorrow past Michal Pradel. The USA kills the rest of the penalty and was the more dangerous team. Slovakia 2, USA 1
LJ Mooney is called for interference. Slovakia already has scored on the power play.
The USA trails 2-0.
The USA overcame adversity in their last game by winning after Cole Hutson left the ice on a stretcher. Now they’ll have to overcome adversity on the scoreboard as they trail for the first time in the tournament. They’re without Hutson again as he sits out from the Game 2 injury. The USA picked up play later in the period and trails 8-6 on shots.
Stiga, who had last season’s golden goal, has a breakaway but goalie Michal Pradel forces him to shoot wide. The USA has only two shots so far.
Tomas Chrenko scores on the power play from the left faceoff circle through a screen. It’s his fourth goal of the tournament. Slovakia 2, USA 0
Kamil Bednarik is called for holding.
Tobias Pitka takes a drop pass from Tobias Tomik and beats Caleb Heil blocker side. This is the first time that the USA has trailed in the tournament. Slovakia 1, USA 0
Goalie matchup is USA’s Caleb Heil vs. Slovakia’s Michal Pradel.
TV channel: NHL Network
Livestream: Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers, or Sling TV.
Date: Monday, Dec. 29
Time: 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. local time)
The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. local time) at the Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the home of the Minnesota Wild.
Time: 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 29
Location: Grand Casino Arena (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
TV: NHL Network
Streaming: Fubo and certain levels of Sling TV carry NHL Network.
All times p.m. ET
Monday, Dec. 29
This is the teams’ 21st meeting. The USA has won 15 times.
Teams get three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime win, one for an overtime loss and zero for a regulation loss. Sweden has nine points. The USA would have nine if it beats Slovakia in regulation. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition so even if the Americans lose, they could win their group with a win against Sweden in regulation.
The USA is adjusting its defense pairings and first power play unit with Cole Hutson out.
Team USA No. 1 defenseman Cole Hutson will sit out Monday’s game against Slovakia. He remains day-to-day after being hit in the head by a shot on Saturday and leaving the ice on a stretcher.
Will Zellers leads the USA with three goals and four points. He has the winning goal in both of the USA’s first two games. Defenseman Adam Kleber has a plus-minus rating of +5, which ties him with Hutson.
Tomas Chrenko had a hat trick against Germany. Adam Nemec, whose older brother Simon plays for the New Jersey Devils, has two assists in the tournament.
Who will win gold, silver and bronze at this year’s tournament? Who will take home the individual awards? Here are predictions from The Hockey News staff.
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