Finland handed the defending champion United States its first loss at the 2025 world junior hockey championship as Tuomas Uronen scored in overtime for a 4-3 win on Sunday afternoon.
Finnish goalie Petteri Rimpinen had made several big saves early in overtime but when U.S. defender Cole Hutson lost his balance, Uronen led a 3-on-2 break down the ice. He kept the puck and wristed a shot that went in off the glove of Trey Augustine (40 saves).
The USA (2-0-1-0) still leads Group A with seven points with Canada also able to reach seven points if it beats Germany in regulation Sunday night. Canada and the USA play on New Year’s Eve.
The Americans, who were unbeaten during last year’s gold-medal run, have brought back 10 players and coach David Carle this year. The tournament features the world’s best under-20 players, including drafted and draft-eligible NHL prospects.
Here’s what to know about the Dec. 26-Jan. 5 world junior championships:
The games will be aired on NHL Network in the United States and on TSN in Canada.
Dec. 26: United States 10, Germany 4. James Hagens had two goals and two assists and Cole Hutson had five assists. Hagens opened the scoring in the first period and put the USA back ahead by two goals after Germany had pulled to within 3-2 in the second period. The USA outshot Germany 56-22.
Dec. 28: United States 5, Latvia 1. Danny Nelson scored two goals, including 1:58 into the first period. The USA got goals from Ryan Leonard, Zeev Buium and Nelson in the second period to pull away. James Hagens continued his strong start to the tournament with two assists and Max Plante scored the fifth U.S. goal. Latvia’s Daniels Serkins drew cheers after blocking three Cole Eiserman shots on a U.S. power play.
Dec. 29: Finland 4, United States 3 (OT). The USA, playing on back-to-back days, fell behind for the first time in the tournament when Finland scored short-handed in the first period. Though Carey Terrance and Cole Hutson put the Americans ahead 2-1, Finland led 3-2 heading into the third period. Brodie Ziemer tied the game at 3:26 but the USA wasn’t able to beat Petteri Rimpinen (30 saves) again and Vegas Golden Knights draft pick Tuomas Uronen won it at 1:46 of overtime.
Dec. 31: United States vs. Canada, 8, NHLN, TSN
The 25-player U.S. team (14 forwards, eight defenseman and three goaltenders) features six NHL first-round picks, eight second-round picks and eight others drafted in other rounds. Twenty-two of the players are on college hockey teams.
Goaltenders
Number, player, team
*-played on last year’s team
Defensemen
Number, player, team
Forwards
Number, player, team
Team USA’s James Hagens was listed among Central Scouting’s early season top prospects to watch and could go No. 1 overall in the 2025 NHL draft. He has 20 points in 16 Boston College games and is playing at this tournament with college linemates Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault.
Other A-rated skaters at this tournament include USA defenseman Logan Hensler, Canada forward Porter Martone and Canada defenseman Matthew Schaefer. Schaefer will miss the rest of the tournament after crashing into the net during his team’s loss to Latvia.
Forward Victor Eklund, brother of the San Jose Sharks‘ William Eklund, is playing for Sweden.
The USA is in Group A with Canada, Finland, Germany and Latvia. Group B features Czechia, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland.
All times p.m. ET
Dec. 26
Dec. 27
Dec. 28
Dec. 29
Dec. 30
Dec. 31
Jan. 2
Jan. 4
Jan. 5
This story has been updated to add new information.
