OTTAWA, Ontario – The U.S. National Junior Team will play the second of its four preliminary round games in the 2025 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship here today against Latvia at the Canadian Tire Centre. Opening faceoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen live on NHL Network.
The U.S. is coming off a 10-4 victory over Germany in its tournament opener on Thursday (Dec. 26) where 13 players got on the scoresheet. Cole Hutson had five assists to lead the offensive output, one short of the single-game U.S. record held by Doug Weight. James Hagens, among the players discussed as the potential top pick in this summer’s NHL Draft, had two goals and two assists, while Gabe Perreault registered two goals and an assist. Including Team USA’s two pre-tournament games, Perreault has had multiple points in all three U.S. contests to date.
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Team USA is facing a Latvia team that sent shockwaves through the hockey world with a 3-2 shootout victory over host Canada last night.
The U.S. and Latvia have met five previous times in the World Juniors, with Team USA winning each of those contests. In their last meeting, which came in the quarterfinals of last year’s tournament, Team USA earned a 7-2 victory behind two goals and an assist from Gabe Perreault.
Today’s game is the first of back-to-back encounters for the U.S., which will also play tomorrow (Dec. 29) against Finland at 2:30 p.m. ET (live on NHL Network).
Source: usahockey.com