CAMROSE, Alberta – The U.S. Junior Select Team received goals from Sam Laurila (Moorhead, Minn.), Reid Daavettilla (Howell, Mich.) and Ben Kevan (Fairfield, Calif.) in a 3-2 victory in the semifinals of the 2024 World Junior A Challenge tonight (Dec. 14).
Team USA punched its ticket to the championship game against Sweden, set for tomorrow (Dec. 15), as the U.S. will look for its 10th World Junior A Challenge crown.
“Our team has earned an opportunity to accomplish the goal we set for ourselves tomorrow,” said Matt Smaby (Minneapolis, Minn.), head coach of the U.S. Junior Select Team. “Our guys fought through adversity tonight and I am proud of them for that. Tomorrow is going to be a fun day, and I am excited for our team to go out and compete for a championship.”
U.S. netminder Kam Hendrickson (Chanhassen, Minn.) stood tall on a penalty shot at the 1:27 mark of the opening frame, as he smothered Canada East’s Brayden Besner’s attempt to keep the game scoreless.
Laurila entered the offensive zone and fired a wrister past Canadian netminder Noah Tegelaar on the blocker side at 6:43 to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead.
Canada East found the back of the net at 11:01 on a shot from the slot off the stick Ethan Facchina to tie the game, 1-1.
GAME PHOTOS
Daavettilla regained the lead for the U.S. with 5:04 remaining in the opening period. He gathered the puck in front of the net off a scrum and wired a quick wrist shot past Tegelaar.
Laurila nearly added his second tally of the game with 1:52 remaining in the second, but his shot from the point rang off the post. The U.S. outshot Canada East 12-2 in the middle frame, as the score remained 2-1 after 40 minutes of play.
Kevan tied the World Junior A Challenge record for most power-play goals in a single tournament, as he extended the U.S. advantage to 3-1 with his fifth man-advantage tally and sixth overall goal of the competition. His goal was assisted by Lucas Van Vliet (Livonia, Minn.) and Luke Osburn (Plymouth, Mich.) at the 4:53 mark of the final period.
With 4:29 remaining, Canada East’s Cameron Eke cut the U.S. lead to one with 4:29 remaining on a shot from the point to account for the 3-2 final score.
Team USA will face Sweden in the championship game on Sunday (Dec. 15). Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. local time (7 p.m. ET). A live stream for viewers outside of Canada, including the U.S., is available here, while the game will be broadcast on TSN2 in the host nation. NHL Network will air a delayed broadcast of the championship game Monday (Dec. 16) at 2 p.m. ET.
NOTES: Team USA outshot Canada East, 40-16 … The U.S. went 1-3 on the power play while Canada East went 1-4 … Lucas Van Vliet was named the U.S. Player of the Game.
Source: usahockey.com