FRISCO, Texas – The U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team tallied three goals in the opening 10 minutes of play but fell to Norway, 4-3, in overtime this afternoon at Comerica Center in pre-tournament play ahead of the 2025 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship.
“Today was a reminder that any team can win on any given day at this tournament," said Greg Moore, head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team. "We are fortunate this was a pre-tournament game. Norway played hard and made it difficult on us. We will get to work tomorrow in practice and address the areas in which we need to improve.”
Team USA will play its second and final pre-tournament game on Monday (April 21) in Plano, Texas, at the StarCenter Plano Arena against Finland. Faceoff is slated for 2:00 p.m. ET.
Team USA got off to a quick start, as Richard Gallant (Concord, Mass.) potted the first goal of the game :19 seconds into the period after he dashed towards the crease and beat the Norwegian netminder. The scoring continued in the opening minutes for the U.S. with Asher Barnett (Wilmette, Ill.) finding the scoresheet. A native to the area, Blake Fiddler (Frisco, Texas) collected the puck near the blue line and fed it over to Barnett who fired it through at the 16:38 mark.
Mikey Berchild (Minnetonka, Minn.) wrapped up Team USA’s scoring in the opening 20 after he made his crease presence known and finished off a pass from Jacob Kvasnicka (Plymouth, Minn.) with 11:18 to go. Norway, however, got one back at the 5:59 mark after taking advantage of a defensive-zone turnover.
The score remained 3-1 after 40 minutes of action but saw no shortage of chances. Team USA upped its intensity near the midway mark of the frame with a handful of good looks, most notably at the 8:02 mark. Drew Schock IV (Green Bay, Wis.), from the point, fed Jack Murtagh (East Greenbush, N.Y.) who was right at the doorstep but was turned aside.
The ice was tilted in Team USA’s favor in the opening half of the third as Will Moore (Ithaca, N.Y.) nearly found twine at the 10:55 mark. Tic-tac-toe passing was displayed in the offensive zone before the puck found the tape of Moore who rifled a shot from the slot but rang it off the post to keep it 3-1.
Norway gave one final push and pulled its netminder with 1:21 to play and scored five seconds later with the extra attacker to make it a one-goal game. Norway added an extra attacker and left its net empty after the ensuing faceoff and evened things up at three after a shot from the blue line sneaked through with 46 seconds to play. The game remained even after regulation and headed into a three-on-three overtime.
With 2:41 to go in overtime, Norway converted on a two-on-one opportunity to take the game, 4-3.
Patrick Quinlan (Kennett Square, Pa.) started in net for Team USA and played the first period, stopping five shots. Harrison Boettiger (Wheat Ridge, Colo.) played the middle frame and turned aside eight, while Joey Slavick (Westland, Mich.) stopped eight in the final 20 and overtime.
NOTES: Both the U.S. and Norway were 0-1 on the power play… The U.S. outshot Norway, 33-25… Team USA dressed 14 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders… Tickets for the 2025 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship can be purchased online here… For complete tournament news, including full schedule, broadcast information, stats and standings, click here.
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Source: usahockey.com