Captain Joey Anderson (Minnesota Duluth) scored twice and Adam Fox (Harvard) tallied the game-winning goal with 1:37 remaining to lead the U.S. National Junior Team past Finland 5-4 Sunday night in its final preliminary round game of the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
Anderson was also named the U.S. player of the game.
“We found a way to win,” said Team USA coach Bob Motzko (St. Cloud State) in a statement. “It was great to see guys step up and contribute in big ways today. We believe our best hockey is still in front of us. There were a lot of highs and lows today, and we’ll focus on what we can do better as we get ready for the quarterfinals on Tuesday.”
Trent Frederic (Wisconsin) and Casey Mittelstadt (Minnesota) also scored for the United States, while Joseph Woll (Boston College) made 20 saves between the pipes.
Team USA (2-1-0-1/W-OTW-OTL-L) finishes Group A play in second place and will play the third seed from Group B in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Jan. 2. The game is set for 8 p.m. EST at the KeyBank Center.
