SAINT PAUL, MN – In a thrilling back-and-forth contest at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, Team USA edged out Slovakia with a 6-5 victory. The win, secured on December 29, 2025, at the Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, saw the Americans overcoming an early deficit to tie for the top spot in Group A with Sweden.
Slovakia came out strong, surprising the Americans with an early lead. Tobias Pitka scored the first goal for Slovakia, assisted by Tobias Tomik and Andrej Fabuš. Tomáš Chrenko then extended Slovakia's lead with a power-play goal, assisted by Luka Radivojevič, putting the U.S. down 2-0.
Team USA responded in the second period, with A.J. Spellacy scoring a shorthanded goal, assisted by Brendan McMorrow. However, Slovakia quickly answered with a shorthanded goal of their own by Adam Beluško, assisted by Andreas Straka, to regain a two-goal lead. The Americans continued to battle back, with McMorrow scoring, assisted by Kamil Bednarik and Spellacy, followed by Ryker Lee tying the game at 3-3, with assists from L.J. Mooney and Will Zellers. Slovakia once again took the lead with a goal from Michal Svrček, assisted by Straka. In the final minute of the second, James Hagens scored to tie the game at 4-4, with assists from Teddy Stiga and Chase Reid.
Hagens continued his strong performance by scoring again just 18 seconds into the third period, giving the U.S. their first lead of the game. Zellers then added another goal on the power play, increasing the American's lead to 6-4. Chrenko scored his second of the game for Slovakia, but the U.S. managed to hold on for the 6-5 victory.
The game marked the 22nd time the U.S. and Slovakia have met at the World Juniors, with the United States holding a 16-1-0-5-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) advantage in the series.
Team USA, the defending champions, have won their first three games of the tournament and have secured a spot in the quarterfinal round on January 2nd. The U.S. will face Sweden on New Year's Eve in their final preliminary round game.
The U.S. National Junior Team includes eight players who were part of the 2025 gold medal-winning team: defensemen Logan Hensler, Cole Hutson, and Adam Kleber, and forwards Cole Eiserman, James Hagens, Max Plante, Teddy Stiga, and Brodie Ziemer. However, Cole Hutson was out after taking a puck to the neck in their game against Switzerland. Caleb Heil was in net for the United States.
