The Finns got on the board at 4:35 of the second after Tuomas Suoniemi got a back-door tap-in by U.S. netminder Nick Kempf (Chicago, Ill.).
Team USA answered the score with a power-play tally from Kamil Bednarik (Chicago, Ill.). On the man up, Bednarik found Mooney behind the net and crept back in front of the cage. Mooney delayed to let Bednarik position himself, then threaded a cross-crease pass to restore the three-goal advantage.
With 11:00 remaining in the second, Finland’s Mitja Jokinen wound up for a one-timer from the right circle to bring the score to 4-2.
The United States responded with a pair of scores, both from Hagens, to push its lead to 6-2. With just under two minutes to play, Hagens drove the center lane, spun and tried to backhand a pass to Stiga that deflected off a Finnish defender and in. He added his second 81 seconds later on the power play, one-timing a Ziemer pass from the slot. Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) collected the secondary helper to give him points in all four preliminary-round games.
Finland grabbed one score back with six seconds to play in the second to make it a 6-3 contest after 40 minutes.
For the second consecutive period, Team USA tallied eight seconds in as Hagens completed his hat-trick early in the third. From the defensive zone, Hutson rocketed one off the end wall that angled itself right towards a charging Hagens. From a severe angle on the left wing, he ricocheted one off Rimpinen’s mask and in.
Shortly after, Trevor Connelly (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) found the back of the net as he connected on a perfect short-side, top corner wrister for his fourth goal in four games.
After Suoniemi got his second of the night for Finland, Ziemer finished the game’s scoring on the power play with 5:32 to play for the game’s 9-4 final.
Kempf made 17 saves to earn his third win of the tournament and Jack Parsons (Ithaca, N.Y.) made three stops in relief.
After winning Group A, Team USA will face Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Opening face-off is set for 12:00 p.m. local / 5:00 a.m. ET and the game can be seen live on NHL Network.
NOTES: With the first three goals of the game, Teddy Stiga was named Team USA’s Player of the Game … The U.S. went a perfect 4-4 on the power play while Finland was 0-3 … Team USA outshot Finland, 51-24 … For complete tournament news, including full schedule, broadcast information, stats and standings, click here … Team USA news, including tournament interviews and highlights, can be found at TeamUSA.USAHockey.com.
