DULUTH, Minn. — Luke Osburn (Plymouth, Mich./University of Wisconsin) had a goal and an assist, while Will Horcoff (Birmingham, Mich./University of Michigan) and Max Plante (Hermantown, Minn./University of Minnesota Duluth) each tallied once as the U.S. skated to a 3-1 victory over Finland here tonight at AMSOIL Arena in its second and final pre-tournament contest in advance of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.

“It was another step in our journey” said Bob Motzko, head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team and also head coach of the University of Minnesota men’s ice hockey team. “It was a fast game with a lot of different situations against a very good hockey team. I thought both of our goaltenders played well and it was a good game for us to have as we head into the tournament on Friday. We really appreciated the support of the Duluth community during our time here and thank everyone involved for their hospitality.”

Heikki Ruohonen opened the scoring 7:06 into the contest when he redirected a shot from the point into the back of the net while screening U.S. netminder Caleb Heil (Victoria, Minn./Madison Capitols) from just outside the crease.

At the 13:56 mark of the opening frame, Horcoff leveled the score after battling through traffic out in front of the net to jam home a bouncing rebound off a shot from Osburn.

Plante gave the U.S. the lead 5:41 into the middle stanza when he forced an offensive-zone turnover and capitalized on a short-side wrister from the right circle to make it a 2-1 game.

Osburn sealed the win with an empty-net tally with :06 to play with a long-range shot from the defensive zone to account for the 3-1 final.

Heil stopped nine shots in 33:02 of action, while Nick Kempf (Morton Grove, Ill./University of Notre Dame) had eight saves in 27:58.

The U.S. will play its first preliminary round contest of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship Friday (Dec. 26) against Germany at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul, Minn. Opening faceoff is set for 5 p.m. local time/6 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised live on NHL Network. Tickets for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship are on sale and can be purchased here.

NOTES: The U.S. outshot Finland 25-18 … Team USA went 0-4 on the power play,