ST. PAUL, Minn. — Boston College forward James Hagens scored 1:03 apart late in the second period and early in the third, and the United States overcame a two-goal deficit to beat Slovakia 6-5 on Monday night at the world junior hockey championship.
Hauppauge, N.Y., Hagens tied the score at 4 with 45 seconds left in the second and then put the Americans ahead 18 seconds into the third.
Leading up to the New Year's showdown, the United States faced Sweden 3-0 in Group A. Sweden started the game with four power-play goals in an 8-1 win over Germany.
“We have to be careful with some things, like shifts that are too long or getting stuck on the blue lines,” Swedish captain Jack Berglund said. “Things like this can punish us against the US. If we have bad changes, bad turnover, they will come quickly. We must be prepared for this.”
Caleb Hale supported the USA in goal. He is from Victoria, Minnesota and plays for Madison in the USHL. Fellow Minnesotans Brendan McMorrow and Will Zellers scored the goals. McMorrow is from Lakeville and plays for Denver. Zellers, of Maple Grove, plays for North Dakota.
Michigan State's Lee Riker and OHL Windsor's AJ Spellacy added goals. Tomas Crenko scored twice for Slovakia.
In the first match, Swedish captain Jack Berglund, Anton Frondell and Viggo Bjork each scored two goals.
“We had good energy from the start,” Berglund said. “We came at them hard.”
In Group B at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Adam Jiricek scored at 3:39 of overtime to give the Czech Republic a 2-1 victory over group leader Finland. The Czech Republic and Canada, who face Denmark late in the game, are tied for second with five points, two behind the Finns.
The Czech Republic won after Emil Hemming tied the game for Finland with 19.3 seconds left in regulation.
Viti Vaisanen of Finland received a major fine and a game misconduct for cross-checking at 1:06 of the first period. Matej Kubiesa scored 46 seconds later on the power play, firing past Petteri Rimpinen. The Finns spent seven of the first 10 minutes shorthanded.
