Trey Augustine (Michigan State) made 26 saves to become the all-time winningest American goaltender in World Juniors history as the U.S. National Junior Team, which got goals from Gabe Perreault (Boston College), Cole Eiserman (Boston University), captain Ryan Leonard (Boston College) and Oliver Moore (Minnesota), earned a 4-1 victory over Czechia in the semifinals of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ont., Saturday night.
Team USA will face Finland in the gold medal game tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. ET live on NHL Network.
“I’m proud of our guys,” said Tewam USA coach David Carle (Denver) in a statement. “We played an excellent Czech team and it was a very difficult game. We continue to grow as a group and we’ll get set to face another great team in Finland tomorrow.”
Leonard set up a breakaway chance for Perreault with a nifty pass from his knees after a tough zone entry. Perreault, named the U.S. Player of the Game, made the most of the opportunity, sliding the puck through Czech netminder Michael Hrabal’s (UMass) five-hole 3:14 into the contest.
Jakub Stancl scored an equalizer for Czechia at 9:28 from the left circle.
Leonard nearly regained the lead for Team USA with 1:36 remaining in the opening stanza, but his breakaway chance was denied.
Eiserman scored what proved to be the game-winner as he blasted a one-timer home from the top of the right circle off a perfect feed from Trevor Connelly (Providence) on the power play at 13:41 of the middle frame to give the U.S. a 2-1 advantage. Cole Hutson (Boston University) started the play and earned an assist on the tally.
Augustine made a highlight-reel toe save on the goal line following a rebound with 11:39 remaining in the third period to keep the U.S. in the lead.
Aram Minnetian (Boston College) set up a two-on-one opportunity with a stretch pass during a Czechia line change to Perreault, who sent a feed to Leonard which he buried to extend the U.S. lead to 3-1 with 4:27 remaining.
Moore added an empty-net goal on the power play at 18:53 to account for the 4-1 final.
