The USA-Canada rivalry has started to even out at the various levels of hockey in terms of results, but one place where it had remained fairly lopsided was at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. That was until Friday afternoon.

For the first time in more than 20 years, Team USA defeated Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, doing so in a shootout in the semifinals of the tournament. The Americans advanced to the championship game at the Hlinka Gretzky for the first time since 2016 and will play Sweden in hopes of securing their first ever top finish at this iteration of the summer U18 tournament.

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The Americans had held a 3-1 advantage going into the third period of Friday’s semifinal before getting out-shot 14-2 in the last period of regulation. Canada’s Mathis Preston scored with 5:05 to play in the game to tie the score at 3-3, forcing overtime which went scoreless. The trip to the final had to be decided in a five-round shootout, but only required four.

Only one of four Canadian shooters was able to put a puck past USA goalie Brady Knowling, with three Americans finding the back of the net three times to pick up the first win over Canada since the tournament became known as the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and later known as the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

The United States defeats Canada in a shoot-out to head to the gold-medal game at the 2025 #HlinkaGretzky Cup. pic.twitter.com/g0FlDviKcn

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 15, 2025

In each of the last six meetings between the countries at this event, Canada owned a 6-0 record while out-scoring USA 30-13 over those games – one of which was a 1-0 win in the Hlinka championship game in 2013.

The closest USA had come to beating Canada in the years since was a 2018 6-5 OT loss to Canada that was shrouded in controversy. USA had appeared to win the game 5-4, but Canada scored a buzzer-beating goal. There was no way to review the goal, which TV replays showed had gone in after the final buzzer. Canada ended up winning in OT. So there have been an awful lot of twists and turns for USA to get to this point.

Canada has traditionally sent its very best roster to this tournament, with the U.S. sending team of players that are primarily from outside of its National Team Development Program, which plays year-round and is the team that goes to the spring’s IIHF Men’s World Under-18 Championship.

With USA’s depth severely diminished by not having access to those players, it has been difficult for them to compete with Canada’s best. Until Friday, it would appear.

The U.S. team has been led by Des Moines Buccaneers star Blake Zielinski, who scored USA’s third goal in both regulation and during the shootout. He has a team-best eight points in the tournament in what has been a breakout showcase for the New Jersey native and Providence College commit.

Blake Zielinski finds the back of the net on the PP to give the USA a 3-1 lead over Canada. #HlinkaGretzky pic.twitter.com/FMrRBC6xp6

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 15, 2025

Knowling, who is the only player on the roster who played for USA’s NTPD last season, made 34 saves in the game. He has a .920 save percentage over the course of the tournament.

Now the Americans have a chance to win their first Hlinka Gretzky Cup on Saturday as they get set to take on a Swedish team that overcame a 5-2 deficit in the third period to stun Finland 6-5 in overtime in the other semifinal. USA had blown a similar lead to Sweden earlier in the tournament, losing 5-3 in the prelims after previously having a 3-1 advantage.

USA has struggled to medal in this event dating back to finishing second in 2016, winning third place just once in the seven tournaments since. They are guaranteed to finish no lower than second now.

The last time a U.S. team won the U18 Summer tournament was back in 2003 when it was known as the Junior World Cup.

USA squares off against Sweden Saturday at 11 a.m. ET in Trenčin, Slovakia.

Canada will take on Finland for bronze at the same time in Brno, Czechia.

How To Watch The Hlinka Gretzky Cup

The 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup will be broadcast in part on TSN in Canada. Select games will also air on the NHL Network in the U.S. 

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