:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/11844707/153031388.0.jpg)
The United States U18 team defeated the Czech Republic 4-3 early this morning in Sochi, Russia to bounce back from an opening loss to Russia and earn their first win at the World U18 championships.
All four goals for the United States came from players currently committed to play their college hockey for Michigan next season. Two goals were scored by Tyler Motte, while JT Compher scored his second of the tournament, and Evan Allen scored the game-winner 5:23 into the second period. Thatcher Demko again the start in goal for the US and stopped 18 of 21 shots.
A one-goal win over a Czech team that should have been over-matched doesn't inspire a ton of confidence, but the win should be good enough to help the US make it into the medal round, which is all that really matters.
The US will next face Latvia tomorrow. The US currently sits third in their pool, behind Russia and Finland, though the top four teams in the group qualify for the quarterfinals.