The U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team and Russia are matching up for the 15th time in IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship history, and the first time since Team USA skat- ed to a 4-3 overtime victory in the 2013 semifinals in Sochi, Russia. The U.S. is 4-1-0-9-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) all-time vs. Russia in the event, including wins in three of the last four meetings in the series. The all-time history between the two countries has seen three gold-medal game showdowns, two contests in the semifinals and one bronze-medal game match up. 

Today’s game is the 66th all-time preliminary-round contest for the U.S. at the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship. Overall, Team USA boasts a 49-0-1-14-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) record in the group stage of the event. Since 2001, the United States is 47-0-1-8-1 in preliminary play, good for a .819 winning percentage during that stretch.