Perseverance pays off. That was abundantly clear as the U.S. beat Czechia 4-1 in Thursday’s first quarter-final at the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship.

Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, Danny Nelson, and Will Vote scored for coach Dan Muse's squad. Cole Hutson chipped in two assists.

"You gotta give credit to the Czechs," Vote said. "They played really well. I think once we got the puck in their O-zone, we took care of business from there. They got in front of a lot of shots. But once we got the shots, the rebounds were there. So we put a couple of goals in and it worked out."

Shots favoured the U.S. 52-12, but the Czechs, who got a Dominik Petr goal in the third period to make it exciting, deserved kudos for hanging tough. The ever-dangerous Americans scored seven or more goals in each of their preliminary round games, and Czech goalie Michael Hrabal had to be excellent.

Dominik Petr praised Hrabal: "He was incredible. He was the main player for our team. He gave us a chance to win the game or at least tie it. But it didn't happen."

On the top U.S. line, Smith and Gabe Perreault are chasing history with U18 Worlds scoring records in their sights. They share the tournament points lead with 16 points apiece. Nikita Kucherov holds the single-tournament points record (21, 2011). Jack Hughes has the U.S. record (20, 2019).

Leonard's goal was his seventh, and he trails only 16-year-old teammate Cole Eiserman (8) for the U18 Worlds lead.

The U.S. is two wins away from capturing its tournament-record 11th gold medal. Uncharacteristically, the Americans haven’t won this tournament since 2017.

The Czechs own just four U18 Worlds medals, including silver (2014) and bronze (2002, 2004, 2006). Despite their recent resurgence at the World Juniors (silver in 2023), their U18 drought persists.

"I just liked how we stayed with it," Nelson said. "They got one back there later in the game and we were still up 2-1. We kind of kept playing the way we played the whole game and that's what led us to the win."

The U.S. controlled the first period with speed and puck possession, but the Czechs defended resolutely. The Americans didn't get their usual quick start. The U.S. opened the scoring within under two minutes in the wins over Norway (12-1), Finland (8-4), and Switzerland (10-0).

Smith finally broke through at 13:54, putting a rebound past Hrabal and going into a celebratory crouch.

Late in the opening stanza, the best Czech chance fizzled as team scoring leader Eduard Sale slid the puck wide on a partial break. Still, staying within a goal after being outshot 18-5 in the first period was a smal victory for coach Jakub Petr’s boys.

At 9:07 of the second period, Leonard put the U.S. up 2-0. Accepting a pass from captain Zach Shultz in the neutral zone, he powered around the Czech defence into the right faceoff circle and zapped a shot five-hole. The American cheering section erupted, waving small Stars and Stripes flags.

The Czechs missed another glorious chance before the period ended, as Jiri Felcman got the puck behind Augustine but slid it harmlessly through the crease.

In the third period, Czechia got new life, cutting the deficit to 2-1 at 10:46. Sale danced in unimpeded to throw a backhander on net, and Dominik Petr slammed the rebound into the gaping cage.

"It was a big moment, a big feeling for our team," said Petr.

The Americans had an answer. With 5:53 remaining, the U.S. forecheck restored the two-goal lead. Beckett Henderson grabbed the puck on the end boards and fed it out to Nelson, who beat Hrabal with a laser to the stick side.

"My linemate 'Hendy' was below the goal line and he saw me out in the slot," Nelson said. "He gave it to me and I buried it. It was nice to get that one to bring the momentum back. I feel like it brought the energy back on the bench."

Just 56 seconds later, Vote fooled the Czech goalie with a shot from the left faceoff dot to put the game out of reach at 4-1.

"I'm not happy for the loss," Hrabal said. "It was an important match for us. We knew the USA is a very good team, one of the best teams in the world. I think we played good for two periods against them. Then the energy went away."

After the game, the three best Czech players were honoured: Michael Hrabal, Vojtech Vochvest, and Eduard Sale.

The U.S. continued its U18 Worlds dominance over the Czechs. The Americans now enjoy a head-to-head record of 18 wins and two losses. The U.S. lost the first two clashes in 2001 and 2002, but is undefeated since then.

The last U.S.-Czech quarter-final matchup was an 8-0 American romp in 2016 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.