University City, Missouri native J.P. Kepka helped the U.S. to advance to the finals of the men’s 5,000m relay on Wednesday with a time of six minutes 55:082, the fastest time in the semifinals. Kepka was the third of five racers in the U.S. relay, getting a hand-off from Apolo Ohno. The U.S. will go for the gold in the finals on February 25.

This is Kepka’s second trip to the Olympics, after being named to the U.S. squad in 2002 in Salt Lake, but he didn’t get to race.

The U.S. Olympic hockey team tied Latvia 3-3 in their first game. Former St. Louis Blue Craig Conroy scored a goal in the first period. He also had an assist. The team also features Blues winger Keith Tkachuk and center Doug Weight, who was traded from the Blues last month.