5 nations Tournament: USA vs. Czech Republic
U.S. National Under-18 Team Tops Czech Republic,
Finishes Five Nations Tournament, 3-1-0
MOSCOW -- Following an opening game loss, the U.S. National Under-18 Team won the final three games of the 2006 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament, culminating with a 5-2 victory over the Czech Republic this morning.
USA forward Tony Mosey (Prior Lake, Minn.) opened scoring for the game 3:58 into the first frame on a feed from James O’Brien (Maplewood, Minn.). Team USA stretched the lead to two with 3:51 remaining in the period when defenseman Chris Summers (Milan, Mich.) beat Czech netminder Jakub Kovar to give USA the 2-0 advantage. The Czech Repbulic struck back with three seconds remaining in the first when Jiri Korcak snuck one past U.S. netminder Brett Bennett (Williamsville, N.Y.) to cut the lead to one at 2-1.
During Bennett’s delay of game penalty to start the second frame, Czech forward David Stieler tied the game 43 seconds in with the man advantage. Following the second Czech goal, Joe Palmer (Yorkville, N.Y.) replaced Bennett and shutout the Czech’s for the remainder of the game. USA forward James O’Brien scored on a breakaway 2:03 into the second period to give USA the 3-2 advantage.
USA defenseman Nigel Williams (Aurora, Ill.) gave USA the two goal advantage when he finished an odd-man rush with forward Ryan Flynn (Lino Lakes, Minn.). Team USA leading scorer Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) capped the scoring on a marker from Brian Strait (Waltham, Mass.) and Bill Sweatt (Elburn,Ill.) with 13 seconds remaining in the second frame.
“We had to battle all week,†said USA Head Coach John Hynes. “Playing in tough situations during this tournament will continue to prepare us for the world tournament in April.â€
Team USA held the Czechs scoreless in the third period to earn the 5-2 victory. USA forward Luke Popko (Skillman, N.J.) was named Team USA’s best player of the game.
The U.S. National Under-18 Team awaits the results from the final two Russian games to determine placement in the tournament. Team USA can still finish in first place with two Russian losses.
NOTES: The 2006 Under-18 Four Nations Tournament field includes: Russia, Finland, Czech Republic, Sweden and the United States ... The U.S. National Under-18 team is 6-2-0 in international competition this season.
U.S. National Under-18 Team 5 vs Czech Republic 2
Scoring By Period
USA 2-3-0-- 5
CZE 1-1-0-- 2
First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Mosey (O’Brien), 3:58; 2, USA, Summers (Carman), 16:09; 3, CZE, Korcak (Mrna), 19:57. Penalties: CZE, Stieler (holding), 0:40; USA, Ratchuk (cross checking), 5:49; USA, Popko (holding), 9:11; CZE, Troncinsky (hooking), 10:27; USA, Atkinson (charging), 12:38; USA, O’Brien (interference), 17:26.
Second Period - Scoring: 4, CZE, Stieler (Prokop, Salac), (pp) 0:43; 5, USA, O’Brien, (pp) 2:03; 6, USA, Williams (Flynn), 10:27; 7, USA, Kane (Strait, Sweatt), 19:47. Penalties: USA, Bennett (delay of game), 0:14; CZE, Semorad (tripping), 0:59; CZE, Spudil (hooking), 1:32; USA, Carman (hooking), 6:13; CZE, Prokop (holding), 15:28; CZE, Troncinsky (interference), 16:21; USA, O’Brien (hooking), 16:45; USA, Carman (boarding), 17:03; CZE, Grofek (boarding), 17:47.
Third Period - Scoring: No Scoring. Penalties: USA, Montgomery (holding), 9:42; CZE, Bartek (tripping), 19:29; USA, Summers (roughing), 19:59.