2007 World Under 18's Thread

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/2/4/1/4/3/index1.shtml

April 9, 2007
NR.039

ESPOSITO NAMED CAPTAIN OF CANADA’S NATIONAL MEN’S UNDER-18 TEAM; GILLIES AND DOUGHTY NAMED ASSISTANTS

TAMPERE, FINLAND – Hockey Canada announced on Monday that Angelo Esposito has been named captain of the National Men’s Under-18 Team for the IIHF World Under-18 Championship, which will be held April 11-22 in Tampere and Rauma, Finland.

Esposito, a forward from Montreal, QC, is a member of the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts. Esposito was captain at the 2006 Junior World Cup in Slovakia and Czech Republic, where Canada won gold.

Team Canada’s assistant captains at the World Under-18 Championship will be forward Colton Gillies (Surrey, BC/Saskatoon, WHL) and defenceman Drew Doughty (London, ON/Guelph, OHL). Both players were members of the summer team that won gold at the Junior World Cup.

Team Canada beat Germany 5-2 on Monday night to conclude its exhibition schedule. On Saturday night, Canada and Sweden played to a 2-2 tie.

On Tuesday, Team Canada’s staff and players will leave Tampere, where they’ve been since Friday, and travel to Rauma, site of Canada’s preliminary games at the World Under-18 Championship. Canada plays its first preliminary game on Thursday against Germany (4 p.m. local, 9 a.m. ET). Canada is in Pool A with Germany, Latvia, Russia and the U.S.A.

TSN/RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcaster, will televise four games at the World Under-18 Championship, beginning with Canada’s game against Russia on April 17th.

Interviews with players and staff during the tournament should be directed to Chris Jurewicz. He can be reached in Finland through April 23rd at 011 358 40 856 58 16.

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/16980/la_id/1/ss_id/21311/nr_id/24128.htm

April 9, 2007
U18.004

SECOND PERIOD SURGE GIVES CANADA WIN OVER GERMANY

NOKIA, Finland – Team Canada scored three goals in less than three minutes in the second period en route to a 5-2 victory over Team Germany in exhibition play in preparation of the World Under-18 Hockey Championship in Finland.

Yann Sauve (Rigaud, QC/Saint John, QMJHL) got Canada’s scoring started at 12:38 of the second when his point shot beat German goaltender Timo Pielmeier.

Ten seconds later, Zachary Torquato (Sault Ste. Marie, ON/Erie, OHL) jammed in a rebound to make it 2-0. Team Canada took a 3-0 lead at 15:12 on a goal by Olivier Fortier (Quebec City, QC/Rimouski, QMJHL).

Germany cut into the lead at 5:26 of the third period, when David Wolf’s shot beat Canada’s goaltender Braden Holtby (Marshall, SK/Saskatoon, WHL). At 14:11, Simon Fischhaber scored a power-play goal to get Germany back in the game.

But Canada wasn’t about to relinquish the lead.
At 16:50, Kyle Turris (New Westminster, BC/Burnaby, BCHL) made a great cross-ice pass to Jamie Arniel (Kingston, ON/Guelph, OHL) who one-timed the puck top shelf. Canada completed the game’s scoring at 17:51. Steven Stamkos (Unionville, ON/Sarnia, OHL) showed why he’s a top prospect for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft when he stepped into the slot and snapped a hard shot off the crossbar.

Team Canada’s players and staff leave Tampere for Rauma on Tuesday. The 2007 World Under-18 Championship is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, although Canada’s first game isn’t until Thursday against Germany.

Game Summary:
Canada 5 - Germany 2 - Nokia, Finland

Box Score CAN 0 3 2 5
Compte GER 0 0 2 2

First Period/Première période
Scoring/Buts:

Penalties/Pénalités:
1 - GER Gregor Stein 3:40 interference 2 minutes
1 - GER Martin Buchwieser 5:23 holding 2 minutes
1 - GER Alexander Oblinger 10:43 tripping 2 minutes
1 - CAN Eric Doyle 15:28 roughing 2 minutes

Second Period/Deuxième période
Scoring/Buts:
2. CAN Yann Sauve (Brandon Sutter) 12:38 even strength
2. CAN Zack Torquato (Kyle Turris, Logan Couture) 12:48 even strength
2. CAN Olivier Fortier (Eric Doyle) 15:12 even strength

Penalties/Pénalités:
2. GER David Wolf 1:02 hooking 2 minutes
2. CAN Drew Doughty 1:44 charging 2 minutes
2. CAN Eric Doyle 2:28 delay of game 2 minutes
2. CAN Drew Doughty 7:11 hooking 2 minutes
2. CAN Drew Doughty 19:50 interference 2 minutes

Third Period/Troisième période
Scoring/Buts:
3. GER David Wolf (Timo Pielmeier) 5:16 shorthanded
3. GER Simon Fischhaber (Soren Sturm) 14:11 power play
3. CAN Jamie Arniel (Kyle Turris, Eric Doyle) 16:50 power play
3. CAN Steven Stamkos (Mark Katic) 17:51 power play

Penalties/Pénalités:


Goaltenders CAN Braden Holtby
Gardiennes de but GER Andrea Tanzer. Timo Pielmeier

[nivek_wahs]

I guess this should have been posted prior to the last one but oops... lol

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/16980/la_id/1/ss_id/21311/nr_id/24108.htm

April 8, 2007
U18.002

CANADA SWEDEN TIE 2-2 IN PRE-TOURNAMENT EXHIBITION GAME

LEMPAALA, FINLAND - Steven Stamkos (Unionville, ON/Sarnia, OHL)
showed great hand-eye coordination when he scored midway through
the third period to give Team Canada a 2-2 tie with Sweden in preparation
of the IIHF World Under-18 Hockey Championship on Saturday night in
Finland.

Alex Grant (Antigonish, NS/Saint John, QMJHL) fired a shot from the point
and Stamkos tipped it home for the goal at 10:28. Brandon Sutter also
picked up an assist on the goal.

The game was played in Lempaala before an excited group of fans. It
was Canada’s first of two exhibition games.

Angelo Esposito (Montreal, QC/Quebec, QMJHL) gave Canada a 1-0
lead at 8:32 of the first period. Sweden came back to tie it on a goal by
Simon Hjalmarsson, whose hard wrist shot beat Canada’s goaltender,
Trevor Cann (Oakville, ON/Peterborough, OHL).

Sweden took a 2-1 lead when Marcus Johansson scored early in the
third period.

Canada is in action again on Monday afternoon, when it faces Germany
in Nokia. That will put a wrap on Team Canada’s exhibition play, as the
preliminary round at the World Under-18 Championship starts on
Wednesday. Canada’s first game goes Thursday against Germany in
Rauma.

Team Canada’s players and staff met in Toronto last week. On Thursday,
the group went to the Hockey Hall of Fame for a tour, followed by lunch at
Gretzky’s. The team then boarded a plane for Frankfurt, Germany, before
catching a flight to Helsinki, Finland.

The team arrived in Finland on Friday afternoon and the players hit the ice
for practice within hours. Team Canada will remain in Tampere until
Tuesday, when it travels to Rauma, site of Canada’s preliminary games
at the tournament.

Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team brings together players who are
born in 1989 or later, many of whom will be top picks at the 2007 NHL
Entry Draft. Canada has competed in this tournament since 1999,
winning gold in 2003.

Canada 2 - Sweden 2 - Lempaala, Finland

Box Score CAN 1 0 1 2
Compte SWE 0 1 1 2

First Period/Première période
Scoring/Buts:
1. CAN Angelo Esposito (ua), 08:32

Penalties/Pénalités:
1 - CAN Kyle Turris 15:58 Hook, 2 min
1 - SWE Andre Petersson 19:45 Hold, 2 min

Second Period/Deuxième période
Scoring/Buts:
2. SWE Simon Hjalmarsson (Jimmy Andersson) 18:30

Penalties/Pénalités:
2 - CAN Drew Doughty 0:35 Trip, 2 min
2 - CAN Yves Bastien 8:10 Trip, 2 min

Third Period/Troisième période
Scoring/Buts:
3. SWE Marcus Johansson (Andrew Petersson, Simon Hjalmarsson) 1:50
3. CAN Steven Stamkos (Alex Grant, Brandon Sutter) 10:28

Penalties/Pénalités:
3 - SWE Nichlas Torp 14:46 Rough, 2 min

Goaltenders CAN Trevor Cann
Gardiennes de but SWE Christoffer Bengtsberg, Mark Owuya

[nivek_wahs]

Here's the official link for the tournament... http://www.iihf.com/Hydra/Tournaments_07/output/w18/hydra.iihf.com/IIHF_Core/jsp/content/web_output/index.jsp@compId=109

[Tidball]

Thats awesome that Gillies is an "A" on the team. But wheres Tavares?

IMO Esposito is the best forward an Doughty is easily the best D-man.(Doughty was invited to the World Juniors Camp)

[Quarter Pounder W/ Cheese]

Look at Doyle putting up the assists out there. Good on you Eric, we're cheering for you back here in Speedy Creek.

BTW, I love the date of birth they have listed for staff member Corey Hirsch. July 1, 2010!

[Stay-Puft]

I think Tavares is still in the playoffs in the OHL with Oshawa.

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/11728/la_id/1/ss_id/21311/game_id/1152.html

CANADA KICKS OFF WORLD UNDER-18 CHAMPIONSHIP WITH WIN

RAUMA, Finland – Jamie Arniel (Kingston, ON/Guelph, OHL) and Steven Stamkos (Unionville, ON/Sarnia, OHL) each had a goal and two assists to lead Team Canada to a 7-3 victory over Germany on Thursday at the World Under-18 Hockey Championship.

Stamkos opened the scoring at 0:59 when he finished a give-and-go with Arniel. Just over a minute later, Yves Bastien (Dowling, ON/Peterborough, OHL) intercepted a pass and scored a shorthanded goal on a breakaway, beating German goaltender Tim Pielmeier with a wrist shot.

Arniel’s goal came at 6:39. He scored on a pretty tic-tac-toe play with linemates Zac Boychuk (Airdrie, AB/Lethbridge, WHL) and Stamkos.

Martin Buchwieser scored for Germany at 13:12 of the first, the last goal of the period. Germany made it 3-2 when Patrick Geiger scored on a partial breakaway at 9:32 of the second.

But Canada extended its lead at 13:06. Colton Gillies (Surrey, BC/Saskatoon, WHL) had a couple of chances to score on a goal-mouth scramble and roofed a shot to make it 4-2.
Luke Schenn’s wrister from just inside the point made it 5-2 Canada at the 17:32 mark.

Three goals were scored in the third period, the first by Germany’s Jerome Flaake. Drew Doughty (London, ON/Guelph, OHL) gave Canada a 6-3 lead at 10:22 with a low shot from the slot. And Brandon Sutter (Red Deer, AB/Red Deer, WHL) completed the scoring at 13:30 when he blasted a loose puck off the boards.

Trevor Cann (Oakville, ON/Peterborough, OHL) earned the win in net, stopping 32 of 35 shots.

Canada (1-0) will have Friday off before taking the ice Saturday against Latvia.


Box Score 1 2 3 Final

Canada(CAN) 3 2 2 7
Germany(GER) 1 1 1 3

Goals/Penalties
First Period
Goals:
00:59 CAN 19 Steven Stamkos (11 Jamie Arniel ) EN
02:14 CAN 16 Yves Bastien SH
06:39 CAN 11 Jamie Arniel (14 Zachary Boychuk ) PP
13:12 GER 11 Martin Buchwieser (16 Jerome Flaake ) EN


Penalties:
01:16 CAN 11 Jamie Arniel (Holding-2 minutes)
06:01 GER 16 Jerome Flaake (Holding-2 minutes)
08:47 CAN 15 Colton Gillies (Tripping-2 minutes)
14:34 CAN 11 Jamie Arniel (Tripping-2 minutes)
15:50 GER 16 Jerome Flaake (Hooking-2 minutes)
17:08 GER 4 Sinan Akdag (Hooking-2 minutes)
18:36 CAN 2 Eric Doyle (Hooking-2 minutes)


Second Period
Goals:
09:32 GER 15 Patrick Geiger (10 Denis Reul 4 Sinan Akdag) EN
13:06 CAN 15 Colton Gillies EN
17:32 CAN 5 Luke Schenn (4 Keven Veilleux 9 Angelo Esposito) PP


Penalties:
02:09 CAN 2 Eric Doyle (Tripping-2 minutes)
09:47 GER 7 Benedikt Bruckner (Interference-2 minutes)
16:44 GER 14 Simon Fischhaber (Hooking-2 minutes)


Third Period
Goals:
06:56 GER 16 Jerome Flaake (27 Nicolas Ackermann 11 Martin Buchwieser) EN
10:22 CAN 20 Drew Doughty (11 Jamie Arniel 19 Steven Stamkos) PP
13:30 CAN 12 Brandon Sutter (16 Yves Bastien ) EN


Penalties:
01:35 GER 8 Gregor Stein (Interference-2 minutes)
07:31 GER 4 Sinan Akdag (Tripping-2 minutes)
07:31 GER 4 Sinan Akdag (Game Misconduct-10 minutes)
16:14 CAN 19 Steven Stamkos (Holding-2 minutes)



Goaltenders
Canada 30 Trevor Cann On 1/00:00 Off 3/20:00
Germany 1 Timo Pielmeier On 1/00:00 Off 3/20:00


Shots on Goal 1 2 3 Final
Canada 10 18 13 41
Germany 11 14 10 35



Officials
Referee Patrik Sjoberg
Lines People Roger Arm, Jussi Terho

[nivek_wahs]

Story from TSN.ca http://www.tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/news_story/?ID=203870&hubname=

Canada rocks Germany at U-18 tournament

Canadian Press

4/12/2007 2:52:31 PM

RAUMA, Finland (CP) - They've found a pizzeria they like, they're enjoying the fan support of Finnish children, and now the Canadian teens at the world under-18 hockey tournament have their first win under their belts.

Steve Stamkos and linemate Jamie Arniel each had a goal and two assists in a 7-3 win over Germany on Thursday. Also scoring for Canada were Yves Bastien, Colton Gillies, Brandon Sutter, Luke Schenn and Drew Doughty.

Canada's top attacking unit was impressive.

Stamkos of Markham, Ont., and the OHL's Sarnia Sting, Arniel of Kingston and the OHL's Guelph Storm and Zach Boychuk of Airdrie, Alta., and the WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes have developed instant chemistry.

"Boychuk has a lot of speed, Arniel has speed and grit with a touch around the net and Stamkos is solid all around," said coach Trent Yawney. "It's a nice line."

The Olympic-sized ice suits them.

"It's fun to play on," Stamkos said. "There's so much more space and time."

Next up is Latvia on Saturday.

The Canadians ventured into a pizzeria on their first day in town and liked it so much that they went back the next day. After their win over Germany, most of them were keen to return.

About 1,000 spectators took in Canada's opener. Rauma, located on Finland's west coast and founded in the 15th century, has a population of 37,000. As class projects, school children have divvied up the 10 teams and attend their adopted country's games waving flags and cheering.

"This is all new territory to me so I'm taking it all in," said Stamkos, who is wide-eyed during his first trip across the Atlantic. "We've got a strong team.

"The guys have come together really fast. Everyone is having fun. It's been a great experience so far and we're looking forward to the rest of the tournament. Hopefully, we can bring home the gold."

Canada first entered a team in the world under-18 event in 2002 and it won gold in 2003 and in 2005. Its team didn't make the podium last year.

Yawney's crew got off to a quick start by scoring the game's first three goals in less than seven minutes Thursday.

Stamkos worked a give-and-go with Arniel to connect at 1:59, Bastien of Dowling, Ont., and the OHL's Peterborough Petes intercepted a pass and scored on a breakaway at 2:14, and Arniel polished off a tic-tac-toe passing play with Stamkos and Boychuk at 6:39.

"We got off to a great start," said Yawney.

Germany, coached by James Setters of Calgary, made it 3-2 in the second before Canada pulled away.

"It's human nature after that, getting a quick three goals, to let up a little bit," said Yawney. "The Germans didn't go down easily.

"They fought their way back into the game."

Gillies of Surrey, B.C., and the WHL's Saskatoon Blades scored from a goal-mouth scramble and roofed in his second chance at 13:06, and Schenn of Saskatoon and the WHL's Kelowna Rockets fired in a shot from the blue-line on a power play at 17:32 of the second period.

Germany got its third goal early in the third, then Doughty of London, Ont., and the OHL's Storm scored from the slot on a power at 10:22. Sutter of Red Deer and that Alberta city's WHL Rebels whipped in a shot from the left circle at 13:30.

Trevor Cann of Oakville, Ont., and the OHL Petes earned the goaltending win.

"He was solid," said Yawney. "He made some big saves when it was 3-2 and the guys kinda took over from there."

It was 8 C and sunny, tempting players outdoors when they weren't catching up on homework they'd been assigned by teachers back home.

So far, Yawney has had no problems on or off the ice.

"We've just got to continue to build and get better," he said. "There's areas we have to continually work on.

"The goal is to get better every game."

Latvia is not to be taken lightly, Yawney warned.

"All these teams, any time they play Canada it's always a measuring stick for them so we'll prepare for them no different than we prepared for Germany," he said.

He watched Sweden edge Finland 2-1 in a shootout in the tournament curtain raiser on Wednesday.

"The Swedes are very skilled with a lot of speed," said Yawney. "The Finns are a skilled team as well, and very hard-working. They've got a good goaltender, too."

In other games Thursday, the Czech Republic defeated Switzerland 4-2 and Russia downed the United States 5-3.

TSN will have live broadcasts of four games beginning with the Canada-Russia clash at 12:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.usahockey.com/usa_hockey/main_site/main/usa_hockey/news_usarus_041207/

April 12, 2007

O’Brien’s Two Goals Not Enough for Team USA in 5-3 Loss

RAUMA, Finland – The U.S. National Under-18 Team fell to Russia today, 5-3, in its opening game at the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship at Rauma Aijanuso.

The U.S. opened the scoring when James O’Brien (Maplewood, Minn.) beat Russian netminder Vadim Zhelobnyuk three minutes into the game with Team USA on the power play. Ryan McDonagh (Arden Hills, Minn.) found O’Brien at the bottom of the left circle and O’Brien snuck a wrist shot past Zhelobnyuk to the short side.

Russia replied 14:35 later when Nikita Filatov tipped a shot from the point over U.S. netminder Thomas McCollum's (Sanborn, N.Y.) shoulder to knot the game at 1-1.

Russia gained its first advantage of the game with a power-play goal by Sergey Krostin 3:44 into the second frame. After a Russian defenseman missed the net with a shot from the point that bounced off the end boards, Krostin picked up the rebound on the right side of the U.S. goal and slipped it past McCollum. U.S. forward Jordan Schroeder (Lakeville, Minn.) evened the game at 2-2 before the end of the second period when he tapped home a loose puck in front of the Russian net. A slap shot from Kevin Shattenkirk (New Rochelle, N.Y.) bounced around in the Russian crease and Schroeder tapped the loose puck into the net.

Russia opened the third-period scoring when Dmitry Kugryshev beat McCollum with a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle eight minutes into the frame to give the Russians a 3-2 lead. Dmitry Kagarlitsky then scored a wraparound goal 4:42 later to stretch the Russian advantage to 4-2.

With 5:22 remaining in the contest, O’Brien notched his second goal of the night when he tipped a Vinny Saponari (Powder Springs, Ga.) pass by Zhelobnyuk to make it a 4-3 game.

Russia scored an empty-net goal with 27 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach.

“We squandered some great opportunities tonight,” said Ron Rolston, head coach of Team USA. “We can’t ask for more chances on the power play. We just need to bear down and cash in when the time comes. Russia is a good hockey team and their netminder played well tonight. We will work on a few things tonight and in the morning to help us be more successful against Germany tomorrow.”

The U.S. National Under-18 Team will face Germany tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. EDT in its second of four preliminary-round contests.

NOTES: O’Brien (U.S.) and Zhelobnyuk (RUS) earned Best Player of the Game Honors … Tonight’s defeat was the first for the U.S. National Under-18 Team in 12 games at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship. Team USA’s last lost came to Russia in the gold-medal game at the 2004 IIHF World Under-18 Championships in Minsk, Belarus.

SCORING SUMMARY

Scoring By Period
RUS 1-1-3 -- 5
USA 1-1-1 –- 3

First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, O’Brien (McDonagh, Vaive), 3:00 (pp); 2, RUS, Filatov (Kulikov, Loktionov), 17:35. Penalties – RUS, Chudinov (high sticking), 1:31; RUS, Goncharov (hooking), 4:14; USA, Wilson (hooking), 12:30; USA, Shattenkirk (interference), 12:59; USA, Fairchild (cross checking), 18:33.

Second Period – Scoring: 3, RUS, Korostin (Chudinov, Seleznev), 3:44 (pp); 4, USA, Schroeder (Wilson, Shattenkirk), 17:40. Penalties – USA, Fairchild (hooking), 3:44; RUS, Loktionov (interference), 6:07; USA, O’Brien (hooking), 7:19; RUS, Korostin (hooking), 8:12; RUS, Karamov (slashing), 11:32; RUS, Chudinov (hooking), 11:32; RUS, Bench (too many players), 15:15; RUS, Churlyaev (charging), 15:38; USA, White (hooking), 16:49; RUS, Cherepanov (high sticking), 17:40; RUS, Petrov (elbowing), 18:57; RUS, Churlyaev (interference), 19:25.

Third Period – Scoring: 5, RUS, Kugryshev (Filatov, Kulikov), 8:00; 6, RUS, Kagarlitskiy (Karamov), 12:42; 7, USA, O’Brien (Saponari), 14:38; 8, RUS, Lukyanchikov, 19:33 (en). Penalties – RUS, Averin (hooking), 2:59; USA, R. Hayes (cross checking), 5:57; RUS, Filatov (high sticking), 7:38; RUS, Kulikov (high sticking), 15:39; USA, O’Brien (hooking), 18:44; USA, Rust (tripping), 19:51.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 TOTAL
RUS 13 8 11 32
USA 11 15 20 46

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 TOTAL
RUS, Zhelobnyuk(60:00) 10 14 19 43
USA, McCollum(59:15) 12 7 9 28

Power Play: RUS 2-9; USA 2-14

Penalties: RUS 14-28; USA 9-18

Attendance: 1,639

Officials: Aleksi Rantala (FIN); Linesmen- Frantisek Kalivoda (CZE), Alexander Pavlovic (SVK)

[Tidball]

The USA was 2-14? Some one didnt work on thier specail teams at camp...

[nivek_wahs]

http://tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/news_story/?ID=204126&hubname=

U-18: Team Canada rolls over Latvia

Canadian Press
4/14/2007 1:56:50 PM

RAUMA, Finland (CP) - The Canadian hockey team is putting up victories and picking up fans at the world under-18 championship.

A throng of schoolchildren mobbed the Canadian teenagers in search of autographs after watching them beat Latvia 9-1 on Saturday.

''We're minor celebrities over here,'' said Logan Couture, who had two goals and two assists in the victory. ''That's pretty exciting and it's been a great opportunity for everyone so far.

''It's nice to see the kids smile when you sign something for them and make them happy.''

Dion Knelsen and Kyle Turris also had two goals and two assists while Jamie Arniel, Luke Schenn and Yves Bastien each added a goal for Canada (2-0).

Goaltender Trevor Cann stopped 20 shots, allowing only a third-period goal to Latvia's Janis Straupe.

Canada opened the preliminary round with a 7-3 win over Germany last Thursday. It should face a tougher test on Sunday against the U.S. _ a development team that has played together most of the year.

By contrast, the Canadians were selected from various junior and U.S. college teams and have only been skating together for a little over a week.

Still, Canadian coach Trent Yawney sees a chemistry developing with his players.

''It's a special group that we've put together here,'' said Yawney. ''We know we have a lot of work ahead of us against the U.S.

''But I know with these guys, from what I've seen, they do not back down from a challenge.''

The challenge so far has been mostly a mental one.

Canada led Latvia 4-0 a little over 12 minutes into Saturday's game and impressed their coach by not letting up or getting sloppy.

''The guys deserve a lot of credit, they played real solid throughout the whole game,'' said Yawney. ''We've been talking about developing good habits and they're really buying in with that.''

It's been a balanced effort thus far.

Steve Stamkos leads the Canadians with six points in two games but a total of 16 players have registered a point in the tournament.

''Every game we've played since we've been together it's been somebody different,'' said Yawney. ''Whether it's a goal here or a goal there or a defensive play.

''I would have to say the star of the team has been the team.''

After the U.S. game, the Canadians will wrap up the preliminary round on Tuesday against Russia.

Canada first entered a team in the world under-18 event in 2002 and it won gold in 2003 and in 2005. Its team didn't make the podium last year. <Break>>

Besides trying to win another gold medal, Yawney thinks one of the most important jobs he and his staff have is making sure the players take as much from the event as they can.

''Whatever's going to happen in this tournament is going to happen,'' he said. ''I want them to come out of this tournament with it being a good experience.''

It already seems to be the case.

Couture, a native of London, Ont., who plays for the Ontario Hockey League's Ottawa 67's, says he's enjoyed having the chance to see Finland and get to know some of Canada's top young hockey players.

While he's signed his share of autographs after 67's games, he's getting to see first-hand how much attention comes with wearing the Maple Leaf.

''No matter where we are, there are always people that respect Canadian hockey,'' said Couture. ''Being a Canadian and putting on the jersey is obviously an amazing experience.''

[nivek_wahs]

SUMMARY

Box Score 1 2 3 Final
Latvia(LAT) 0 0 1 1
Canada(CAN) 4 2 3 9

Goals/Penalties
First Period
Goals:
01:13 CAN 10 Kyle Turris (24 Logan Couture 25 Zack Torquato)
07:15 CAN 5 Luke Schenn (19 Steven Stamkos 11 Jamie Arniel)
11:51 CAN 11 Jamie Arniel (14 Zachary Boychuk 19 Steven Stamkos)
12:20 CAN 21 Dion Knelsen (15 Colton Gillies 9 Angelo Esposito)


Penalties:
08:54 CAN 15 Colton Gillies (Roughing-2 minutes)
18:05 CAN 3 Yann Sauvè (Holding-2 minutes)


Second Period
Goals:
09:17 CAN 24 Logan Couture (10 Kyle Turris 25 Zack Torquato)
17:57 CAN 21 Dion Knelsen (17 Mark Katic 19 Steven Stamkos)


Penalties:
11:14 CAN 15 Colton Gillies (Kneeing-2 minutes)
15:37 CAN 14 Zachary Boychuk (Tripping-2 minutes)


Third Period
Goals:
03:42 CAN 16 Yves Bastien (29 Oliver Fortier )
14:29 LAT 19 Janis Straupe (3 Alberts Ilisko )
18:44 CAN 24 Logan Couture (10 Kyle Turris 21 Dion Knelsen)
19:07 CAN 10 Kyle Turris (21 Dion Knelsen 24 Logan Couture)


Penalties:
15:07 LAT 16 Edgars Lipsbergs (Tripping-2 minutes)


Goaltenders
Latvia 29 Dainis Vasiljevs On 1/00:00 Off 3/06:51 (26 SH/21 SV)
Latvia 1 Nauris Enkuzens On 3/06:51 Off 3/20:00 (11 SH/ 7 SV)
Canada 30 Trevor Cann On 1/00:00 Off 3/20:00 (21 SH/20 SV)


Shots on Goal 1 2 3 Final
Latvia 6 7 8 21
Canada 15 7 15 37

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.usahockey.com/usa_hockey/news/main/usa_hockey/news_usager_041307/

April 13, 2007

U.S. National Under-18 Team Tops Germany, 9-1; Rust, Schroeder and Cole Notch Two Goals Apiece in Tournament Victory

RAUMA, Finland -- Led by a five-goal first period, the 2007 U.S. National Under-18 Team topped Germany by a 9-1 score today in its second game at the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship at Rauma Aijanuso. Matt Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Jordan Schroeder (Lakeville, Minn.) and Ian Cole (Ann Arbor, Mich.) tallied two goals apiece and netminder Josh Unice (Toledo, Ohio) turned aside 32 of 33 shots to earn the victory for Team USA.

Rust opened the scoring 3:26 into the game when he took a chip pass from Brennan Vargas (Coon Rapids, Minn.) at the top of the German zone, walked in all alone and put a backhand shot under German netminder Andreas Tanzer's glove. Team USA gained a 2-0 lead during a power-play opportunity 3:14 later when Schroeder split the German defense at the blue line and beat Tanzer with a move to his backhand.

Team USA scored three goals within a 58-second span to extend its lead to 5-0 before the first intermission. Ryan Hayes (Syracuse, N.Y.) found a cutting Cole, who buried the puck into the top left corner of the net at 17:28. Rust then notched his second goal of the period when he corralled the rebound of a C.J. Severyn (Beaver, Pa.) attempt and put a shot past a sprawling Tanzer at 17:41, while Cade Fairchild (Duluth, Minn.) made it a five-goal contest at 18: 26.

Germany got on the scoreboard early in the middle stanza when Alexander Oblinger buried a shot from the top of the right circle at 5:54. Team USA struck back 1:29 later when Schroeder tipped a James vanRiemsdyk (Middletown, N.J.) shot past Tanzer during a U.S. power play. John Albert (Concord, Ohio) closed out the period's scoring when he beat a German defenseman and put a snap shot to the far side of the net at 9:06 to give Team USA a 7-1 lead.

The United States added another pair of power-play goals in the final frame to account for the 9-1 final score. Cole tallied his second goal of the game at the 9:14 mark when he walked in from the left point and beat German goaltender Timo Pielmeier, who replaced Tanzer midway through the second period. Jimmy Hayes (Dorchester, Mass.) tallied the game's final goal when buried a loose puck in front of the German net with 9:39 remaining in the game.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team went 4-for-9 with the man advantage, while Germany was scoreless in eight attempts on the power play.

"We received a good effort throughout the line-up today," said Ron Rolston, head coach of Team USA. "Today's game again showed how important special teams are in this tournament."

Following a day off tomorrow, the U.S. National Under-18 Team will face Canada on Sunday (April 15) at 11:30 a.m. EDT in its third of four preliminary-round contests.

NOTES: Rust was named Best Player of the Game for Team USA … The United States is now 3-2-0 versus Germany in five meetings at the IIHF World Under-18 Championships. The U.S. National Under-18 Team fell to Russia today, 5-3, in its opening game at the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship at Rauma Aijanuso.

SCORING SUMMARY

Scoring By Period
GER 0-1-0 -- 1
USA 5-2-2 -- 9

First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, Rust (Vargas), 3: 26; 2, USA, Schroeder (Shattenkirk), 6:40 (pp); 3, USA, Cole (J. Hayes, R. Hayes), 17:28; 4, Rust (Severyn, Vargas), 17:41; 5, USA, Fairchild (Wilson, vanRiemsdyk), 18:26. Penalties - USA, vanRiemsdyk (tripping), 1:06; GER, Heyer (holding), 5:30; USA, Fairchild (slashing), 7:51; GER, Bruckner (tripping), 13:16; GER, Eickmann (slashing), 17:08.

Second Period – Scoring: 6, GER, Oblinger (Sturm, Schopf), 5:54; 7, USA, Schroeder (vanRiemsdyk, Wilson), 7:23 (pp); 8, USA, Albert (J. Hayes), 9:06. Penalties - GER, Heyer (tripping), 7:01; USA, White (hooking), 10:58; USA, O'Brien (slashing), 14:55.

Third Period – Scoring: 9, USA, Cole (Vaive, Cross), 9:14 (pp); 10, USA, J. Hayes (Albert), 10:21 (pp). Penalties - USA, Albert (hooking), 4:20; USA, Severyn (hooking), 5:33; GER, Oblinger (roughing), 8:02; GER, Flaake (kneeing), 9:33; USA, Fairchild (high sticking), 14:05.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 TOTAL
GER 8 10 15 33
USA 16 16 16 48

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 TOTAL
GER, Tanzer (29:06) 16-11 4-2 x-x 20-13
GER, Pielmeier (30:54) x-x 12-12 16-14 28-26
USA, Unice (60:00) 8-8 10-9 15-15 33-32

Power Play: GER 0-8; USA 4-9

Penalties: GER 9-18; USA 8-16

Attendance: 1,244

Officials: Pavel Mikula (CZE); Linesmen- Frederick Carlman (SWE), Alexander Pavlovic (SVK)

[nivek_wahs]

http://tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/news_story/?ID=204292&hubname=


U-18: Canada beats USA in shootout

Canadian Press
4/15/2007 2:31:07 PM

RAUMA, Finland (CP) - Zach Boychuk was just waiting for his chance.

The native of Airdrie, Alta., scored the winner in the fifth round of a shootout on Sunday to give Canada a 3-2 win over the United States at the world under-18 championship.

Sitting on the bench during the shootout, Boychuk was hoping coach Trent Yawney would give him an opportunity.

"When Trent called my name, I was pretty excited," he said. "I always strive for that pressure situation."

The 17-year-old Lethbridge Hurricanes forward was tied for second in Western Hockey League scoring this year with 91 points.

He beat U.S. goalie Josh Unice on Sunday with the same backhand deke move that gave him some shootout success in Lethbridge this season.

"He knows where the back of the net is," Yawney said of Boychuk.

Another solid outing by Canadian goalie Trevor Cann helped make it possible. The native of Oakville, Ont., who plays for the OHL's Peterborough Petes, made 44 saves in the game and stopped four of five shots in the shootout.

Cann was at his best in overtime when Canada killed off a hooking penalty to defenceman Drew Doughty.

"Trevor was really solid," said Yawney.

Luke Schenn and Colton Gillies scored goals in regulation for Canada.

Justin Vaive and James Vanriemsdyk replied for the Americans, who got 31 saves from Unice.

After easy wins in preliminary games over Germany and Latvia, the Canadians got a stiff test from the U.S. The Americans were on their way to a win before Gillies tied it with less than four minutes to play on a nice one-timer.

"It was a hell of a game," said Yawney. "It could have went either way.

"Anytime you get into one of those shootouts, it's like pick 'em, especially with two great teams like that."

It doesn't get any easier.

Canada next faces Russia on Tuesday in a game that will decide who gets a bye to the semifinals. The loser will be forced to play a quarter-final game.

"We're really looking forward to it," said Boychuk. "Everybody wants that bye into the semifinals.

"We're going to come out strong against the Russians and go from there."

Yawney was impressed with his team's defensive zone play on Sunday against the U.S. and knows it will need that again against the undefeated Russians.

"They're very skilled," he said. "We're going to have to be at our best."

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.usahockey.com/usa_hockey/main_site/main/usa_hockey/news_usacan_041507//

Sunday, April 15, 2007

vanRiemsdyk and Vaive Score in Team USA's Third Tournament Contest

RAUMA, Finland - The U.S. National Under-18 Team lost a heartbreaker tonight to Canada, 3-2, in a shootout at the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship at the Rauma Aijanuso. James vanRiemsdyk (Middletown, N.J.) and Justin Vaive (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored for Team USA and netminder Josh Unice (Toledo, Ohio) turned aside 31 shots in net for the U.S. in tonight's contest.

In the opening period Canada struck first, 8:45 into the game, when defenseman Luke Schenn caught a pass at the top of the U.S. zone and fired a shot over the shoulder of Unice to gain a 1-0 lead.

Team USA struck back five minutes into the second stanza when vanRiemsdyk gathered in a rebound off the backboards from a Ryan McDonagh (Arden Hills, Minn.) point shot and tucked the puck into an empty net behind Canadian netminder Trevor Cann to knot the game at 1-1.

The U.S. gained its first lead of the game with 6: 25 to play in the contest when Vaive knocked in a loose puck in front of Cann to give Team USA a 2-1 advantage. Canada replied 2:38 later in the final period when Colton Gillies tipped a pass from Yann Suave off the crossbar and in to make it a 2-2 contest.

Unice and Cann both made big saves down the stretch to send the game to overtime. In the four-on-four five-minute extra session, Team USA earned a power-play when Matt Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) was hauled down en route to a breakaway. The U.S. was unable to score with the man advantage, sending the game to a three-man shootout.

Team USA won the coin toss to determine the shooting order and elected to shoot second. Steve Stamkos went first for Canada and beat Unice with a deeke to his forehand. Ryan Hayes (Syracuse, N.Y.) was stopped by Cann on Team USA's first attempt. Unice denied Zach Torquato and then U.S. captain Kevin Shattenkirk (New Rochelle, N.Y.) scored to even the shootout at 1-1. Canada's third shooter, Kyle Turis was also stopped by Unice, giving vanRiemsdyk a chance to win the game for Team USA. Cann stopped vanRiemsdyk to send the shootout to sudden death.

In the second round of the shootout Team USA shot first. Shattenkirk was stopped by Cann, then Stamkos missed the net for Canada. Jordan Schroeder (Lakeville, Minn.) was denied by the Canadian netminder, then Zac Boychuck was able to sneak a shot between Unice's outstretched leg and the left goalpost to end the game.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team (1-1-1) will face Latvia (0-2-0) on Tuesday (April 17) at 9 a.m. EDT in the fourth and final round-robin game of the opening round.

NOTES: Shattenkirk was named Best Player of the Game for Team USA … The U.S. National Under-18 Team must defeat Latvia on Tuesday to advance to the cross-over round beginning on Thursday (April 19) in Tampere, Finland.

SCORING SUMMARY

Scoring By Period
CAN 1-0-1-0-1 -- 3
USA 0-1-1-0-0 -- 2

First Period - Scoring: 1, CAN, Schenn (Arniel, Stamkos), 8:45. Penalties - USA, Fairchild (interference), 18:47.

Second Period - Scoring: 2, USA, vanRiemsdyk (McDonagh), 5:00. Penalties - CAN, Bench (too many men), 2:01; CAN, Stamkos (boarding), 14:39; CAN, Stamkos (roughing), 17:28; USA, Cole (cross checking), 17:28; USA, McDonagh (roughing), 19:20.

Third Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Vaive (R. Hayes, O'Brien), 13:35; 4, CAN, Gilles (Sauve, Negrin), 16:13. Penalties - USA, O'Brien (holding), 2:14; USA, Wilson (hooking), 4:36; CAN, Sauve (tripping), 7:03; CAN, Doughty (tripping), 11:21.

Overtime - Scoring: No Scoring. Penalties - CAN, Doughty (hooking), 1:33.

Shootout - Scoring: CAN, Boychuck.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 OT TOTAL
CAN 7 13 11 2 33
USA 12 19 10 5 46

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 OT TOTAL
CAN, Cann (65:00) 12-12 19-18 10-9 5-5 46-44
USA, Unice (65:00) 7-6 13-13 11-10 3-2 33-31

Power Play: CAN 0-4; USA 0-5

Penalties: CAN 6-12; USA 5-10

Attendance: 2, 361

Officials: Vladamir Baluska(SVK); Linesmen- Frederick Carlman (SWE), Jussi Terho (FIN)

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/11728/la_id/1/ss_id/21311/game_id/1169.htm

CANADA INTO UNDER-18 SEMI-FINAL AFTER BIG WIN OVER RUSSIANS

RAUMA, FINLAND – The big line was just that Tuesday as Canada moved into the semi-final at the 2007 IIHF World Under-18 Championship following a 5-2 win over Russia.

Steven Stamkos (Unionville, ON/Sarnia, OHL), Zachary Boychuk (Airdrie, AB/Lethbridge, WHL) and Jamie Arniel (Kingston, ON/Guelph, OHL) all found the back of the net as Canada scored three times in the first 10 minutes of the second period to break open a 1-1 tie on their way to victory.

Just four minutes after the Russians opened the scoring, Arniel picked up the puck off a turnover at the Russian blueline and blasted a shot through goaltender Vadim Zhelobnyuk, pulling the Canadians even through 20 minutes.

The Boychuk-Stamkos-Arniel trio struck again in the opening minute of the second, as good work by Stamkos and Arniel left Boychuk with an open net, giving Canada its first lead.

Canadian captain Angelo Esposito (Montreal, QC/Quebec, QMJHL) got his first of the tournament eight minutes later, firing the puck past Zhelobnyuk right off a face-off win.

Yves Bastien (Dowling, ON/Peterborough, OHL) pushed the Canadian lead to three and chased Zhelobnyuk from the net just 1:04 later, taking a beautiful bounce pass off the boards from defenceman Drew Doughty (London, ON/Guelph, OHL) and tucking a backhand far side on the Russian goaltender.

Sergey Korostin got the Russians to within a pair late in the middle frame, but Stamkos would restore the three-goal lead and round out the scoring just 51 seconds into the third period, scoring with Canada on a two-man advantage. Doughty picked up his second assist of the game on the goal.

Trevor Cann (Oakville, ON/Peterborough, OHL) was solid in the Canadian goal, turning aside 27 shots for the win.

Canada is now off until Friday, when it will take to the ice for its semi-final, which will be shown live on TSN. Check your local listings for more.

Box Score 1 2 3 Final
Canada(CAN) 1 3 1 5
Russia(RUS) 1 1 0 2

Goals/Penalties
First Period
Goals:
12:05 RUS 26 Evgeni Dadonov EN
16:45 CAN 11 Jamie Arniel EN


Penalties:
03:58 CAN 2 Luke Schenn (Tripping-2 minutes)
07:25 CAN 0 Drew Doughty (Interference-2 minutes)
09:53 RUS 12 Vitaly Karamnov (Roughing-2 minutes)


Second Period
Goals:
00:59 CAN 14 Zachary Boychuk (11 Jamie Arniel 19 Steven Stamkos) EN
08:36 CAN 9 Angelo Esposito EN
09:40 CAN 16 Yves Bastien (20 Drew Doughty ) EN
18:37 RUS 21 Sergey Korostin (12 Vitaly Karamnov ) EN


Penalties:
10:25 CAN 25 Zack Torquato (Hooking-2 minutes)
12:02 CAN 0 Drew Doughty (Holding-2 minutes)
18:51 CAN 24 Logan Couture (Kneeing-2 minutes)
19:47 RUS 19 Egor Averin (Hooking-2 minutes)
19:58 RUS 7 Nikolay Lukyanchikov (Tripping-2 minutes)


Third Period
Goals:
00:51 CAN 19 Steven Stamkos (20 Drew Doughty ) PP2


Penalties:
14:08 CAN 8 Kyle Turris (Hooking-2 minutes)



Goaltenders
Canada 30 Trevor Cann On 1/00:00 Off 3/20:00
Russia 1 Vadim Zhelobnyuk On 1/00:00 Off 2/09:40 (22 shots/18 saves)
29 Alexander Pechurskiy On 2/9:40 Off 3:/20:00 (13 shots/12 saves)

Shots on Goal 1 2 3 Final
Canada 8 18 9 35
Russia 12 10 7 29

Officials
Referee Patrik Sjoberg
Lines People Frantisek Kalivoda, Jussi Terho

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.usahockey.com/usa_hockey/news/main/usa_hockey/news_usalat_041707//

U.S. National Under-18 Team Shuts Out Latvia, 8-0; White, Vaive Tally Two Goals Apiece to Help Team USA Advance to Playoff Round

RAUMA, Finland -- Led by a four-goal first period, the 2007 U.S. National Under-18 Team blanked Latvia, 8-0, in its final Preliminary Round game of the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship this afternoon at Rauma Aijanuso. Patrick White (Grand Rapids, Minn.) and Justin Vaive (Buffalo, N.Y.) tallied two goals apiece and netminder Josh Unice (Toledo, Ohio) turned aside all 19 shots he faced to earn Team USA's second win of the tournament.

With the victory, Team USA finished third in Group A and advanced to the Playoff Round, where it will face Slovakia on Thursday (April 19) at 11:30 a.m. EDT in Tampere, Finland. The winner of the game will face Canada on Friday (April 20) at 11:30 a.m. EDT in the semifinals.

"We had a good overall effort today," said Ron Rolston, head coach of Team USA. "We are looking forward to moving over to Tampere (Finland) and starting the cross-over round. Hopefully we can carry momentum from this afternoon into the Slovakia game and beyond."

White opened the scoring for Team USA at the 5:28 mark of the first frame off a feed from Ryan Hayes (Syracuse, N.Y.). James vanRiemsdyk (Middletown, N.J.) notched his second goal in as many games at 10:27 to stretch the early U.S. lead to 2-0. Just 1:13 later, Vaive put Team USA up 3-0 when he notched his second goal of the tournament. C.J. Severyn (Beaver, Pa.) capped off the four-goal period at 14:53. Following Severyn's goal, Latvia replaced Vasiljevs with Nauris Enkuzens between the pipes.

In the second stanza, White tallied a power-play goal at 10:43 to give Team USA a 5-0 advantage. James O'Brien (Maplewood, Minn.) and defenseman Ryan McDonagh (Arden Hills, Minn.) assisted on White's second marker of the game.

Team USA dominated the final period of play, holding a 28-2 shots advantage and adding another pair of goals for the 8-0 final score. Vaive added his second tally of the day and third of the tournament at 1:54, followed by goals from Colin Wilson (Greenwich, Conn.) and Ryan Hayes at 9:13 and 12:07 to close out the scoring.

NOTES: Team USA wore black armbands in memory of those who lost their lives yesterday at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va. The IIHF recognized the tragedy with a moment of silence prior to the game … White was named Best Player of the Game for Team USA … This afternoon's contest was the first time the United States has played Latvia at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship … Unice is leading the tournament with a .954 save percentage.

SCORING SUMMARY

Scoring By Period
LAT 0-0-0 -- 0
USA 4-1-3 -- 8

First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, White (R. Hayes), 5: 28; 2, USA, vanRiemsdyk (Shattenkirk), 10:27; 3, USA, Vaive (Wilson, Schroeder), 11:40; 4, USA, Severyn (Rust, Vargas), 14:53. Penalties - LAT, Grundmanis (charging), 6:58; USA, McDonagh (hooking), 12:27; LAT, Jekimovs (tripping), 16:36; USA, Cole (holding), 18:44.

Second Period – Scoring: 5, USA, White (O'Brien, McDonagh), 10:43 (pp). Penalties - LAT, Birzins (hooking), 10:43; USA, vanRiemsdyk (hooking), 14:52.

Third Period – Scoring: 6, USA, Vaive (Albert, Fairchild), 1:54; 7, USA, Wilson (Schroeder, Sturges), 9:13; 8, USA, R. Hayes (Vaive, Cole), 12:07. Penalties - LAT, Birzins (holding), 10:12; USA, Rust (charging), 10:12; LAT, Enkuzens (delay of game), 14: 46; USA, Severyn (hooking), 16:19; USA, Rust (boarding), 18:50; LAT, Buzats (tripping), 20:00.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 TOTAL
LAT 8 9 2 19
USA 15 14 28 57

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 TOTAL
LAT, Vasiljevs (15:43) 12-8 x-x x-x 12-8
LAT, Enkuzens (44:17) 3-3 14-13 28-25 45-41
USA, Unice (60:00) 8-8 9-9 2-2 19-19

Power Play: LAT 0-5; USA 1-5

Penalties: LAT 6-12; USA 6-12

Attendance: 2,032

Officials: Vladimir Baluska (SVK); Linesmen- Roger Arm (SUI), Alexander Pavlovic (SVK)

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/news_story/?ID=204830&hubname=

Canada to face USA in U-18 semifinals

Canadian Press

4/19/2007 3:21:39 PM

TAMPERE, Finland (CP) - Canada will play the United States, the team that gave it the most trouble in the round robin, in the semifinals of the world under-18 hockey tournament.

Canada emerged with a 3-2 victory in a shootout with the Americans last Sunday and the two teams go at it again in the medal round Friday (TSN, 11:30 a.m. ET).

"The teams are very evenly matched," says head coach Trent Yawney. "The U.S. has got a balanced lineup, good team speed, guys up front who can score and their defencemen can really move the puck - nothing we're unaware of.

"The two teams play a similar style. We'll just execute our game and see where it all shakes out in the end."

Sweden faces Russia in the first semifinal Friday.

While Canada earned a bye into the semis by defeating Russia 5-2 Tuesday to finish first in its round-robin group with a 4-0 record, the Americans had to play a quarter-final game against Slovakia, which it won 7-2 on Thursday. Russia edged Switzerland 4-3 in overtime in another quarter-final game to gain its spot against Sweden, which finished undefeated atop the other round-robin group.

Having two days off before playing the semifinal has re-energized his players, says Yawney.

"Coming off the long seasons they've all had, playing a lot of minutes because they're the best players on their teams, a rest is always good to have," he said. "They deserved the bye after playing a good game against the Russians."

Captain Angelo Esposito of Montreal and the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts says he and his teammates know they are good enough to advance.

"We're pretty confident but we've got to continue working hard and building on our previous wins," said Esposito. "Hopefully, things will go our way."

One advantage the U.S. side has is that most of the players have been together all season training at the USA Hockey development centre for juniors in Ann Arbour, Mich. Canada's crew was hastily assembled from teams across the country.

"They don't have any weaknesses so we have to make sure we play 60 minutes," said Esposito.

After a practice and study hall, Yawney took his players to the U.S.-Slovakia game, which the Americans controlled all the way. Aware by the second intermission which team they'd be facing Friday, the players skipped the third period and headed back to their hotel.

Esposito is projected by scouting services to go in the top 10 at the NHL entry draft in June, but he's keeping his focus on what is at hand.

"Right now, I'm not thinking about the draft," he said. "We're just thinking about playing in this tournament. We want to win a gold medal."

Esposito had a strong game against the Russians.

"He's contributed in other ways, too, off the ice helping the guys become a close-knit group," Yawney said. "He deserves a lot of credit for that."

Yawney doesn't have to think hard to provide an answer when asked what he likes most about his group.

"Their grit and determination," he said. "Every game, they've played with a lot of passion.

"That's a trademark of this team. They've played well together and we want that continue Friday."

Steven Stamkos of Unionville, Ont., and the OHL's Sarnia Sting leads Canada in scoring with nine points including two goals.

Linemate Jamie Arniel of Kingston, Ont., and the OHL's Guelph Storm has eight points including three goals.

Also with three goals so far are Luke Schenn of Saskatoon and the WHL's Kelowna Rockets, and Yves Bastien, who is from the Sudbury, Ont., region and plays in the OHL for the Peterborough Petes.

Goaltender Trevor Cann of Oakville, Ont., and the Petes has a 1.96 goals-against average and .939 save percentage.

"The team has really come together," said Cann. "We're looking to get better every shift.

"We have no (troublesome) issues and if we play our game we should be successful."

On the rematch with the Americans, Cann said: "We're confident after beating them before. We know we can do it again. As long as we play hard in every aspect of the game, our strengths will show. We know we can do it. We're definitely confident going into it. It was great having two days off. It really helped."

The teens had toured a Porsche factory earlier in the week.

Yawney lost the services of Keven Veilleux of St-Georges, Que., and the QMJHL's Victoriaville Tigers when he dislocated his left shoulder during the game against Latvia last Saturday but others have stepped up to fill the void.

Ian Cole and Jordan Schroeder are the top U.S. goal scorers with four each. Goaltender Josh Unice has a 1.47 GAA and .943 save percentage. Thomas McCallum, a teammate of Arniel in Guelph, is backing up Unice.

Justin Vaive, the son of former NHLer Rick Vaive, has three goals and three assists after being blanked Thursday. Vaive spent his season with the Ann Arbor-based squad and intends to play college hockey at Miami of Ohio next autumn.

In consolation play Thursday, Czech forward Jakub Voracek of the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 win over Latvia. Voracek is the No. 1-rated player by International Scouting Services in its April evaluation of NHL draft prospects.

Notes: Kriss Grundmanis of the OHL's St. Michael's Majors had no points and four penalty minutes in Latvia's first five games ... Swedish forward Oscar Moller of the WHL's Chilliwack Bruins had one goal, three assists and 20 penalty minutes in his team's four preliminary-round wins ... Hockey Canada first entered a team in this event in 2002 and it went 0-5. Canada won gold in 2003 by blanking Slovakia 3-0 in the final, lost 3-2 to the Czech Republic in the 2004 game for bronze, lost 5-1 to the United States in the 2005 final and lost 3-2 to Finland in the 2006 semis ... In an IIHF men's tournament taking place in Zagreb for lower-division countries, Clive Tolley, 55, of Moose Jaw, Sask., patiently coaches Turkey. The host Croatians bombed Tolley's Turks 25-2.

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.usahockey.com/usa_hockey/main_site/main/usa_hockey/news_usacan_042007/

April 20, 2007

vanRiemsdyk Scores and Unice Stops All Three Canadians in Shootout

TAMPERE, Finland – James vanRiemsdyk (Middletwon, N.J.) scored his second goal of the night and Josh Unice (Toledo, Ohio) stopped all three of Canada’s shootout attempts to lead the U.S. National Under-18 Team past Canada, 4-3, at the Tampere Hakameta in the semifinal round at the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship. Team USA will face Russia in the gold-medal game on Sunday (April 22) at 11 a.m. EDT.

“Tonight was a great hockey game between two very evenly matched teams,” said Ron Rolston, head coach of Team USA. “Canada is a good hockey club and tonight was a battle. I am very proud of the way our guys fought back in the third period. We’ll look to carry this momentum into Sunday when we face a skilled Russian squad.”

Vinny Saponari (Powder Springs, Ga.) opened the scoring with 15 seconds remaining in the first period when Jim O’Brien (Maplewood, Minn.) carried the puck deep into the Canadian zone and found his linemate trailing the play. Saponari took the pass and fired the puck over Canadian netminder Trevor Cann’s shoulder to give Team USA a 1-0 lead.

Canada struck back in the second period with a pair of goals from Zac Boychuk. The first tally came 52 seconds into the frame when he snuck a shot under Unice’s right arm. Boychuk then gave Canada a 2-1 lead when he scored off a faceoff play at 4:35.

Team USA replied at the 9:55 mark when Kevin Shattenkirk (New Rochelle, N.Y.) blasted a slap shot from the point on the power play that found its way through traffic to knot the game at 2-2. Kyle Turris gave the Canadians a 3-2 advantage 1:19 later when he walked into the U.S. zone and beat Unice glove side.

In the final period, vanRiemsdyk evened the game at 3-3 on a power-play goal at the 1:36 mark. After a Cade Fairchild (Duluth, Minn.) shot from the point was blocked by a Canadian defenseman, vanRiemsdyk picked up the rebound and buried it past Cann to close out the third-period scoring.

In the 10-minute extra session, the United States carried the play, outshooting Canada by a 5-2 margin. vanRiemsdyk and Matt Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) had the best chances for Team USA, but were unable to end the game. Unice calmly handled the two Canadian chances to keep the game knotted at 3-3.

In the three-man shootout, Unice forced Turris to shoot wide on the first Canadian attempt. After Ryan Hayes (Syracuse, N.Y.) missed the net on Team USA’s first attempt, Unice came up big again as he sprawled across the ice to make a save on Steve Stamkos. With the shootout still scoreless, vanRiemsdyk beat Cann on a shot that went between the goalkeeper’s legs to give the United States a 1-0 advantage. On Canada’s final attempt, Unice stayed with Boychuk and made the save to win the game for Team USA.

NOTES: Shattenkirk earned Best Player of the Game Honors for Team USA … With the win, the United States advances to its fourth consecutive gold-medal game at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship … Russia defeated Sweden this afternoon, 5-4, on a goal with one second left in the contest … Team USA lost to Russia, 5-3, in its opening game of the tournament.

SCORING SUMMARY

Scoring By Period
USA 1-1-1-0-1 -- 4
CAN 0-3-0-0-0 –- 3

First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, Saponari (O’Brien, Shattenkirk), 19:45. Penalties – USA, Cross (holding), 5:35; CAN, Arniel (delay of game), 10:20; CAN, Gillies (charging), 16:12; USA, Cole (interference), 19:56.

Second Period – Scoring: 2, CAN, Boychuk (Doughty), 0:52 (pp); 3, CAN, Boychuk (Stamkos), 4:35; 4, USA, Shattenkirk (Schroeder, vanRiemsdyk), 9:55 (pp); 5, CAN, Turis (Esposito), 11:14. Penalties – CAN, Schenn (tripping), 8:31; CAN, Negrin (hooking), 13:05.

Third Period – Scoring: 6, USA, vanRiemsdyk (Fairchild, Schroeder), 1:36 (pp). Penalties – USA, J. Hayes (hooking), 11:16.

Overtime – Scoring: No Scoring. Penalties – No Penalties.

Shootout - USA, vanRiemsdyk.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 OT TOTAL
USA 14 19 6 5 44
CAN 6 10 13 2 31

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 OT TOTAL
USA, Unice (70:00) 6-6 10-7 13-13 2-2 31-29
CAN, Cann (70:00) 14-13 19-18 6-5 5-5 44-41

Power Play: USA 2-5; CAN 1-3

Penalties: USA 3-6; CAN 5-10

Attendance: 1,505

Officials: Patrik Sjoberg (SWE); Linesmen- Antti Orelema (FIN), Jussi Terho (FIN)

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/news_story/?ID=204951&hubname=

U-18: USA beats Canada in shootout

Canadian Press

4/20/2007 2:56:57 PM

TAMPERE, Finland (CP) - It was a valiant effort by a Canadian team that gave its all only to lose in a shootout.

The United States eked out a 4-3 win to advance to the title game of the world under-18 hockey tournament against Russia, which got a last-second goal to defeat Sweden 5-4 in the other semifinal Friday.

''They battled hard and I'm very proud of the way they competed,'' said Canada's coach, Trent Yawney. ''They were trying to find a way but it just didn't happen.

''It was one of those games between two teams that are evenly matched and that can go either way. We'll pick up the pieces and move forward.''

Canada will play Sweden for bronze before the Americans take on the Russians for gold Sunday.

''They're pretty disappointed right now but they have to rebound,'' Yawney said. ''We've got another game to play.

''As much as (losing in the semifinals) is a low point, you can't get too low. They've been here too long and been too good a group not to give it their best, which I know they will in the next game.''

Most of the Americans skated together all season out of the USA Hockey development centre in Ann Arbor, Mich., while Hockey Canada had to hastily assemble players from teams that didn't qualify for playoffs or were eliminated in the first round. Some of the best juniors in Canada were unavailable, but having 14 returnees from the team that lost to Finland in the 2006 semifinals was of benefit to Yawney.

''The fact they are together all year showed,'' Yawney said of the U.S. players. ''When you've played with each other the whole year, it makes a bit of a difference.

''It's not an excuse on our part. They played well and deserve credit. They played a solid game.''

It's been a long season for captain Angelo Esposito and his temporary teammates.

''A lot of the guys have played a lot of hockey,'' said Yawney. ''But I'm proud of the way they gutted it out.''

They'd set their sights on gold but the under-18 tournament has always been a tough one for Canadian teams. There's been one championship won, in 2003. The best showing since was silver in 2005. Now another year will pass before there is another chance to win it all.

''It's part of life,'' said Esposito. ''It's an experience and we have to learn from it.

''Obviously, we wanted to win, but it didn't go our way. We'll learn and move on. We're looking forward to the third-place game.''

The boys are tired but ''we have to focus on the next game and after that we've got all summer off.''

It was early to bed after dinner.

''Tomorrow's a new day and the sun will shine again,'' Esposito said before turning out the lights.

James vanRiemsdyk scored the only goal in the shootout to give the U.S. a chance for a third straight championship.

Trevor Cann of the OHL's Peterborough Petes and American counterpart Josh Unice were in the spotlight. Canada had beaten the U.S. 3-2 in a shootout in the preliminary round.

Unice stopped Kyle Turris of the BCHL's Burnaby Bulldogs and Cann stymied American Ryan Hayes to begin.

Steve Stamkos of the OHL's Sarnia Sting couldn't score and then it was vanRiemsdyk's turn. The top-five prospect for the NHL entry draft in June deked, pulled the puck to his backhand, and slid it through Cann's legs to the back of the net.

Canada's fate then rested on a shot by Zac Boychuk of the WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes, who scored Canada's first two goals during regulation time. Boychuk also scored the decisive shootout goal five days earlier.

Boychuk glided to within 10 feet of Unice and took a shot that Unice stopped on his stick side.

Turris also scored for Canada in regulation time, while captain Kevin Shattenkirk, Vinny Saponari and vanRiemsdyk scored for the U.S.

With the score 3-3 with five minutes remaining in the third period, Turris had the puck five feet in front of the U.S. net and he beat Unice with his shot, but the puck hit a post.

''We all thought it was going in,'' said Esposito.

The puck caromed out to Logan Couture of the OHL's Ottawa 67s and he, too, had an excellent scoring chance. Unice made a huge save.

After a 10-minute overtime, vanRiemsdyk, a six-foot-three left-winger projected as a top-five NHL draft prospect, emerged as the shootout hero.

''We hit that post and then it goes to a shootout,'' said Yawney. ''It's a tough way to lose, but we won (a shootout) earlier in the tournament and lost this one and that's the way it goes.

''It's a tough way to decide a game but those are the rules and we have to play by the rules.''

The Russia-Sweden game also was a thriller. Sweden's Mikael Backlund scored on a penalty shot with 4:48 remaining to tie it 4-4 and Cherepanov, touted by some as the No. 1 prospect for the NHL draft, scored his second goal of the game on a power play with one second left.

Notes: Stamkos leads tournament scoring with 10 points (2-8) . . . The American players wore black arm bands on their left sleeves in memory of the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings earlier in the week . . . Former NHL players Rick Vaive and Carey Wilson were in the crowd to watch their sons _ Justin Vaive and Colin Wilson _ skate for the U.S. team . . . In one of the biggest surprises in tournament history, the Czech Republic, the bronze medallist last year, was relegated in losing 6-3 to Germany, coached by James Setters of Calgary. It's the first time in tournament history that a previous year's medallist was demoted.

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/11728/la_id/1/ss_id/21311/game_id/1181.htm

CANADA FINISHES FOURTH AT WORLD UNDER-18 CHAMPIONSHIP

TAMPERE, FINLAND – Canada will return home from the 2007 IIHF World Under-18 Championship with a fourth-place finish after falling 8-3 to Sweden in Sunday’s bronze medal game.

Angelo Esposito (Montreal, QC/Quebec, QMJHL) scored twice and Drew Doughty (London, ON/Guelph, OHL) added a single for Canada, who scored twice in the second period to erase a two-goal deficit before Sweden scored six unanswered goals to pull away.

The Swedes controlled the play early in the first period, and were rewarded with the opening goal just over six minutes in off the stick of Robin Olsson. Simon Hjalmarsson made it a two-goal lead 10 minutes later, sending Sweden into the first intermission up by a pair.

Esposito got the Canadians on the board just past of the six-minute mark of the second period, taking a pass from Zack Torquato (Sault Ste. Marie, ON/Erie, OHL) and snapping a shot past Swedish goaltender Mark Owuya.

Doughty got the Canadians even 10 minutes later, getting a wrist shot through Owuya’s legs following a scramble in front of the Swedish goal.

The game looked to be headed to the third period tied before Sweden’s Mikael Backlund beat Canadian goaltender Trevor Cann (Oakville, ON/Peterborough, OHL) with just one second to go in the middle frame, giving the Swedes the lead heading to the final 20 minutes.

Backlund got his second of the game early in the third period on a Swedish powerplay, after Canadian forward Jamie Arniel (Kingston, ON/Guelph, OHL) had been sent off for shooting the puck over the glass.

Goals from Hjalmarsson and Emil Bejmo pushed the Swedish lead to four goals, chasing Cann from the net.

Braden Holtby (Marshall, SK/Saskatoon, WHL) made his first appearance of the tournament in the Canadian goal, and was greeted by goals on the first two shots he faced – Hjalmarsson’s second of the game, followed 52 seconds later by Backlund’s hat trick marker.

Esposito rounded out the scoring for the Canadians, who were outshot 55-28.

Canada finished fourth for the second consecutive year, and third time in four years, at the event, where they have taken home the gold medal only once, in 2003. | » IIHF Summary



Game Information
Game Number 30 Round Bronze Medal
Arena Tampere Ice Hall City, Country Tampere, , Finland
Month / Day / Year 04/22/2007 Time (local) 18:30
Attendance 2182 Game Status Final

Box Score 1 2 3 Final
Canada(CAN) 0 2 1 3
Sweden(SWE) 2 1 5 8

Goals/Penalties
First Period
Goals:
06:38 SWE 8 Robin Olsson (16 Simon Hjalmarsson 22 Marcus Johansson)
16:11 SWE 16 Simon Hjalmarsson (12 Emil Bejmo )

Penalties:
17:39 CAN 11 Jamie Arniel (Charging-2 minutes)

Second Period
Goals:
06:15 CAN 9 Angelo Esposito (25 Zack Torquato )
16:52 CAN 20 Drew Doughty (14 Zachary Boychuk )
19:59 SWE 11 Mikael Backlund (15 Carl Gustafsson 3 Sebastian Erixon)

Penalties:
02:22 SWE 13 Johan Erkgards (Hooking-2 minutes)
07:05 CAN 14 Zachary Boychuk (Delay of Game-2 minutes)
11:15 CAN 15 Colton Gillies (Cross Checking-2 minutes)
13:15 SWE 6 Johan Motin (Roughing-2 minutes)

Third Period
Goals:
01:55 SWE 11 Mikael Backlund (5 Victor Hedman 6 Johan Motin)
06:35 SWE 16 Simon Hjalmarsson (8 Robin Olsson 22 Marcus Johansson)
08:43 SWE 12 Emil Bejmo (22 Marcus Johansson 16 Simon Hjalmarsson)
11:22 SWE 12 Emil Bejmo (16 Simon Hjalmarsson 22 Marcus Johansson)
12:14 SWE 11 Mikael Backlund (17 Oscar Moller )
12:24 CAN 9 Angelo Esposito (12 Brandon Sutter 2 Eric Doyle)

Penalties:
01:17 CAN 11 Jamie Arniel (Delay of Game-2 minutes)
16:49 SWE 3 Sebastian Erixon (Tripping-2 minutes)
18:57 SWE 5 Victor Hedman (Roughing-2 minutes)
18:57 CAN 12 Brandon Sutter (Roughing-2 minutes)
19:17 CAN 21 Dion Knelsen (Tripping-2 minutes)

Goaltenders
Canada 30 Trevor Cann On 1/00:00 Off 3/11:10
1 Braden Holtby On 3/11:10 Off 3/20:00
Sweden 1 Mark Owuya On 1/00:00 Off 3/20:00


Shots on Goal 1 2 3 Final
Canada 10 8 10 28
Sweden 17 20 20 57

Officials
Referee BALUSKA Vladimir (SVK)
Lines People KALIVODA Frantisek (CZE), PAVLOVIC Alexander (SVK)

[nivek_wahs]

http://tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/news_story/?ID=205145&hubname=

U-18: Canada loses bronze to Sweden

Canadian Press

4/22/2007 9:50:33 AM


TAMPERE, Finland (CP) - Canadian hockey teams often fizzle out when playing for bronze, and the world under-18 team was no exception in dropping an 8-3 decision to Sweden on Sunday.

Canada finished fourth.

Russia defeated the United States 6-5 to win gold. It was Russia's first podium finish since winning gold in 2004, and it ruined the U.S. bid for a third straight championship.

Canada's 4-3 heartbreaker of a loss to the Americans in the semifinals Friday deflated coach Trent Yawney's players. Bronze hadn't been on their menu.

" We were in it to win it," said Yawney. "The game against the U.S. with all that electricity, they really believed they were going to win that game.





"We tried like hell to keep them refocused for (the game for bronze) but it's difficult with going home right around the corner and the fact you're not playing for the gold, which you were coming for in the first place."

Canada also lost third-place games in this tournament in 2004 and in 2006, both times to the Czech Republic. NHL stars have had similar experiences. With gold gone at the 1998 Olympics, Canada was flat in losing to Finland in the game for bronze. Europeans seem to place more importance on the lesser medals than do Canadians.

Regardless, Yawney has no regrets.

"This isn't going to take away from the memories," he said. "This was a special group.

"They deserved better, but they'll take this experience and be better players and better people for it."

Canada remains without a medal in the under-18 tournament since winning silver in 2005. It has won the title once, in 2003.

Sweden led 2-0 after one period and Canada tied it on goals by Angelo Esposito of the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts and Drew Doughty of the OHL's Guelph Storm.

The turning point came with one second remaining in the second period when Mikael Backlund's first of three goals broke a 2-2 tie and sent Sweden ahead to stay.

"We had a bad (line) change with three seocnds left and allowed a pretty good shot on net," said Yawney. "That kind of took a little wind out of our sails.

"We'd gained some momentum and to get a goal scored that late in a period in a game of that magnitude, it's difficult for players, especially young players, to recover.

Sweden scored five consecutive goals in the third period before Esposito completed the scoring.

A dejected group of Canadian teens watched the Swedes celebrate.

"I'm not going to let one game be the judge of this group," said Yawney. "They've been a terrific group to work with.

"The residual effect from the U.S. game was pretty apparent, and the Swedes played better than us."

Trevor Cann of the OHL's Peterborough Petes was replaced by Braden Holtby of the WHL"s Saskatoon Blades after Sweden went ahead 6-2 in the third, but Yawney commended Cann for his work throughout the tournament.

"He gave us a chance, especially down the stretch, and played very, very well," said Yawney. "Throughout this whole thing, the star of the team was the team.

"Unfortuntely, in the end we probably tended to get too much individualistic as opposed to playing our strong team game that got us to that point. You can't compete as individuals in a tournament like this against a team functioning as a team."

The Canadians fly home Monday.

In the final, the U.S. led 2-0 on goals by C.J. Severyn and Vinny Saponari in the first seven minutes. Russia tied it 2-2 on boals by Andrei Loktionov and Sergei Korostin, and Colin Wilson's goal gave the Americans a 3-2 lead after one period.

Russia jumped ahead on goals by Dmitry Kugryshev and Nikita Klyukin, and James vanRiemsdyk tied it 4-4 at 10:37 of the second period.

Alexei Cherepanov put Russia ahead 5-4 at 11:52 of the third, and Egor Averin made it 6-4. With goalie Josh Unice on the bench for an extra skater, the U.S. got a goal from Wilson with six seconds left.

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.usahockey.com/usa_hockey/news/main/usa_hockey/news_usarus_042207//

U.S. National Under-18 Team Claims Silver Medal at IIHF World Under-18 Championship; Wilson's Two Goals Not Enough to Top Russia


April 22, 2007

U.S. National Under-18 Team Claims Silver Medal at IIHF World Under-18 Championship; Wilson's Two Goals Not Enough to Top Russia

TAMPERE, Finland -- The U.S. National Under-18 Team's bid for three consecutive gold medals at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship fell short at the Tampere Hakametsa tonight when it when it dropped a 6-5 decision to Russia in the gold medal game at the 2007 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

"I am extremely proud of the way our guys competed in this tournament," said Ron Rolston, head coach of the U.S. National Under-18 Team. "We battled hard throughout the event and gave ourselves a chance to win a gold medal, but we ran in to a very good Russian team in the gold-medal game. There are many very good teams in this tournament and I am pleased with the way that our guys represented our country."

Team USA opened the scoring 1:31 into the contest when C.J. Severyn (Beaver, Pa.) beat Russian netminder Alexander Pechurskiy with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle. Vinny Saponari (Powder Springs, Ga.) then gave the United States a 2-0 lead at the 6:13 mark with a shorthanded goal. Matt Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) found Saponari in the neutral zone, who skated in all alone and beat Pechurskiy with a wrist shot over his catching glove.

Russia replied with two goals in the next 5:20 to even the game. Andrey Lokitonov batted in a loose puck during a scramble in front of netminder Josh Unice (Toledo, Ohio) at 7:44, followed by a Sergey Korostin snap shot from the right circle that deflected off the left goalpost and into the net at 11:33 to knot the game at 2-2. Following its first goal, Russia elected to replace Pechurskiy with netminder Vadim Zhelobnyuk.

Team USA regained the lead at the 18:27 mark of the opening period when Jordan Schroeder (Lakeville, Minn.) found linemate Colin Wilson (Greenwich, Conn.), who proceeded to beat Zhelobnyuk and give the United States a 3-2 advantage at the end of the first period.

Russia evened the game 3:59 into the second frame when Dmitry Kugryshev beat Unice from deep in the United States end to make it a 3-3 contest. Eight minutes into the period, Team USA thought it had scored on a scramble in front of the Russian net, but play continued. Seconds later, Russia gained its first lead of the game when Korostin made a pass from behind Team USA's net to Nikita Klyukin, who buried the feed to give Russia a 4-3 advantage.

James vanRiemsdyk (Middletown, N.J.) closed out the second-period scoring and made it a 4-4 game at the 10:37 mark when he batted a puck out of the air from the left side of the net.

Alexi Cherepanov scored Russia's fifth goal at the 11:52 mark of the third period. Russia cycled the puck deep in the United States zone before Chereponov skated out from behind the net and put the puck underneath the crossbar to give Russia a 5-4 lead. Egor Averin made it a 6-4 contest at 17:45 when he put a shot between Unice's pads.

Team USA pulled Unice with 1:11 remaining and applied heavy pressure before Wilson notched his second goal of the contest with six seconds remaining to make it a one-goal game. However, Russia held on during the closing seconds to earn the victory.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team swept the Directorate Awards, as vanRiemsdyk was named the Best Forward of the tournament, Shattenkirk earned Best Defenseman honors and Unice took home Best Goaltender laurels. The trio was also named to the six-player All-Tournament Team.

NOTES: Ian Cole (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Shattenkirk and Unice were named Team USA's three best players of the tournament … Wilson and vanRiemsdyk tied for the tournament lead in points with 12 (5-7) apiece … The United States has played in four consecutive gold-medal games at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship and has captured two gold medals (2005, 2006) and two silver medals (2004, 2007) in that span … The United States and Russia have claimed the last four IIHF World Under-18 Championships.

SCORING SUMMARY

Scoring By Period
RUS 2-2-2 -- 6
USA 3-1-1 -- 5

First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, Severyn (Vargas), 1: 31; 2, USA, Saponari (Rust), 6:13 (sh); 3, RUS, Loktionov (Kugryshev, Voinov), 7:44; 4, RUS, Korostin (Kagaritskiy), 11:33; 5, USA, Wilson (vanRiemsdyk, Schroeder), 18:47. Penalties - USA, O'Brien (hooking), 5: 43; USA, Vaive (tripping), 8:43.

Second Period – Scoring: 6, RUS, Kugryshev (Filatov), 3:59; 7, RUS, Klyukin (Andronov, Korostin), 8:00; 8, USA, vanRiemsdyk (Wilson, Schroeder), 10:37. Penalties - RUS, Seleznev (tripping), 0:37; RUS, Filatov (hooking), 11:21.

Third Period – Scoring: 9, RUS, Chereponov (Karamnov, Petrov), 11:52; 10, RUS, Averin (Kulikov), 17:45; 11, USA, Wilson (Farichild, vanRiemsdyk), 19:54. Penalties - RUS, Tokranov (kneeing), 2:47.

Overtime – Scoring: No Scoring. Penalties – No Penalties.

Shootout - USA, vanRiemsdyk.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 TOTAL
RUS 7 9 8 24
USA 7 13 16 36


Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 TOTAL
RUS, Pechurskiy (7:44) 3-1 x-x x-x 3-1
RUS, Zhelobnyuk (42:16) 4-3 13-12 16-15 33-30
USA, Unice (58:49) 7-5 9-7 8-6 24-18

Power Play: RUS 0-2; USA 0-3

Penalties: RUS 3-6; USA 2-4

Attendance: 2,279

Officials: Kyle Rehman(CAN); Linesmen- Fredirik Carlman (SWE), Antti Orelma (FIN)